Juliet was right, what matters is what something is or does …
not what it is called.
If only we could change the narrative around how people working in the Administrative Profession are viewed? There are over 160 different titles for the positions available within the industry. However, it seems that recruitment agencies, HR Leaders, Executives and Organisations continually undervalue the experience required for the roles they are advertising.
How can one recruiter advertise an EA to CEO position paying AUD 85k and then another announces an EA to CEO paying AUD 130k? There is a disconnect between the functions of the role and the title given. And while titles are essential to define career paths, it seems that they are bandied about with no clear guide as to what these roles entail.
“Position titles are a crucial element as to how the business world operates. Yet, the careers of many administrative professionals, roughly 1/5th of the world's employed population, are defined by job titles and descriptions that are inaccurate, ambiguous and varied within organisations and across the globe”
World Administrators Alliance September 2021
A job title means nothing if the skills, tasks and salary don’t truly represent the role level within the business. There is too much focus on the ‘name’ and not the ‘is’ or ‘does’ of the role, and there is little to no investment in education and supporting career development. When was the last time your administrative team, (inclusive of the receptionist and office manager), were provided with an annual training and development budget? All too many times, I hear the same refrain ‘Oh sorry, only the sales team get a training budget’. Why do organisations feel that the admin team, who underpin all the operational aspects of a business, are not worthy of investing in and further developing their careers?
