Course Outcomes

This communication course for administrative assistants will:

  • Address how the administrative professional’s role has changed and at the same time remained the same over the last sixty years.
  • Explore personal branding and how actions, attitudes, and appearance are the three cornerstones of reputation management.
  • Suggest a process for getting on the same page with supervisors.
  • Offer ideas for communicating with assertiveness.
  • Outline the 17 characteristics team players share and how to leverage each in an administrative role.

Course Overview

A competent administrative professional can mean the difference between a workplace that runs smoothly and one that suffers from dysfunction, disorganization, or worse. Top administrative assistants know the technical aspects of the job, and they possess superior communication skills. This course focuses on the latter and addresses the people skills strong administrators should cultivate. During the program, we’ll explore a range of important topics: what’s expected and how administrators add value, reputation management, assertive communication, team dynamics and how to be a strong team player, and solutions to a range of common workplace communication challenges.
 

Program Objectives

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:
 
  • Describe how the administrative professional’s role has and hasn’t changed over time.
  • Explain the importance of reputation management and professional presence on the job.
  • Get on the same page with the people they support and establish a formal and informal communication plan.
  • Practice assertive communication in the workplace.
  • Recognize the characteristics of an effective team player.
  • Identify specific actions they can take to improve their team’s effectiveness.

The following outline highlights some of the course’s key learning points. As part of your training program, we will modify content as needed to meet your business objectives. Upon request, we will provide you with a copy of the participant materials prior to the session(s). 

Workshop Outline

Constant Change: A Good Admin Is a Good Admin

This course begins with a discussion around the changes administrative assistants have experienced over the years and the themes that have remained constant, regardless of technological changes, demographic shifts, and other workplace evolutions.
 

Managing What Others See: Choosing and Communicating a Brand

In part two of this workshop, we will explore the idea of personal branding and the importance of identifying personal values and a workplace reputation target. Participants will look at how their actions, attitude, and appearance contribute to how they and their brand are perceived.
  

Getting on the Same Page: Deciding What Matters

As their title suggests, administrative assistants assist someone or in some cases multiple someones. This portion of the course discusses the importance of getting on the same page with the person or people supported and how to do it. We’ll examine formal and informal ways of communicating, asking for feedback, and establishing routines.
 

The Assertiveness Advantage: Positioning Messages

Great administrative professionals know how to assertively present their ideas, stand up for themselves, and represent the people they support in a professional manner. In this workshop segment, participants will complete a scenario-based assertiveness assessment. Following that activity, we will look at such tools as “I” messages and reflective listening and how to use them for better workplace communication.
 

Team Player: Being Part of a Group

This part of the program looks at the administrative professional’s role on a team. First, we’ll examine 17 characteristics effective team members share. Next, we will talk about specific actions admins can take to increase a team’s productivity and its members’ ability to communicate effectively internally and externally.
 

Dear Admin: Solving a Range of Challenges

This final workshop segment looks at more than a dozen challenging scenarios. Working in groups, participants will assume the role of problem-solver and create solutions to some common and not-so-common workplace problems.
 
By the end of this interactive seminar, participants should understand how to be successful communicators and team players in their roles as administrative assistants.