If you’re wondering whether you’re keeping up with the competition when it comes to salaries, you need look no further than the newly released OfficeTeam 2017 Salary Guide. The upshot: Administrative salaries and job opportunities are on the rise once again this year. 

Administrative professionals can expect average starting pay gains of 3.5 percent in 2017. In addition, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects there will be more than 5.6 million total job openings in office and administrative support positions between 2014 and 2024. 

Hiring managers need to take all this into consideration if they want to attract and retain the brightest administrative talent. To help you, we’ve compiled job descriptions for the hottest jobs, identified administrative salaries and summarized the trends we expect to impact this job market in 2017.

 

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4 Trends Impacting Administrative Salaries

As the hiring landscape becomes more competitive, these are the top trends that will affect employment of administrative professionals in 2017:

1. Two to five years’ experience is the sweet spot

The most desirable candidates continue to be those with two to five years of experience. This level of experience is ideal because slightly seasoned candidates require less training but are also still open to growing and adapting with the company.

2. Multiple offers are not uncommon

Talented administrative employees are becoming harder to find. To attract top candidates, hiring managers are competing to offer the best administrative salaries, benefits and other perks. It’s not unusual for first-rate performers to receive offers from a number of companies.

3. Temp-to-hire and project staffing are growing in popularity

As companies expand to accommodate new business, they’re hiring more project-based staff. Some are brought in on a temp-to-hire basis so they can evaluate their potential for a full-time position. 

4. Education is becoming a priority

A college degree can make a candidate more desirable, and employers often give preference to professionals who have one. In fact, more than 95 percent of jobs created since the Great Recession have gone to candidates who have some college education.

Learn more about the surprising ways in which your administrative team can assist you and how to help your staff succeed.

10 Hot Jobs in 2017

In general, the support positions companies most need to staff are executive and administrative assistants, management roles, customer service/call center representatives and managers, administrative healthcare roles, and HR assistants and specialists. Firms are looking for employees who have a combination of experience, technical abilities and interpersonal skills — and are a good fit with the workplace culture.

Here are the 10 hottest jobs you may be battling to hire for and the administrative salaries they are expected to command:

1. Executive Assistant 
Salary Range: $45,500-$62,500
Salary Increase Over 2016: 3.9%
An executive assistant performs administrative duties for executive management. Responsibilities may include screening calls; managing calendars; making travel, meeting and event arrangements; preparing reports and financial data; training and supervising other support staff; and customer relations. This role requires strong computer and internet research skills; flexibility; excellent interpersonal skills; project coordination experience; and the ability to work well with all levels of internal management and staff, outside clients and vendors. Sensitivity to confidential matters is key.

2. Administrative Assistant 
Salary Range: $33,250-$45,250
Salary Increase Over 2016: 4.0%
An administrative assistant performs administrative and office support activities for multiple supervisors. Duties may include fielding telephone calls; receiving and directing visitors; word processing; creating spreadsheets and presentations; and filing. Extensive software skills, internet research abilities and strong communication skills are required. Staff in this category may also have the title of department assistant, coordinator or associate.

Our Salary Calculator can help you determine administrative salaries in your city.

 

3. Office Manager 
Salary Range: $42,250-$66,000
Salary Increase Over 2016: 3.8%
An office manager coordinates various office support services, including supervising purchasing processes and selecting vendors. This position requires strong communication skills and some accounting knowledge. An office manager may oversee other office administrative staff. At some companies, this role may take on HR responsibilities, such as maintaining office policies and procedures. This person is often responsible for managing office moves.

4. Patient Registration/Intake/Admissions Clerk 
Salary Range: $30,750-$40,500
Salary Increase Over 2016: 4.0%
Administrative salaries for patient registration/intake/admissions clerks take into account the ability to interview incoming patients prior to admission to gather demographic, insurance and emergency information. A person in this position ensures completion of paperwork, sign-in and security procedures. They also explain facility policies, prepare and distribute patient identification bands, and arrange for transportation to assigned rooms. Additional duties may include collecting copayments, answering phones, assisting family members, and conducting research for prior medical records and account folders. Sensitivity to confidential matters is required.

5. Call Center Representative 
Salary Range: $28,250-$38,000
Salary Increase Over 2016: 3.5%
A call center representative who works at an inbound call center responds to customer inquiries, processes orders and routes calls to appropriate departments. A call center representative who works at an outbound call center contacts businesses or individuals, describes products or services, and obtains customer information and leads. This role handles a high volume of calls, usually leveraging an auto dialer system. Responsibilities also include data entry, maintaining customer databases and logging calls. Excellent communication, customer service and alphanumeric data entry skills are required.

6. Customer Service Representative 
Salary Range: $28,250-$39,500
Salary Increase Over 2016: 3.8%
A customer service representative receives and places telephone calls, and performs data entry. This role also maintains solid customer relationships by handling questions and concerns with speed and professionalism. The job may also require research skills to troubleshoot customer problems. Excellent communication abilities are essential.

To attract top candidates, hiring managers are competing to offer the best administrative salaries, benefits and other perks.

 

7. Medical Customer Service Representative 
Salary Range: $31,500-$40,500
Salary Increase Over 2016: 4.0%
The medical customer service representative receives and places telephone calls, answering questions from patients and providers with speed and professionalism. This role performs data entry and uses software programs. It may also require research skills to troubleshoot patient problems. Excellent communication abilities are essential.

8. Human Resources Assistant 
Salary Range: $33,750-$45,500
Salary Increase Over 2016: 3.6%
The human resources assistant screens telephone calls, schedules interviews and conducts internet research to locate potential job candidates. Administrative salaries for this position reflect responsibilities such as scanning resumes, assisting with new employee orientations, compiling materials and maintaining employee database records. Strong computer skills are required, as is sensitivity to confidential matters.

9. Certified Professional Coder 
Salary Range: $56,000-$72,450
Salary Increase Over 2016: 4.0%
The certified professional coder generally works in a physician setting, referring to a patient’s medical chart and selecting proper codes to classify procedures performed, diagnostic information collected and treatment provided. This role requires the use of ICD-9/ICD-10, CPT and/or HCPCS coding systems. This person forwards completed documentation to medical billers for processing and payment. The role requires knowledge of medical terminology and abbreviations, solid attention to detail, and sensitivity to confidential information. A Certified Professional Coder (CPC) certification is required.

10. Project Assistant/Coordinator 
Salary Range: $33,750-$48,500
Salary Increase Over 2016: 3.5%
The project assistant/coordinator works with internal and external parties to initiate and run major projects. Responsibilities include coordinating schedules and activities, placing orders for supplies and services, and tracking progress and results. The role requires excellent communication skills and extensive knowledge of database and project management software. This person often reports to product development, project management or marketing executives.

Expect to compete more fiercely for office professionals who have the right mix of technical know-how, soft skills and experience. That means being prepared for tough salary negotiations with candidates you want to hire and star employees you want to keep. 

Our Salary Calculator, used with the administrative salaries above and the many more listed in the Salary Guide, can determine starting salary ranges in your city. For more help recruiting skilled talent, reach out to a specialized staffing agency. In this hiring market, you’ll want to stay ahead of the curve.


You’ve taken the first step to benchmarking administrative salaries, critical to any successful hiring and retention strategy. Now check out these other resources for competing in today’s jobs market.