The Global Skills Matrix – Find Your Level

First of all, there are more than 160 different job titles for what we do. No wonder the role is often misunderstood. Furthermore, a staggering 73% felt that their organisations did not understand the role or the potential impact of utilizing them properly. 60% said that they felt there was little or no opportunity for career progression within their organisation. 58% of the survey respondents said that they felt underutilized, which may come as a shock to many companies.

Clearly, change and clarity were needed.

The WA-Summit Task Force took that huge amount of data, with hundreds of skills and tasks and distilled them into a manageable form, producing a Matrix that made sense and that everybody can understand.

The Global Skills Matrix is a framework that, irrespective of country, identifies five levels of work for a given role and shows career progression opportunities to realise the potential to an organisation of an effective Assistant.

A dedicated website contains everything you need to know about this global framework. You can download the full report containing the Matrix, and the Executive Summary. You can also find other resources, including instructions on how to use the report, a press release for you to share with your local media, open letters to HR professionals and recruiters, explaining why the Matrix has the potential to revolutionise and empower career opportunities for Assistants in all sectors and a scripted PowerPoint presentation that will help you to spread the word and to start those conversations.

The WA-Alliance is also offering a free 45-minute webinar in which we can talk online to your internal company networks, HR Managers or business leaders about why there has never been a more important time for Assistants to be used to their full potential. Covid-19 has increased the need for management to be more agile and operate at maximum capacity. An organisation needs to ensure the ROI on their executives’ salaries is maximised. A career Assistant with clear goals and objectives, combined with opportunities for personal development and career progression is a key component for achieving this. We are already receiving endorsements from recruiters and HR companies across the world who see the Global Skills Matrix as a game changer for our profession.

We encourage PA Hub members to download the reports and use the resources we provide to find your own level and join our global conversation. On our website, you can also find graphics that you can use on your own social media channels to raise awareness and spread the word about the Global Skills Matrix. We need your help to spread the word.

Wherever you are in the world, you can find your own level in the Matrix, so that you can see your own career path and ask for the training that you need to fill any gaps in your skills so that you can prepare for the next step.

We’re not trying to put Assistants into boxes. If you’re happy in your current level, make sure that your job description is accurately adjusted to reflect those tasks that you are doing every day. The full report has links to examples of role profiles to help you do this. It’s certainly not a one-size fits all tool, but we believe that it will help you to map your place in the profession, whether inside or outside your organisation.

Please join us in helping to change the lives of Assistants around the world.

Helen Monument is the Chair of the WA-Alliance. Contact WA-Alliance Secretary Vicki Faint to request the free Global Skills Matrix webinar for your company.