Experiences, Challenges and Training Needs of Administrative Assistants: Basis for Professional Enhancement Program

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

McGehee and Thayer (1961) believe that training needs come from underdeveloped skills, insufficient knowledge or inappropriate worker attitudes. Mager and Pipe (1979) define training needs as identified differences between the employees' current performance and the performance that the organization expects of them.

METHODS

The study was conducted to develop a professional enhancement program for administrative assistants (ADAS) of Sarangani division based on their experiences and training needs. The participants of the study were the regular permanent administrative assistants who are deployed in the division office. The method used in gathering data was a survey checklist questionnaire about their experiences encountered.

RESULTS

The study found that among the administrative skills, Office Management is the number one need of the participants. For communication skills, it came out that Grammar and Proofreading and Managing Difficult Customers ranked the top need. Managing Stress is also the number one need of the participants in terms of customer skills service. The study also found that ADAS personnel have experienced challenges in the workplace. Based on these findings, we point out that Training Needs Analysis (TNA) practice and research should: (a) be based exclusively on measurable human competences gaps, in multiple possible levels of analysis; (b) not focus only on individual professional roles, but also on internal and external contextual factors that can be important in the future.

DISCUSSIONS

This study suggests that employees should learn how to manage and reduce stress, both short-and-long term, is a big concern to work and to everyday life as well as learning basic first aid education and treatment procedures, as well as ensuring health, safety and welfare of people at work is also a skill aimed to be learned. With all of these in mind, a professional enhancement program was developed to address the training needs.