If not now, when?

As a publication, we have been vocal in our commitment to gaining recognition for the administrative profession since the very first issue in 1989.

My own ‘road to Damascus’ conversion to the cause is well documented. Back in 2011 at a course in Milan, and then a few weeks later in London, I was blown away by the passion for and commitment to the role shown by the delegates of both events. But the frustration was also palpable. Their businesses did not understand what they did, failed to recognise the role as a profession and almost universally could not grasp the potential of using them properly.

Something had to be done, and as a former Publishing Director, I have made it my mission over the last 10 years to change the way the world works with its administrative professionals. It’s what I received my OBE for back in June.

The opportunity to chair the World Administrators Summit in 2015 was both an honour and an extraordinary opportunity to look at ways to truly change the world for the half a billion people who work in administration. The main item on the agenda? How to professionalise the role.

The representatives from the associations that gathered in Papua New Guinea agreed that the most effective way to instigate real change was to produce a global framework for career progression and thus began one of the largest pieces of research ever undertaken for the profession – one that produced some shocking results.

• There were over 160 job titles for administrators
• 58% of administrators felt underutilized
• 73% felt their organisation didn’t understand the role or potential impact of using them properly
• 60% felt there was little or no opportunity for career progression within their organisation

Something clearly needed to change, but with the World Administrators Alliance and its members working on a purely voluntary basis, it has taken time to disseminate the data gathered to ensure that the resulting report is robust and fully based on the findings of the research, rather than opinion.

In 2018, in Frankfurt, it was decided that a Global Skills Matrix was required which would ensure that, irrespective of country, businesses could refer to a document that explained the skill sets required at each level to progress through the administrator’s career path.

It was also decided not to use job titles. With over 160 job titles being identified, we wanted to ensure that every business and every administrative professional recognised themselves within the matrix. To give you an example, a PA in the UK could work on reception or for the CEO whilst a PA in the USA would usually be working for a celebrity or person of high net worth; the title would more normally be Administrative Assistant. And in Europe, the most common title is Management Assistant. It is no wonder that there is so much confusion. Instead, there are Levels 1-5 in the Matrix to allow you to map the titles you already have to the levels.

We agreed not to produce job descriptions. Every business and every Assistant has their own version of what the role is, but the majority of administrative professionals have that catch-all at the bottom of their generic job description stating, ‘and anything else we might like to throw at you.’ We have, however, produced role descriptions. These are for those who work for businesses where job descriptions are not provided at all, in order to give guidance as to how to produce one.

The importance of a job description which explains what your role is cannot be underestimated. A well-written job description helps both the employer and the employee to manage expectations, and at the heart of the Matrix is performance measurement. It gives both parties clarity around the skills and tasks needed to excel at every level.

Each Assistant will have their own journey, and some may not want to progress to the higher levels, but a business will require a world-class administrative function at every level in order to underpin their stakeholders’ goals and KPIs.

Employees will also be able to create personal goals for advancing in their current roles. Great job descriptions promote accountability and result in increased productivity, as employees understand exactly what is expected from them in order to allow them to progress.

And so began the mammoth task of working through which skills and tasks fell into which level. The task force, headed by New Zealand’s AAPNZ President, Vicki Faint, spent the next two years assembling that particular puzzle before the recommendations came back to the 2020 Online World Administrators Summit for tweaks and it was finally approved for publication in 2021 by the heads of associations and networks from 29 countries.

This is a piece of work that is particularly pertinent at this time. There has never been a more important time for organisations to utilise their administrators to their full potential. Covid-19 has increased the need for management to be more agile and to operate at maximum capacity. Organisations need to ensure the ROI on their executives’ salaries is maximised. A career administrator with clear goals and objectives, combined with personal development and career progression opportunities is a key component for achieving this.

So now you’ve got it, what are you going to do with it?

We have been presenting the document and what it will do for the businesses that adopt it at events and to companies all over the world since its launch on 16 September. The rest of the year is packed with further presentations.

The feedback from the profession, your executives, HR professionals and recruiters who specialise in Administrative Recruitment is unanimous in its enthusiasm for the changes the Global Skills Matrix will beckon in. It is the missing part of the jigsaw, the bridge between how the world has been for administrative professionals and the future of the profession. But only if you take action.

We are living through a unique time for the future of work. We’re recreating what business looks like, and nobody yet knows quite what that looks like.

As everything just changed, what’s one more change?

The timing of the release of the Global Skills Matrix couldn’t have been better. As businesses return to the office, many are re-examining how to structure their administrative functions to ensure best return on investment in terms of efficiency, finances, investment and contribution. The Matrix gives them a framework based on six years of extensive global research to work with.

But what I am most excited about is that our research showed that prior to the Matrix, most executives didn’t know what they needed or what their Assistant was capable of. We have already seen that when they study it, they conclude that if other businesses are using their Assistants in this way, they are missing a trick. This opens the door to having these difficult but necessary conversations.

This time is never going to come again. The time to start this conversation is now. I truly believe that if business was to use its administrative functions properly, it would change the economy.

Our supplement on the Global Skills Matrix, which we have just published includes a ‘Letter to HR’, written by Sarah Richson, one of the top 10 HR influencers in the world. She explains clearly the implications of embracing the Matrix for your business, for your executive and for you.

For 10 years we have been talking about the changes necessary to shape the role into what so many of you have wanted it to be. We are on the cusp of changing the working lives of the half a billion of you who work in this profession, but only you can do it. You MUST take this opportunity to share the information with your business. We are happy to support and even to have conversations with HR or your board, where you deem it necessary, but you need to go do the thing.

We would love to hear your stories as you begin this journey. Please write to me at [email protected] and let me know how you are getting on.

A final mention must go to those who have ensured that the Global Skills Matrix finally saw the light of day: Eth Lloyd, who led the initial stages, Helen Monument, who drove the final stages, Vicki Faint, who collated and wrote the report (assisted by Eth Lloyd), and the rest of the Task Team – Nita Rebello (India), Cathy Harris (South Africa), Wendy Rapana (New Zealand), Florence Katano (Uganda), Andrew Jardine (United Kingdom) and Veronica Cochrane (United States of America), Advisor. Thank you all for your dedication in bringing the Global Skills Matrix to fruition.

Now let's go change the world!

Lucy Brazier, OBE is one of the world’s leading authorities on the administrative profession.

As CEO of Marcham Publishing, specialist publishers of Executive Support Magazine, Lucy is passionate about ensuring the Assistant role is truly recognised as a career and not just a job. Lucy has access to the most forward-thinking, passionate and knowledgeable trainers and administrative business leaders in the world, as well as personally meeting and speaking to literally thousands of Assistants for more than a decade, and her knowledge of the market and what Assistants all over the world are facing on a day-to-day basis is second to none.

The Executive Support Magazine Supplement which contains the Global Skills Matrix in its entirety including commentary from some of the administrative profession's top thought leaders is available to download here.

You can also visit the World Administrative Alliance's Global Skills Matrix website where you can download the full report, the executive summary and various tools to help to share the document with your business. There is also a press release, a variety of memes to share on social media, a 'how to use it' document and letters to HR and recruiters.