An administrative assistant is an employee who performs tasks related to the administration of a company.
The concept of auxiliary , which derives from the Latin word auxiliāris , is used to describe the one or thing that provides assistance or some type of help . Administrative , for its part, refers to what is related to administration (the act of organizing or arranging resources to achieve a goal).
The notion of administrative assistant refers to a position or job title that exists in most companies . The administrative assistant's task is to carry out various activities related to the company's administration .
Tasks of an administrative assistant
Administrative assistants carry out typical office jobs: filing documents, carrying out paperwork, managing the agenda, etc. Generally, these people are at the service of a hierarchical superior, helping them to fulfill their tasks.
The manager of a company, for example, can ask the administrative assistant to gather all the invoices for purchases made in the last semester to analyze expenses, current guarantees and other data . The administrative assistant, on the other hand, may be asked to communicate with clients who register a debt with the firm to coordinate when a debt collector can come to collect payment.
Knowledge and training
An administrative assistant must have knowledge of customer and supplier service, marketing , commercial techniques, quality standards, protocol, human relations, documentation and IT, among other topics.
The more knowledge the administrative assistant has, the better he will be able to perform his job and the more possibilities he will have to grow in the internal structure of the organization.
The functions of the administrative assistant are multiple.
The importance of the administrative assistant
Although sometimes this job does not receive much respect from society, given that it is not at a high hierarchical level, it is necessary to highlight that the offices could not function correctly and effectively if it were not for administrative assistants . The wide and varied number of tasks they carry out daily must be considered together to appreciate their importance.
The presence of the administrative assistant in a company is so fundamental that the use of information and the functioning of administrative systems largely depends on their work. Let's see below some of its most significant functions in details:
* administrative support : carried out by photocopying documents, filing, sending messages digitally, answering the telephone, managing supplies and recording incoming messages. In addition to these specific tasks, it is not unusual for him to fill in for switchboard and reception staff when they are absent;
* correspondence management : although in recent decades the volume of physical correspondence has decreased considerably due to the massification of the Internet, companies continue to send and receive packages, and the work of the administrative assistant is key to ensuring that everything reaches its destination;
* file management : this point can lead to confusion, since in large companies there is usually a specific position for file administration. However, when the volume of documents is not so large, the administrative assistant can be in charge of organizing and storing them for later use;
* personnel control : among its tasks in this area is the recording of absences, hours worked, rights to days off and complaints;
* transcription of texts : it is common to be asked to transfer a draft to the computer or transcribe a recording;
* accounting : as if all of the above were not enough, some administrative assistants are required to perform tasks such as preparing invoices and calculating salaries, social security contributions, tax deductions and the cost of services. orders.