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Soft skills

Chaos? Not with office administrators

Deep dive: office administrators
The most important soft skills of office clerks – Datentabelle
Kategorie2026
Reliability, accuracy, meeting deadlines53.4
Teamwork, cooperative 52.0
Independence, independent way of working 49.4
Structured thinking and working, goal orientation 46.9
Organizational skills 42.6
Communication skills 41.1
Sense of responsibility, self-reliant, professional 37.7
Motivation, initiative, commitment 37.1
Good manners, friendly demeanor 34.0
Diligence, careful way of working 26.0

Source: DEKRA Akademie 2026
Base: 350 job vacancies (multiple mentions)

Successful office administrators are distinguished by soft skills that help them keep an overview even under time pressure. They are often the interface to other departments or to customers. Companies therefore pay particular attention to the personal qualities of office administrators. In almost all job advertisements they address this point and describe on average 5.5 qualities that are important for the respective position.

Office specialists take on many administrative tasks; they organize appointments, process orders or check invoices, for example. Here it goes without saying that one works reliably and carefully. In addition, the specialists should be team-oriented and communicative, since they have daily contact with people inside and outside the company. These qualities and good manners ensure smooth processes in administration.

Office administrators often handle several tasks in parallel. The key here is to remain composed even during hectic phases. Employers repeatedly emphasize that the specialists should be mentally resilient or stress-resistant (8.3 %). Although office activities are changing and employees repeatedly have to familiarize themselves with new software and processes, character traits such as willingness to learn or curiosity and openness seem to be of secondary importance (6.9 % and 4.6 % respectively).