How professionals can develop the skills required for success in business administration

 

When hiring new business administrators, the pressure is on the recruiting team to hire someone with an outstanding work ethic and all the vital skills to push the company’s goals and objectives.

So, if you are pursuing your dream of becoming a successful business administrator, you must have the expertise and experience to thrive in the position. However, most importantly, you must possess some essential qualities to deliver your mandate efficiently and effectively.

Being a sought-after business administrator requires you to have the solid core skills highly prioritized in the job market. Companies need people who can manage their daily operations and provide oversight of company goals.

Therefore, as an ambitious professional, this article is a must-read as it breaks down all the vital skills you must possess to be a successful administrator in the business world. It also outlines several tips for developing and nurturing them over time.

What are business administration skills?

Business administration skills are qualities business professionals must incorporate into their daily operations to ensure they undertake their organizational responsibilities efficiently and effectively. These skills help them undertake various daily activities to achieve organizational goals and objectives.

Business administrative skills are of two types; hard and soft. Soft skills entail personality traits and habits, and hard skills relate to the technical abilities required to undertake particular tasks.

How a business administration degree can prepare you for success

A business administration degree is one of the most innovative career choices. The degree dominates the list of the most in-demand courses as they prepare one for a wide range of high-paying careers across multiple work environments.

By undertaking the degree course from a reputable university, such as St. Bonaventure University online, you acquire skills that will help you execute the day-to-day operations of the businesses.

As a student, you may ask yourself a vital question: How long does it take to get MBA online? Well, you can complete your degree program in less than two years.

St. Bonaventure University online offers a flexible schedule that allows you to balance your education and career. They provide customized options and allow students to study according to their availability.

Possible career paths with a business administration degree

A business administration degree program is designed to offer students a solid academic foundation in core business functions, such as accounting, general business administration, project management, finance, human resources, information technology, marketing, accounting, and international business.

These flexible competencies enable students to venture into different fields upon graduation, such as the following:

• Sales manager
• Chief executive officer
• Accountant
• Business manager
• Business consultant
• Chief operating officer
• Financial analyst
• Data analyst
• Market research analyst
• Human resource specialist
• Loan officer
• Business consultant

Vital business administration skills for a successful career

Whether you are leading your venture or are looking for an administration post in a professional organization, there are some business skills that you must possess to manage daily business operations and oversee organizational goals. With the specialized skills discussed below, you can quickly progress in your career and attain your goals.

Communication skills

Communication is one of the most valued skills in today’s workplace. Effective communication means knowing how to negotiate, listen, persuade, and build harmony.

As a leader, you must communicate ideas to the stakeholders, investors, and partners transparently and precisely to maintain their trust and keep them engaged in the organization’s growth.

Good communication skills also enable you to develop active listening, which is vital, especially when dealing with your colleagues. It is more than just hearing what team members have to say. It also entails paying close attention, reflecting on what has been said, and understanding the speaker’s emotions.

When employees see that their opinions are heard, they feel appreciated and encouraged to speak their minds and contribute toward company performance.

Technological skill

Today’s technologically advanced era requires modern business professionals to familiarize themselves with technology. At the very least, business professionals should be able to operate a computer, have an adept understanding of office management software, and perform basic troubleshooting operations.

They should also be familiar with database management to perform tasks such as filing, organizing, updating, and retrieving company data.

Problem-solving and analytical thinking

Problem-solving and analytical thinking skills are vital for your business administrative career. They enable you to evaluate business data and processes, develop strategies to solve challenges and make the right data-based decisions.

You also analyze a situation and identify the root cause of the problem before deciding on the best cause of action. Through trend assessment, you also identify potential strategies to improve business processes.

Administrative skills

In every department, employees good at record keeping and oversight operations are valued as they ensure processes run smoothly and the rest of the team works efficiently and becomes more productive. Their ability to file, retrieve, and manage files and receipts makes them brilliant business administrators.

Administrative skills also entail the ability to manage time. You understand the art of prioritizing tasks, setting deadlines, and ensuring jobs are done on time.

Customer service

Customers are the most valuable assets in any organization. Therefore, offering exceptional customer care service should be a priority. A business administrator with excellent customer care service listens to customer concerns and queries with courtesy and empathy.

They offer the response in a way that makes customers feel right and valued, which drives the company toward building a solid client-company relationship.

When customers are happy and satisfied, they keep their account with the company and refer them to friends and family. So, possessing excellent customer service is a valuable skill that helps businesses maintain a strong customer service culture that enables them to grow their revenue base.

Attention to detail

Attention to detail helps business administrators allocate their cognitive resources effectively to maintain accuracy and thoroughness when undertaking tasks. In business, things that are seen as insignificant are often the ones that make or break a project.

Therefore, a business professional should be patient and pay attention to minor things, no matter how small or insignificant. They review a project or proposal, read it carefully, and pause to think and plan before rushing to a conclusion.

Utilizing attention-to-detail skills leads to quality work, meeting deadlines, and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.

Organizational skills

Business administrators are responsible for ensuring organizational operations run smoothly. It is at this point that their managerial skills come to play. They maintain order in the workplace by undertaking tasks such as developing filing and data management systems, establishing methodologies for completing projects on time, and doing quality assurance for ongoing projects. Being organized ensures the business runs smoothly, reduces time wastage, and increases productivity.

Social media management

Modern entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the numerous benefits social media platforms bring to their businesses. They use platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, among others, to connect with over 4.2 million people using the media, share information in real time, and market their products and services.

