What does a staff specialist do?
The duties of a staff specialist depend on their line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around performing support tasks such as preparing and processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, arranging appointments and meetings, and maintaining records of all transactions. There are also instances where they must liaise with clients, offer products and services, close sales, participate in the hiring and training procedures, and develop strategies to optimize business performance. Furthermore, as a staff specialist, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with fellow staff, coordinating to ensure an efficient workflow.
Staff specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real staff specialist resumes:
- Manage multiple imaging-relate projects across both radiology and cardiology service lines, both inpatient and outpatient, to completion.
- Develop an in-depth knowledge of Microsoft SharePoint administration and front-end SharePoint development and deployment skills working towards full certification.
- Administer SharePoint document and system access rights and revision control to ensure security of system and integrity of master documents.
- Extract data from a variety of relational databases, manipulate, explore data using quantitative, statistical and visualization tools.
- Support NY/NJ dealer market with inventory orders, equipment training and marketing POS.
- Create, update, and implement safety training program for all employees and maintain training database using AS400 and PeopleSoft programs.
- Used JavaScript extensively for client side validations.
- Conduct new hire orientations, enter new hires information into PeopleSoft and handle interdepartmental transfers for employees.
- Serve administrative subpoenas on businesses to obtain data for case information.
Staff specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Staff Specialists are proficient in Patients, PowerPoint, and Data Entry. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Writing skills, and Listening skills.
We break down the percentage of Staff Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 22%
Provided support, counseling for patients, families, staff Critical care, Emergency room, trauma, patient expiration incidents.
- PowerPoint, 11%
Prepared customer presentations using Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Harvard Graphics.
- Data Entry, 9%
Conducted patient registration, appointment scheduling and efficient record keeping and data entry.
- HR, 7%
Coordinated International HR budget, International Medical budget, and International Pension budget.
- ISO, 4%
Trained management, engineers and staff on documented internal processes according to ISO standards.
- Financial Statements, 3%
Reviewed the Corporate General Ledger, and prepared financial statements and income tax work papers.
"patients," "powerpoint," and "data entry" are among the most common skills that staff specialists use at work. You can find even more staff specialist responsibilities below, including:
Writing skills. Many staff specialist duties rely on writing skills. "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions.," so a staff specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways staff specialist responsibilities rely on writing skills: "collect and analyze data for writing project status reports, and annual reports. "
Listening skills. This is an important skill for staff specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how staff specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a staff specialist: "communicated and trained global hr operations on changes related to hr-systems and best practice changes. ".
Problem-solving skills. For certain staff specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a staff specialist rely on this skill, as "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what staff specialists do: "guided proper resolution of administrative issues. "
Speaking skills. Another common skill required for staff specialist responsibilities is "speaking skills." This skill comes up in the duties of staff specialists all the time, as "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." An excerpt from a real staff specialist resume shows how this skill is central to what a staff specialist does: "assist with data collection and analyses for projects and posters that are presented at conferences. "
The three companies that hire the most staff specialists are:
- Infineon Technologies11 staff specialists jobs
- Capital Health6 staff specialists jobs
- Cogent Communications5 staff specialists jobs
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Compare different staff specialists
Staff specialist vs. Knowledge management specialist
The duties of a knowledge management analyst depend on one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around providing employees with technical support materials, gathering instructional information and insights from experts, and turning it into a structured digital or written material that employees can use as a learning tool. Moreover, they may devise programs and workshops for trainees and new employees, develop strategies for optimal workforce performance, and coordinate with department supervisors to identify employees' needs.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a staff specialist are more likely to require skills like "iso," "financial statements," "duke," and "alumni." On the other hand, a job as a knowledge management specialist requires skills like "customer service," "project management," "knowledge management," and "logistics." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that knowledge management specialists earn slightly differ from staff specialists. In particular, knowledge management specialists are 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a staff specialist. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Staff specialist vs. Administrative support specialist
An administrative support specialist is an individual who is involved in the office management, clerical tasks, and back-office duties of an organization. To run the office smoothly, administrative support specialists must manage the purchasing and inventory of office supplies as well as schedule the maintenance of office equipment. They serve as a liaison for executives by screening incoming calls and emails, sorting mails, and setting appointments with employees, customers, and vendors. Administrative support specialists must also be able to draft memos and edit report proposals and other business documents.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, staff specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "hr," "excellent organizational," "iso," and "duke." Meanwhile, an administrative support specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "administrative functions," "office equipment," and "office procedures." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Administrative support specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than staff specialists. In fact, they're 4.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for staff specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Vandana Rao Ph.D.
Professor of Business Management, Chair, Marymount Manhattan College
Staff specialist vs. Operations support specialist
The duties of an operations support specialist depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around addressing issues and concerns, troubleshooting, and conducting corrective measures, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations. They may also evaluate the processes in a company, identifying vulnerabilities, and recommending improvements. Furthermore, an operations support specialist must also perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports and presentations, arranging schedules, assessing workforce performance, and maintaining accurate records.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, staff specialists are more likely to have skills like "iso," "financial statements," "duke," and "alumni." But a operations support specialist is more likely to have skills like "operations support," "customer service," "technical support," and "dod."
Most operations support specialists achieve a lower degree level compared to staff specialists. For example, they're 5.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Staff specialist vs. Communications specialist
A communications specialist takes charge of addressing the public by coming up with various strategic campaigns, newsletters, public correspondence, press releases, and advertisements. Their primary role focuses on promoting, shaping, and enhancing a brand's image through public relations. Furthermore, a communications specialist is responsible for handling any complaints or issues, devising and conducting damage control to resolve bad publicity should there be any. It is also essential for a communications specialist to adhere to the company's policies and regulations at all times.
Updated January 8, 2025
