Administrative services managers work throughout private industry and government, and their range of duties is broad. They coordinate and direct supportive services, which may include secretarial and correspondence; administration; preparation of payrolls; conference planning and travel; information processing; mail; facilities management; materials scheduling and distribution; printing and reproduction; records management; telecommunications management; personal property procurement, supply, and disposal; data processing; library; food; security; and parking.
In small firms, one administrative services manager may oversee all supportive services. In larger firms, however, administrative services managers work within the same managerial hierarchy as other managers. Supervisory-level, or first-line, managers report to their mid-level counterparts who, in turn, report to proprietors or top-level managers. These managers such as the vice president or director of administration are included in the Handbook statement on general managers and top executives.
Supervisory-level administrative services managers directly oversee supervisors or staffs involved in supportive services. Mid-level managers develop overall plans, set goals and deadlines, develop procedures to direct and improve supportive services, define the responsibilities of supervisory-level managers, and delegate authority. They often are involved in the hiring and dismissal of employees but generally have no role in the formulation of personnel policy.
As the size of the firm increases, administrative services managers increasingly specialize in one or more supportive services activities. For example, administrative services managers may work primarily as facilities managers, office managers, contract administrators, property managers, or unclaimed property officers. In some cases, the duties of these administrative services managers are quite similar to those of other managers and supervisors, some of whom are discussed in other Handbook statements.
Administrative services managers who specialize in facilities management engage in facilities planning, including buying, selling, or leasing facilities; redesign work areas to be more efficient and ergonomic (user-friendly); ensure that facilities comply with government regulations; and supervise maintenance, grounds, and custodial staffs. In some firms, these workers are called facilities managers, and may work in facilities management departments.
Administrative services managers who work as office managers oversee supervisors of large clerical staffs. In small firms, however, clerical supervisors who are discussed in the Handbook statement on clerical supervisors and managers perform this function. Administrative services managers who work as contract administrators direct the preparation, analysis, negotiation, and review of contracts related to the purchase or sale of equipment, materials, supplies, products, or services. However, procurement functions are generally directed by purchasing agents and managers, also discussed in a separate Handbook statement.
Property management is divided into the management and use of personal property such as office supplies, an administrative services management function, and real property management, a function of property and real estate managers who are discussed elsewhere in the Handbook. Personal property managers acquire, distribute, and store supplies, and sometimes sell or dispose of surplus property. Some property managers are engaged solely in surplus property disposal, the resale of scraps, rejects, and other unneeded supplies and machinery, which is an increasingly important source of revenue for many organizations. In government, surplus property officers may acquire and then sell or dispose of government property.
Other administrative services managers oversee unclaimed property disposal. In government, this activity includes locating owners of unclaimed liquid assets such as stocks, bonds, savings accounts, and the contents of safe deposit boxes and locating owners of, or auctioning off, unclaimed personal property such as motor vehicles.
Some administrative services managers run their own management consulting firms.
Administrative services managers generally work in comfortable offices. However, since their duties involve a wide range of activities, they must maintain regular contact with personnel in other departments, and working conditions may vary. In small firms, for instance, they may work alongside the supervisors and staffs they oversee, and the office area may be crowded and noisy.
Their work can be stressful, as they attempt to schedule work to meet deadlines. Although the 40-hour week is standard, uncompensated overtime is often required to resolve problems. Managers involved in contract administration and personal property procurement, use, and disposal may travel extensively between home offices, branch offices, vendors' offices, and property sales sites. Facilities managers who are responsible for the design of work spaces may spend time at construction sites. Facilities managers also may monitor the work of maintenance, grounds, or custodial staffs, and often travel between different facilities.
Administrative services managers held about 226,000 jobs in 1992. Over two-fifths worked in services industries, including management, business, social, and health services organizations. Others were found in virtually every other industry. A few run their own management services, management consulting, or facilities support services firms.
