What does an Administrative Associate do?
An administrative associate is responsible for performing various tasks such as handling and processing paperwork, attending meetings and preparing minutes, responding to inquiries and other forms of correspondence, keeping accurate records, updating databases, and monitoring the company's financial activities. They also communicate with various department personnel, ensuring coordination should any important matter would arise. Furthermore, as an administrative associate, they are in charge of procuring supplies, implementing company policies, and supporting any staff members if needed.
Administrative associate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real administrative associate resumes:
- Manage consultants' calendar, arrange travel, paid bills via QuickBooks software.
- Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
- Enter invoices in QuickBooks and P2P.
- Fulfill medical record requests from patients, providers and insurance companies in a HIPAA compliant way.
- Prepare PowerPoint presentations and address day to day general operations and office procedures.
- Prepare PowerPoint & other digital media for presentations that are distributed to upper management.
- Collect data and prepare performance appraisals and payroll for bi-weekly and monthly employee's annual/probationary evaluations.
- Administer to register emergency room patients efficiently and accurately by inputting their information into the e-care database system.
- Perform payroll/personnel record processing including preparation of bi- weekly payrolls, PTO reconciliations and payroll record maintenance forms.
- Implement a solution for staffing restructure that reduce overall salary expense while maintaining productivity for a rehabilitation inpatient nursing unit.
- Adjust time clock punches in KRONOS, and adjust schedule as needed.
- Enter time edit slips and off site location time sheets for the branch into KRONOS.
- Perform assessment of case and independent corrections/updates to DMV records as determined through customer contact and research.
- Service delivery includes driver, dealer, motor carrier, vehicle registration and titling, tax collection and other DMV services.
- Assess urgency and priorities before accepting or declining appointments and meetings with the CIO.
Administrative associate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Administrative Associates are proficient in Administrative Tasks, Purchase Orders, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Administrative Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Administrative Tasks, 12%
Supported Counsels, two Office Directors, Director of International Relations and Manager of Political Programs by performing administrative tasks.
- Purchase Orders, 10%
General administrative duties included authorizing, processing, approving and monitoring expenses related to all purchase orders and travel documents.
- Customer Service, 10%
Administrated statewide conversion to Cardinal Health ambulatory medical supply procurement module providing customer service to 160 ambulatory practice locations in Colorado.
- Telephone Calls, 9%
Maintain financial records and prepare preliminary budget estimate* Make and receive telephone calls regarding customer questions including appointment scheduling.
- Travel Arrangements, 9%
Exercised additional support including calendar management, telephone coverage, travel arrangements, expense reports, presentations, and performance reports.
- Patients, 8%
Supported medical doctors, managed sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
Most administrative associates use their skills in "administrative tasks," "purchase orders," and "customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential administrative associate responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for an administrative associate to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what administrative associates do because "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Additionally, an administrative associate resume shows how administrative associates use interpersonal skills: "scheduled patients, scheduled recalls, strong interaction with doctors patients, excellent interpersonal and communication skills. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling administrative associate duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently." According to an administrative associate resume, here's how administrative associates can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "interacted with clients and utilized excellent organizational skills to arrange and coordinate doctor appointments and tests. "
Writing skills. administrative associates are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to administrative associate responsibilities, because "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." An administrative associate resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "assisted with writing sops for office procedures and policies and distribute on sharepoint site when required. "
The three companies that hire the most administrative associates are:
- Highmark40 administrative associates jobs
- Stanford University39 administrative associates jobs
- Lahey Health Behavioral Services
28 administrative associates jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable administrative associate resume templates
Build a professional administrative associate resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your administrative associate resume.
Compare different administrative associates
Administrative associate vs. Secretary
Secretaries are employees who are responsible for many of the administrative needs of the office. They are usually assigned to executives or to a specific department. They manage schedules and appointments, often handling the calendar in the office. They are also responsible for keeping files organized, whether physical or digital copies. During office meetings, secretaries are in charge of documenting the minutes of the meeting and highlighting the action steps that need to be taken. They may also be assigned to check on concerned departments who need to present deliverables in the next office meeting.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between administrative associates and secretary. For instance, administrative associate responsibilities require skills such as "patients," "data entry," "medical terminology," and "patient care." Whereas a secretary is skilled in "secretarial support," "office procedures," "routine correspondence," and "hr." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Secretaries really shine in the government industry with an average salary of $46,574. Comparatively, administrative associates tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $41,923.The education levels that secretaries earn slightly differ from administrative associates. In particular, secretaries are 4.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an administrative associate. Additionally, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Administrative associate vs. Department secretary
A department secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to a specific department, ensuring smooth operations to maintain high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Department secretaries should have excellent knowledge of office management principles, especially on data processing procedures and customer service processes. They handle the scheduling of meetings and conferences, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, directing visitors to the appropriate personnel and department, sorting files, and submitting business transactions and financial reports. A department secretary also recommends strategic procedures to generate more revenues and increase the company's profitability.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, administrative associate responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "eagle," "phone calls," "excellent organizational," and "financial transactions." Meanwhile, a department secretary has duties that require skills in areas such as "secretarial support," "hr," "emr," and "radiology." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Department secretaries earn a higher average salary than administrative associates. But department secretaries earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $36,935. Additionally, administrative associates earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $41,923 annually.In general, department secretaries achieve similar levels of education than administrative associates. They're 4.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Administrative associate vs. Assistant/clinic administrator
An assistant/clinic administrator is in charge of overseeing the daily operations in clinics or similar establishments. It is their duty to set goals and guidelines, manage budgets and schedules, supervise medical staff, and develop strategies to optimize operations. They may also perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports and presentations, maintaining records, handling calls and correspondence, organizing meetings, and liaising with external parties such as suppliers and vendors. Furthermore, an assistant/clinic administrator must encourage the workforce to reach goals while implementing the clinic's policies and regulations.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an administrative associate is likely to be skilled in "purchase orders," "medical terminology," "eagle," and "scheduling appointments," while a typical assistant/clinic administrator is skilled in "cpr," "appointment scheduling," "vital signs," and "triage."
When it comes to education, assistant/clinic administrators tend to earn similar degree levels compared to administrative associates. In fact, they're 3.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Administrative associate vs. Executive administrator
An executive administrator is responsible for assisting the senior management staff in planning strategies and analyzing business decisions to achieve the company's goals and objectives. Executive administrators schedule meetings and handle appointments, as well as helping with the implementation of training and programs for the employees to reach their maximum operational potential and increase productivity to meet projects' demands and ensure the highest customer satisfaction. They must have exceptional time-management and organizational skills, especially on performing administrative and clerical duties as needed, as well as excellent communication skills to respond to clients' inquiries, concerns, and requests.
Types of administrative associate
Updated January 8, 2025
