Globally, a fourth industrial revolution, called Industry 4.0, is taking place. 

This means more and more companies are becoming automated and mechanized, replacing as many employees with their robotic counterparts. 

This also means human skills have become more service-oriented, i.e., the workforce is steadily shifting to service industries and the skills that are tailored to it. 

Thus, vocational training is also being provided based on those needs. One of the most important service jobs in the corporate world is the role played by an administrative officer or an office manager. 

Though it seems menial at first, upon inspection, it reveals a set of challenging decisions that need to be made quickly and by an expert. 

This proves that it is no easy feat and requires diligent thinking. We will look at what administrative management is, key strategies of the job, digital tools that are necessary for efficiency, and finally a recommended software. 

What is administrative management?

Administrative management or office management is the process by which an organization has its information streamlined by a supervisor or a team of supervisors, monitoring the entire process. 

The main function of this type of management is to ensure information is passed on and communicated in the right places and at the right time. 

Through the storage of that data, users can retrieve, analyze, and edit the data to contribute to the corporation. 

In short, it is a simplified process that is methodical and meticulous in nature, all intended to be the perfect recipient and sender of data in various packets to various destinations. 

The skills that are learned in administrative management prepare you to be executive assistants, and individuals acquire skills that are transferable to almost any other corporate segment. 

Thus, professionals have a wide safety net if they choose to change career routes. 

Thus, office managers and potential recruits need a set of basic skills to be an effective conduit of information and not to halt production or cause mishaps. 

They must also be knowledgeable regarding computers and the basics needed to operate them, to optimize matters for every party involved. 

Key strategies for effective administrative management

In the market, many different strategies are used to achieve the targets set by the leaders. 

The goal is to ensure a smooth way of transferring information from one person to another so that from a centralized database, data can be collected, analyzed, and thoroughly assessed. 

Here are the six essential features for effective administrative management:

1. Detailed planning: Managers must be on the lookout for even the smallest of errors, such as a missing signature or an unprofessional spelling error on a document. This attention to detail comes in handy when planning short term and long term goals for the company. The targets or the objectives for each project must be evident to all employees associated with said projects. Information channels must not be saturated, or else there will be widespread confusion. Creating a list of feasible goals by a certain time and monitoring the progress of your workforce will result in a higher success rate for the firm. 

2. Regular evaluations: By arranging and holding meetings with senior management, such as directors, executives, or other higher-ups, information regarding the statistics generated can be presented to these people. This will open a discussion of strategic planning, and these meetings should be held every month. If it is a more grueling job or one which requires fast results with fast changes being deployed in a smaller time interval, then meetings can be held on a weekly basis as well. This keeps profit margins wide for investors and shareholders. 

3. Tracking the company’s processes: Establish a number of indicators of success or failure rate by setting criteria for each employee and team, respectively. Then the job is to monitor and follow those indicators and see how their results turn up. Maintenance and subsequent improvement of those results by identifying and correcting mistakes in the relevant areas is another important skill. Action plans must be suggested after justifying negative results using reports on the data. This way, larger ramifications of the problem can be avoided as the issue is identified, and the solution is implemented early on. 

4. Clear communication: Office gossip and banter is one of the most harmful things that take place in a workspace. This can have adverse effects on individuals, which need to be carefully reduced. There have to be clear boundaries set up between employees so that nobody is discouraged from working too hard. This ensures that profitability is maintained at higher rates than ever before. Often, misinformation tends to be spread, which can bring confusion as to what the goals of the organization are and how they intend to achieve them. 

5. Scheduling and routine planning: Handling paperwork amid a flurry of various small tasks can seem daunting. A set number of hours must be assigned to such a routine system, or else the paperwork will pile up. Any and all forms of paperwork, whether it be in physical or digital form, must be either prioritized or dealt with immediately, or flagged away in a suitable spot for further examination later. Other menial tasks such as filing, shipping, or bookkeeping may be automated by specialized software to avoid losses in time. Getting habituated to make social media posts, update accounts, or returning non-priority emails and calls will help to complete tasks daily. 

6. Outsourcing: Many individuals are trained to do certain things they are not very adept at for the sake of climbing up the corporate ladder. It is also important to choose among a catalog of well-built and supremely talented individuals, a potential assistant who can, therefore, progress further. Talent hunting and delegating, therefore, becomes essential in guaranteeing a pipeline of promising employees who will keep up the stock prices and the revenue of the firm. 

The role of administrative management software

Administrative management software is, by definition, a system through which the processes of admin work are automated, and the information flows in a smooth manner that allows details to be scrutinized and dealt with. 