Many administrative services managers advance through the ranks in an organization, acquiring several years' work experience in various administrative services before assuming supervisory duties. For example, managers who oversee clerical supervisors should be familiar with office procedures and equipment and have a working knowledge of word processing, communications, data processing, and recordkeeping. Facilities managers often have a background in architecture, engineering, construction, interior design, or real estate, in addition to managerial or other administrative experience. Managers of personal property acquisition and disposal need experience in purchasing and sales and knowledge of a wide variety of supplies, machinery, and equipment. Managers concerned with supply, inventory, and distribution must be experienced in receiving, warehousing, packaging, shipping, transportation, and related operations. Contract administrators may have worked as contract specialists, cost analysts, or procurement specialists. Managers of unclaimed property often have experience in claims analysis and records management.
Educational requirements vary widely. For supervisory-level administrative services managers of secretarial, mail room, and related administrative support activities, many employers prefer an associate of arts degree in business or management, although a high school diploma may suffice. For managers of audiovisual, graphics, and other more technical activities, postsecondary technical school training is preferred. For managers of highly complex services such as contract administration, a bachelor's degree, preferably in business administration or finance, is usually required. The curriculum should include courses in office technology, accounting, business mathematics, computer applications, and business law. Similarly, facilities managers often need a bachelor's degree in engineering, interior design, or business administration. Some administrative services managers have advanced degrees. Whatever the manager's duties, his or her educational background must be accompanied by work experience reflecting demonstrated ability.
Persons interested in becoming administrative services managers should be able to communicate and establish effective working relationships with many different people managers, supervisors, professionals, clerks, and blue-collar workers. They should be analytical, detail-oriented, flexible, and decisive. The ability to coordinate several activities and to quickly analyze and resolve specific problems is important. Ability to work under stress and cope with deadlines is also important.
Advancement is easier in large firms that employ several levels of administrative services managers. Attainment of the Certified Administrative Manager (CAM) designation, through work experience and successful completion of examinations offered by the Academy of Administrative Management, can increase one's advancement opportunities. A bachelor's degree enhances a supervisory-level manager's opportunities to advance to a mid-level management position, such as director of administrative services, and eventually to a top-level management position, such as executive vice president for administrative services, in one's own or a larger firm. Those with the required capital and experience can establish their own management consulting, management services, or facilities support services firm.
Employment of administrative services managers is expected to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations through the year 2005. Moreover, the occupation is characterized by relatively low turnover similar to other managerial occupations and relatively few of the administrative services managers who leave their jobs leave the profession permanently. These factors, coupled with the ample supply of competent, experienced workers seeking managerial jobs, should result in keen competition for administrative services management positions in the coming years.
Although administrative services are becoming more complex, many firms are increasingly contracting out administrative services and otherwise streamlining these functions in an effort to cut costs. Corporate restructuring has tempered growth of administrative services managers in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue.
As it becomes more common for firms to contract out administrative services, however, demand for administrative services managers will increase in management services, management consulting, and facilities support services firms to which these services are contracted out. In addition, some types of administrative services managers may grow more quickly than others. Facilities managers, a relatively young and quickly growing occupation, may not be subject to the same cost-cutting pressures as other administrative services managers. Also, the extent to which governments at all levels, particularly Federal, contract out for goods and services could affect demand for contract administrators and personal property managers.
According to a salary survey by the A.M.S. Foundation (Administrative Management Society), building services/facilities managers averaged about $48,000 a year in 1993; office/administrative services managers, over $40,000; and records managers, about $35,000. Average salaries ranged from $28,000 for the lowest paid records managers to $58,000 for the highest paid building services/facilities managers.
In the Federal Government, contract specialists in nonsupervisory, supervisory, and managerial positions averaged $43,800 a year in 1993; facilities managers, $42,600; administrative officers, $42,100; industrial property managers, $41,300; property disposal specialists, $38,300; and support services administrators, $32,900.
Administrative services managers direct and coordinate supportive services and oversee the purchase, use, and disposal of personal property. Occupations with similar functions include administrative assistants, appraisers, buyers, clerical supervisors, contract specialists, cost estimators, procurement services managers, property and real estate managers, purchasing managers, marketing and sales managers, and personnel managers.
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Reprinted with Permission of U. S. Department of Labor