Community Forum – Career Ladder for Admins

Do you have a career ladder for administrative assistants?

We are one of the largest consumer products companies with dual ladders for our technical professionals. Our administrative assistants are hired to support Managers, Directors, and VP’s etc. and graded based on their supervisor’s grade. If the supervisor gets promoted to the next level, the administrative assistant gets promoted to the next level. It is assumed that the higher up an executive goes, he/she requires progressively higher levels of administrative skills – which is not necessarily true. We do not have administrative career ladders in place and employees remain in the same job for decades or longer, becoming stagnant. Some of the administrative assistants are highly talented, motivated, and are very productive but the lack of a career progression across the company makes it difficult for them to get promoted. Some of them are well qualified to be in records management, compliance and other functions of the company. We would like to know how the career progression of administrative assistants is handled at other IRI member companies. Is there a career ladder for the administrative assistants of VP’s, Director’s etc.?

– HR Director, Large consumer products company

Your Responses

Response 1
We have 3 levels of administrative assistants:

– Level 1: Sr. Exec Admin, supports the research center VP
– Level 2: Exec Admin, supports directors, Sr. Fellows and managers that report direct to the VP
– Level: Admin Assistants, support the next level of managers & Fellows

– Department Leader, Human Resources, Global conglomerate

Response 2
Our system is very similar to the one described below.  Administrative positions are graded based on the job requirements.  Directors and below do not have dedicated assistants (generally they support several).  Executive Assistants (for VP and up) are at levels corresponding to the level of the executive they support (as described below).  Career advancement occurs primarily through the job posting system, where administrative vacancies are made available for candidates to apply for promotion opportunities.  There is no “ladder” that allows for administrative assistants to receive promotions in place driven by tenure or performance.  On occasion, some highly talented administrative assistants do get opportunities to advance by moving into exempt level positions.  I would not say that is common, but it is the way we encourage those who are motivated to advance.

– HR Manager, Large consumer products company

Response 3
The career progression for our Administrative Assistants follows the very same approach as indicated above, where their career progression is tied to the level of individual they support.

We have five levels:

Secretary – reports to lower level Manager
Sr Secretary – reports to Manager but all secretaries can progress up through this level
Executive Secretary – reports to Director
Executive Assistant – reports to VP
Administrator – Exec Office (salaried position) – reports to Exec Officer

We have had similar concerns in that many of the lower level Assistants feel that their talents are under-utilized and not recognized as some of the Assistants at the higher levels.  We re-evaluated our approach several years back but found that this was the most prevalent practice.

– HR Manager, Global consumer products company

Response 4
When it comes to a career ladder for administrative assistants, we are a fairly “flat” organization with only three levels for them. Therefore, a promotion for their managers does not automatically mean a promotion for them. There are opportunities for moving into other roles such as coordinator, specialist, etc. but this really depends on the AA’s career aspirations. These opportunities are discussed when the AA and his/her manager create the person’s development plan.

– Human Resources Business Partner, Large medical supplies company

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