Without a doubt, social media platforms are a gold mine, and as a business administrator, you must use these platforms to generate leads. So understanding when to create targeted ads with special offers, share testimonials as social proof, host a virtual event, or monitor social media conversations is vital in converting leads into customers and increasing sales.

Teamwork and collaboration

For organizations to achieve their business goals, teams must be on the same page. As a business administrator, you should have the skills to offer team leadership by leading the project, assigning tasks, resolving conflicts, building relationships, assessing the situation and taking action, and developing solutions.

To develop these skills, you must be an active listener to understand the needs of your team fully, ask questions, and encourage open dialogue to gain a deeper understanding of the project as a team.

It would be best if you fostered collaboration by creating an environment in which every team member works harmoniously with others toward a common goal. Focusing on achieving results as a team instead of concentrating on individual performance is also beneficial.

Project management and decision making

To succeed in business administration, you must have two critical skills: project management and decision making. These skills will help you assess needs, set goals, and manage resources.

You will also be able to analyze situations, identify risks, look at the benefits and risks of various solutions, create a plan of action, implement the most viable solution, and track results.

You also learn the art of making the right decisions. You understand that making decisions entails realizing what is supposed to be done, when it should be done, and who should take up the task. It means developing analytical skills and bringing your creative side to brainstorm solutions.

Negotiation and consensus-building skill

Every business administrator must master the art of negotiation and consensus building. This can only be achieved if they negotiate objectively, listen keenly, stay focused on the ultimate goals, and use persuasive language while remaining clear on what they want.

Sometimes, business administrators have to make crucial business decisions, and coming to a consensus is the only option. In such a case, the administrator needs to keep all parties involved and informed, ensure transparency throughout the process, and ensure every party understands how the decision will affect the organization.

Consensus building can be a challenge, but with the right skills, you can drive both parties into making the best decision that will see business operations move on smoothly.

Adaptability and flexibility

Business administrators must be adaptable and flexible if they are to succeed in their careers. Adaptability enables them to change themselves to adapt to the new environment.

In a work environment culture, it means being open to new ideas and innovations and being able to work in a group or independently. They quickly see the need for change and adapt to the unique situation.

Today’s employer is happy with such employees as it shows they can adapt to new technology and trends, especially as customer needs are ever-changing. Additionally, the employee can perform various assignments, implement multiple tasks, and quickly align with the latest business culture.

Tips on how to develop and nurture business administration skills

Business administration is highly competitive, and candidates compete fiercely for the available positions.

Therefore, you must give yourself an edge in the job market by honing your skills.

• Advance your education

Enrolling for a business administration degree is a brilliant idea if you are ready to take your career to the next level. If you are employed, consider registering for an online degree, as it is flexible and you can study even around your busy schedule.

Advancing your education may give you a higher level of training than many of your peers. It will set you apart from the rest of the job seekers, and the higher credentials will help you prove your worth in the job market.

• Keep your business knowledge updated

You must constantly improve your business knowledge to succeed in your administrative career. Today, numerous online and offline materials offer in-depth analyses of business aspects, such as finance, marketing, and human resources.

• Participate in projects

If you are employed, you can develop your administrative skills by assisting managers and other employees overloaded with tasks and projects. Be on the lookout for managers and employees who need extra hands, as you will enhance your skills while increasing productivity in your workplace.

If you are unemployed, offering administrative assistance in a community organization, an NGO, or a school is a great place to start. You can even land a job if the management are impressed with your hard work and dedication.

When participating in these projects, pay attention to details and ask questions if you need help understanding something. Collaborate with the rest of the members and participate in teamwork, as you will learn a lot from your peers and seniors.

• Take on new challenges

To develop and nurture your business administrative skills, you must leave your comfort zone and take on new challenges. If you remain comfortable in your current position, you will never learn of new developments, especially in the rapidly changing business environment.

Take a step forward and ask your manager to assign you more complex tasks, demand a more diverse assignment, or ask to join a challenging project within the organization. When undertaking these problematic tasks, you will broaden your mind and bring your creativity to play.

You will also brainstorm as a team and exchange ideas, which will ultimately go a long way in building your career.

• Practice on your own

Practicing some of skills at home alone is also a brilliant move. Spending your day off reorganizing your kitchen, closet, or finances and making a list of things to do and labeling them in order of priority are brilliant ways of maximizing your organizational capabilities.

You can also try different communication channels with your family members and see how each effectively delivers the message. Alternatively, you can list tasks you must do in a day and allocate time for each.

Managing each task within the given time is an excellent way of honing your time management skills. After trying these techniques at home, apply them to the workplace. You can be sure that you will make your managers happy.

• Find a mentor

Once you identify a mentor (they can be a senior colleague or manager), they will provide guidance and reinforce the business administrative skills you have and make you more self-assured in all your business interactions.

They will help you learn skills beyond the classroom, such as leadership practices. They will help you cultivate these skills one-on-one and in real time, which will reduce any anxiety in taking significant steps.

They will also provide different perspectives, offer a different set of questions, and pass on in-depth organizational knowledge they have gained over the years.

Without a doubt, business administration is one of the best career paths as it offers a variety of career opportunities. However, the field requires many skills, such as problem-solving, communication, organization, technology, and attention to detail.

To develop and sharpen these skills, you must embrace learning new concepts and techniques, take up more challenges, find a mentor and network with other industry professionals, and be zealous about practicing independently.

Honing these skills will make you a sought-after business administrator whose skills and expertise will help businesses achieve their bottom line quickly. You will be able to develop skills over time and manage projects more efficiently, build strong relationships with fellow employees, delegate tasks effectively, and meet set goals on time.