Organizational Skills are a Must Have

Many administrative professionals work on multiple projects simultaneously or provide support to more than one person, making excellent organization a must. Highly developed organizational skills can boost your performance, reduce the frequency of mistakes and improve your time management. Whether you are a new administrative assistant or a senior-level administrator, it pays to build solid and consistent organizational skills.

Office Organization

The organization of your office is a crucial factor in your success as an administrative worker. Clutter, misplaced supplies and an inefficient filing system make it difficult to do your job in a timely fashion. After all, it's hard to provide support to colleagues when you can't find the correct file. Because of the detail-oriented and multifaceted nature of many administrative positions, physical organizational skills are particularly important for success. No matter what your position, you must develop filing, storage and workspace layout systems that enable you to perform efficiently.

Prioritization

Depending on the nature of your job, you may receive requests and assignments from one person or an entire department. It is not uncommon for administrative workers to handle everything from employee questions to executive orders. At some point, you can expect to have to use your organizational skills to prioritize one project over another. A solid organizational system makes it easy to identify the projects that must be done first, whether it be for timeline reasons or the rank of the person requesting your help. Effective prioritization requires you to be aware of deadlines and to understand how a task fits into the company's overall operations. This is particularly important for administrative workers who serve in support roles that affect the operation of the company as a whole. When your work has the potential to hold up projects, organizational skills are a must.

Workflow Organization

Administrative professionals often work on numerous tasks over the course of one day, necessitating an organized workflow. On a daily and weekly basis, you must plan and implement a schedule that accommodates each item on your to-do list and allows enough time to complete each task by its deadline. Additionally, your schedule should complement your individual working style; if you often feel foggy in the mornings, leave travel planning or expense reports until later in the day. Excellent organizational skills enable you to develop a process that meshes well with your personal preferences and those of the organization. If you're new to a position, find a workflow organization that is simple and easy to implement and adjust it over time.

No matter where you are in your administrative career, organizational skills are crucial for professional success. By evaluating your personal working style and adapting it to an organizational system, you can become a more effective and more valuable employee.

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