As we celebrate Administrative Professional Day, here is some history on the event:


Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals Day (Wednesday, April 25) call attention to the important workplace role of administrative professionals. The theme of the 2012 Administrative Professionals Week is “Admins, the pulse of the office.” This year marks the 60th anniversary of Administrative Professionals Day and Week, which began in 1952 as "National Secretaries Week" by the National Secretaries Association (now known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals) in conjunction with public relations executive Harry Klemfuss and a consortium of office product manufacturers. It was established as an effort to recognize secretaries for their contributions in the workplace, and to attract people to secretarial/administrative careers. IAAP remains the sole official sponsor of this annual event.

Over the six decades since the start of Administrative Professionals Week, the job of an administrative professional has changed dramatically thanks to new tools, techniques and seismic shifts in the economy and culture itself. But admins have remained the steady center of efficiency through it all, helping ensure that jobs get done right, on time and under budget.

Admins are one of the engines of business, particularly in a complex economy. In a world that demands the accurate and speedy movement of digital information, admins are masters of data. And they do this while maintaining their more traditional role as the gatekeepers for many customers, clients and employees. Quite simply, admins are the pulse of the office.
IAAP recommends that employers observe Administrative Professionals Week by providing education and training to administrative staff through seminars, continuing education and self-study materials.

A Large and Growing Profession

• Today, there are more than 4.1 million secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States, and 8.9 million people working in various administrative support roles. (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
• 476,000 administrative professionals are employed in Canada, including 365,670 secretaries, 26,390 executive assistants and 84,140 clerical supervisors. (Statistics Canada)
• 362,000 administrative assistant and secretarial positions will be added in the U.S. between 2008 and 2018, representing growth of 8.5 percent. More than 82,000 office supervisor positions will be added. (U.S. Dept. of Labor)

The Heart of Modern Business Administrative professionals have an impact on nearly every facet of the world’s modern economy.

• A wide range of industries were represented in IAAP’s most recent skills benchmarking survey. The top three, representing 39 percent of the total, are “education/training,” “government” and “healthcare.” The top 10 were filled out by “Manufacturing,” “non-profit,” “finance/banking,” “insurance,” “utilities,” “engineering/architecture” and “technology.” The remainder were distributed across 15 other choices.
• Nearly half of all administrative professionals work for national or international companies. The rest work for local, state or regional employers.
• Almost 60 percent of all admins work for companies with 1,000 or more employees.

Typical duties of today’s administrative professionals include:

• Prepare documents, correspondence and presentations
• Produce spreadsheet reports
• Coordinate multiple schedules and calendars
• Maintain computer files, directories and databases
• Plan meetings and special events
• Purchase office equipment and supplies and work with vendors
• Participate on, or even lead, project teams
• Interview, orient and supervise other staff
• Conduct Internet research
• Train managers and co-workers on latest software
• Integrate new office tools
• Manage social networks and other websites

Portrait of An Administrative Professional According to IAAP’s 2011 Administrative Professional Skills Benchmarking Survey report, the typical administrative professional…

…is a 45-year-old woman.
…has at least an associate’s degree from a college or university.
…holds the title of “administrative assistant” or “executive assistant.”
…has at least 15 years of work experience.
…supports at least 3 managers and/or executives.
…works for a company with at least 500 employees.
…earns an hourly wage equal to about $45,000 a year.
…is responsible for troubleshooting office software and training others how to use it.
…makes purchasing decisions worth about $15,000 a year for their office.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/Brake/WhosIn.htm


We are happy to support the "Go Orange" campaign to improve traffic safety.

Here at K&D Services we are proud to support "Work Zone Safety Week."

Here is some advice from our good friends at the Washington State Department of Transportation:

Support the men and women working to improve your highways, roadways and
streets by Going Orange for Work Zone Safety Week. These workers could be
your family, friends, or the neighbor down the street. Help us encourage
everyone to pay attention in work zones and help save lives. 


Go Orange for Work Zone Safety kicks off April 23. There
isn’t one just one way to Go Orange for Work Zone Safety. Wear orange, find your
favorite orange symbol. Just be creative and have fun. See how some went orange in 2011.



 "Don't Barrel Through Work Zones! Drive Smart to Arrive
Alive"
  
       2012 National Work Zone Awareness Week, April
23-27

Post or send a photos on the Go  Orange
for Work Zone Safety photo gallery or tell us why you are Going Orange
  on the WSDOT
Facebook page.