Unlocking Potential: The ROI of Training Administrative Professionals

By Bonnie Low-Kramen for Training Magazine Network | August 27, 2024

Results are seen in higher productivity, boosted morale, improved job satisfaction, and increased profits due to strong retention.

The smart money is on training.

If retaining your high-producing staff is a top priority, investing in their professional development through training is a smart way to make that happen. This is especially true for the administrative staff in companies.

One of the sometimes hidden golden (human) resources in a company is the administrative staff. This is the group of staffers who are?87 percent female?and who, back in the long ago day, were referred to as secretaries. Training this group of staffers was rarely part of the budget for several reasons.

1. The role was seen as not directly contributing to the bottom-line profits and, therefore, was not considered an important investment.
2. The role was not seen as difficult and, therefore, no training was needed.
3. The role was held by women who did not strongly advocate for continued education.

In the post-pandemic world, none of these reasons are true any longer. The workplace of 2024 is complicated and changing by the day. The top staff are like high-performing athletes who need to keep training to stay on top and keep their companies competitive.

The ROI is immediate, and results are seen in higher productivity, boosted morale, improved job satisfaction, and increased profits due to strong retention.

The Backbone of the Company

Here’s what’s happening. In 2024, many members of this group now are considered part of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and viewed as vital and respected business partners with a welcome seat at the table. They are spoken about as the backbone of the company; the right arms to leaders; the eyes, the ears, and the face of the company culture—pretty important body parts, even on a Webcam.

They are the tech whizzes on the front lines of learning artificial intelligence (AI)/ChatGPT/Copilot as fast as they can. They are the ones who make your PowerPoint deck shine and organize your all-hands meeting flawlessly on Zoom. They see around corners and know what intel you need before you know you need it. They remember your favorite hotel in every city. They remind you of your direct reports’ birthdays weeks ahead of time, complete with ideas of what to give and a spreadsheet of gifts given in the past. Cue your sigh of relief.

If this is true about the administrative staff in your company, then no doubt you are looking to hold on tight to them. In addition to?being paid fairly, one of the other things they want most is training.

5 Reasons to Provide Training

Here are five reasons why training your administrative staff needs to be a no-brainer:

1. The workplace is complicated and changing by the day. You need your administrative staff to be up-to-date and leading edge. Training is the only way that happens in the workplace of 2024. And given that 58 percent of administrative staffs feel underutilized, it is a win/win to offer training that will help to fully tap their talents and skills.
2. Investing in training sends a message that they are respected and worthy.?Whether it is an AI workshop or tuition reimbursement for an undergraduate degree or the fee to pay for a technology certification or a leadership course, if your staffer is committed to learning what makes sense for their role, don’t hesitate to spend the money.
3. The ROI is huge.?Employees who feel valued by receiving training go above and beyond, even when no one is watching. They are the ones who raise their hands to volunteer and run toward a problem rather than away from it. On top of that, administrative staff who are trained end up teaching others, which increases the ROI even more.
4. Saying, “Yes!” the first time you are asked for training matters.?One CEO admitted he does not respond to requests for training on the first inquiry. He waits until he is asked a second time as a way to gauge “seriousness.” The problem with this is that many administrative staff will take the “No” as the final answer and not ask again. What they do instead is to look for another job that will pay for training headed by leaders who respect their staff and don’t play games.
5. In a post-pandemic world, make annual training budgets an expected norm rather than a unicorn perk.?Historically, the administrative staff has not received training specific to their role. Most of them know what it feels like to fight for training dollars. To add insult to injury, they also have been told they need to take vacation days to do their training, which seems like an unfair penalty that is often not paid by any other level of staffer. Rather, choose to be generous with training and include the paid time off to do it.

Include Training in Compensation Packages

In the United States, my students report annual training budgets range from $500 to $5,000 per year/per employee, depending on the size of the company. Some staff report that the budget is unlimited. Including an annual training budget built in as part of the compensation package is highly attractive to job candidates. This feature makes it a question of?what?training will be taken rather than?if?the staffer can take a class.

The bottom line is that the decision-making process around accepting a job and staying at that job increasingly has much to do with enthusiastic support for training. There is no question that a well-trained staff will be the game-changing difference as we head into the future.

Bonus content! On Sept 10, 2024, I delivered a webinar called " Brilliant Talent Acquisition: Upskill the People Already on the Payroll." You can watch the one-hour replay here: https://www.trainingmagnetwork.com/events/3828?gref=bonnie