This feature may be available as a module in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or as a separate software with an app connected to mobile devices. 

Admin management software is useful in churning out reports in the form of graphs, charts, and diagrams to represent the monthly, quarterly, and yearly status of the corporation and to allow users to focus on other aspects of the job much more. 

This saves a large amount of time and generates wider profit margins. 

Types of administrative software

For different organizations, there are different types of software, such as:

1. Office productivity software: Useful for storing information in processed ways, such as in a word processor or a spreadsheet. Used primarily in application suites. It also uses a database to store other randomized information apart from numbers and words. 

2. School and classroom management software: Useful for primary and secondary schools with specific modules adapted to that environment. Keeps student records, organizes seating plans and manages fees. Allows interactive education to take place by allowing interfacing with the web through their intranet. Additional features include budgeting plans and restricting access to confidential data of students and teachers alike.

3. Portfolio assessment software: Another type of software used in schools for determining competence and other performance tracking indicators of pupils. Cross-referencing to standards is used as a common metric to generate reports within a specified time interval. Particularly helpful for students with special needs as their needs can be catered to by flexibility of the software. 

4. Remote administrative software: Allows a remote operator to control a system while being displayed on separate client service. Controlled via a network connection. It can control different computers in one instance and have direct access to their files and network settings. 

Key features of efficient admin management software

Customizing the settings or the template of the software will allow you to operate it the way it suits your firm. 

Otherwise, the platform or the core of the software is the same across all devices. Integration between email services, such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Microsoft Outlook, or social media platforms, is a common feature that is enabled for all the applications. 

Depending on the vendor, it may also be an on-premise software or cloud-based online software, although we recommend cloud-based systems as it is much safer, easier to deploy, and prevents loss of capital. Besides that, here are, briefly, some key features of an efficient admin management software:

• Workflow management – to ensure a productive schedule for the day
• Auditing – tracking important features of quality of the product
• Invoice management – to monitor the trail of the expenditure
• Data import/export – so that vendors and suppliers can have the necessary information
• Real-time reporting – updates or changes in the marketing strategies can be notified immediately
• Activity dashboard – analogous to a home screen – displays all the ongoing processes, the history of past activities and future projects
• Inventory management – crucial for understanding warehouse conditions and when restocking is necessary at retail stores
• Reporting and statistics – generating insightful reports for better visualization of results

Thus, by the use of these features, the operations of a firm can be maintained across all aspects, touching upon all areas to verify and improve upon weak links. 

Benefits of using admin management software

There are many benefits of using such powerful tools at your hands:

1. Increased productivity: Ditching manual entry means mundane jobs are done, and the employees can focus on other aspects. This will waste fewer resources and save time as employees improve upon their weaknesses and reinforce their strengths. 

2. Targets met faster: Bureaucratic hassles and delays, i.e., red tape, are one of the worst ways in which production is halted or interrupted. By preventing those hiccups in the assembly line, control can be maintained better by managers, and the efficiency of the entire process increases. 

3. Better management of finances: Having confidence in the data produced and calculating the amount of reasonable expenditure is vital in establishing and leading the business towards the path of success. Cash flow can be managed by avoiding duplication of purchases or rollouts to retail stores so that a mismatch is not created. This is why having a smaller number of people maintain one unified reliable spreadsheet is much easier. 

4. Higher levels of satisfaction: Client needs are met and surpassed when deals are closed, or products are delivered at the stated rate or time or even before that. An adaptable system allows you to achieve that kind of speed better, so customers are happy to receive new brand offers and deals, strengthening your relationship. Employees will be more satisfied as well when they realize they can do much more tangible work as they become more involved in the process, boosting their productivity. 

In conclusion, administrative management software has widespread impacts on all aspects of the business, and they are mostly positive. 

Most business people become frazzled in deciding which software to use in such an inundated market. 

We recommend using Odoo, user-friendly business software that provides you with just about every tool you would ever need. 

Built under the same UI, Odoo uses one app to do all the jobs in one: streamlining operations, managing invoicing, and boosting sales. It has specialized admin management software and also has such a module built into its ERP software. 

Its servers are all around the world and are extremely fast in uploading and downloading data. 

As it is an open-source platform, it opens doors to vast amounts of customizability in prioritizing which areas of business you want to focus on, depending on the industry you are a part of. 

Syncoria, a digital transformation company based in Canada, is an official Odoo Ready partner. To contact Odoo, call at +1 (416) 628-5522, or email them at [email protected].