What is an assistant vs. associate?

Many people need clarification regarding the difference between associate and assistant positions. Companies often assign the title of assistant to positions that provide backup to management or leadership roles. For example, an assistant manager performs a manager’s duties whenever they’re not present and has the authority to make decisions in the manager’s absence.

Associates might be one step up from entry-level employees or have a specific focus in their role. You may concentrate more on critical objectives when hiring an associate than whether they have leadership skills or an ability to work with others. In some cases, this might mean that associates need to have more education or experience than assistants.

Examples of associates

Some businesses call entry-level staff members associates. The term may also refer to people who’ve moved up one rung on the corporate ladder or have a unique role within the organization. A few examples of associates include the following:

Retail associates

A retail associate has little authority or influence over sales or marketing strategy since they are typically entry-level employees. Their purpose is to help customers, handle money and ensure that the store is presentable.

Associate directors

Companies may require associate directors to meet more educational criteria than assistant directors. They have similar responsibilities but focus on project management and customer service instead of managing team members.

Associate attorneys

When distinguishing between firm partners or owners and other lawyers within their organizations, law firms might call their junior-level attorneys associates. Attorneys with experience who aren’t quite partners may receive the title of senior associate. 

Associate editors

Editors who spend more time on editing and content creation are usually considered associates. They may need to offer guidance to writers on their teams, but their role doesn’t require them to manage or lead other people.

Associate responsibilities

Associates are more likely to work with customers, fulfill orders and perform customer service duties. They may also be assigned specific assignments and need to collaborate with other team members to complete their projects. Some associate positions require leadership skills but not to the same degree that an assistant or manager position would. Associates have the opportunity to earn junior or senior positions in their area of expertise once they’ve proven they can meet the expectations for their roles.

Examples of assistants

Assistants spend less hands-on time than associates might. Their job duties focus on managing team members and ensuring that others fulfill their roles efficiently within the organization. An assistant has the same authority level as their superior when they’re required to manage a store, department or team. Some examples of assistants include the following.

Assistant managers

Many businesses promote associates within their companies to the role of assistant manager when they display excellent communication and leadership skills. An assistant manager takes on the same responsibilities as the manager and can fill in when the manager isn’t working or needs to take leave. The manager acts as a mentor to the assistant manager and may need to approve some decisions.

Assistant directors

Directors are managers who coordinate with multiple departments and manage workflow and collaborative efforts. An assistant director is a support role that aids the director with their tasks and takes over when the director isn’t present or focused on other goals.

Assistant office managers

Officer managers often rely on their assistants to recruit new team members, create schedules and manage onboarding efforts. An office manager might have the final say over these decisions, but the assistant office manager arranges the interviews, training sessions and team meetings.

Assistant general managers

General managers oversee employees within an organization and have assistants with the same authority to make management-related choices. Assistant general managers perform the duties their superiors delegate to them while present and then assume full responsibility in their absence.

Assistant editors

Rather than focus on editing tasks, assistant editors manage teams of individuals. They need to have the same education and qualifications as associate editors. Still, they’re more worried about ensuring that others are doing their jobs than editorial tasks.

Assistant responsibilities

Assistants need experience in motivating other people and managing workflow. While they need to have some operational knowledge relevant to their positions, they focus more on managing teams. Assistants can pursue management opportunities once they prove they can manage teams effectively under the direction of a superior.

When to hire an associate vs. assistant

Assistants manage talent to ensure your organization has the right people working in the right places within your business. Whether you should hire an associate or an assistant depends on the scope of your position. If you need someone with a specific skill, you may offer them an associate role.

Some things you may need to consider when determining the appropriate position include the following:

Education

You may have stricter educational requirements for associates than assistants due to the scope of their positions. For example, an associate may need to demonstrate knowledge or experience with a specific task. Assistants don’t always need as much technical knowledge because they’re managing people and workflow instead.

Hierarchy

For the most part, assistant roles are a step or two above associate roles and command more authority. In most cases, associate positions are below their assistant counterparts. There are some fields where the roles are reversed, such as education.

Pay structure

Associates are more likely to earn salaries, while assistants prefer hourly pay. Assistants may need to spend more time at work than associates and wouldn’t enjoy not making extra money for their additional effort. The amount of work that an associate needs to do also depends on their educational background and the highest level completed.

Experience level

Associate positions are great opportunities for college graduates to begin a career within your company. They can lead to promotions to junior and senior roles after your associates demonstrate proficiency in their roles. They’re also roles you might give to customer service representatives, retail sales staff or entry-level employees.

Assistant roles are positions devoted to organizational management. You should promote individuals within your company to these positions if they show great teamwork, organizational skills and the ability to motivate others. You can also hire assistants from outside your company with experience managing other people.

Which role should you hire?

The position you should hire depends on your immediate and long-term needs. For example, if you know one of your managers might be promoted in the near future, you could hire an assistant to learn the role and replace them when the time’s right.

If you plan to scale your business operations, you should hire more associates to help with the transition. They can meet increased customer demand as your business grows.