Administrative Assistants are crucial to a company's success. They often make the company's first impression with a phone call, a face-to-face meeting, or an email. They must be broadly skilled in a wide variety of tasks; therefore, administrative assistants with many skill sets are highly sought after. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment growth for Administrative Assistants was 12% over the last decade.

Administrative Assistants are Important to any Organization

Administrative Assistants can help save a company time and money. The return on investment for a skilled assistant can be significant. Assistants can save their bosses' time by ensuring meetings are started on time, tracking projects, and organizing schedules. The key here is developing a good relationship and equally good communication between the boss and the assistant, so the boss can clearly delegate what the assistant needs to do to save him/her time, stay on track, and remain focused on the big picture as well as the numerous smaller and vital tasks that help the boss and the company succeed.

A Bad Hiring Decision can be Costly

A bad hire can cost a company money, bring down morale, lower productivity, and perhaps even cause the business to lose top performers. With a well-qualified assistant, a company has a better chance of succeeding.

Critical Characteristics

So, what factors should a company look for when hiring an Administrative Assistant?

• Emotional intelligence
• Attention to detail
• Works well with everyone
• Organized
• Communication skills
• Administrative software skills (typing, MS Office, etc.)

Are Assessments Useful?

Interestingly, all of these characteristics are measurable through online assessments. This explains why our Administrative Assistant assessments are one of the most heavily utilized tests in our catalog. The HR Avatar Administrative Assistant Pre-Employment Assessments are designed to help businesses hire the right Administrative Assistants by providing a whole-person evaluation which measures:

• Job-relevant cognitive ability
• Personality
• Knowledge
• Skills - like Typing or MS Word
• Relevant behavioral history

Each component provides important data for hiring decisions, including:

• Cognitive ability has been linked to overall job performance in most jobs and correlates with a candidate's ability to learn new skills and to solve complex problems.
• Personality characteristics determine how well the candidate will fit-in with a corporate culture.
• Knowledge and skills indicate how much training will be needed before a new employee becomes productive.
• Relevant behavioral history detects counterproductive behaviors that can impact job performance.

We've covered why admin assistants are a key position in virtually any organization. For such an important role a poor hiring decision can be costly and damaging. Luckily, the critical attributes for a good AA are measurable with online employment assessments. Armed with objective, actionable information from a targeted assessment, you can ensure your next administrative assistant will be a great addition to your organization.

Search for Administrative Assistant pre-employment assessments in our test catalog to help you find a great hire for this important position.