Administrative Professional Day – Celebrate the work force that runs the country
This year Administrative Professionals Week is April 19-25 with Administrative Professionals Day on Wednesday, April 22.
As an administrator I understand the weight of responsibility and the pressure to perform at the top of your game every day. In the course of a day you perform hundreds of tasks and operations that seem minor to most people.
Those seemingly minor tasks and processes are important to the overall efficiency of your office or department as it supports the overall operations of the company or organization.
There is usually very little gratitude expressed to the administrative staff for the work done seamlessly every day.
To be appreciated and recognized for the contribution you make to your office operations is important and well deserved. Management can use this celebration as an opportunity to show support staff how valuable they are to daily operations.
Administrative professionals and secretaries have adapted to the ever-changing office environment. The office staff will take on higher-level projects and do most of the work but get very little acknowledgment.
Administrative professionals juggle multiple roles in the office and do so much more than merely answer phones, make appointments and sort mail. A myriad of duties include monitoring online inquires, tracking and answering email, greeting visitors, overseeing buying software, learning how to use it and training the management.
Some support staff members manage the office or department budget, supervise special projects and control inter-departmental communications.
In 2000, Professional Secretaries Week and Professional Secretaries Day was changed to Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals Day to include all of the roles of administrative staff in today’s computer-driven workforce.
The office environment today employs over 4.1 million secretaries and administrative assistants.
In these harsh economic times the company finances could be a challenge to creative ways to show appreciation. Some suggestions are
- A personal thank-you, a handwritten note or e-mail, thanking them for the job they do.
- Give a long lunch or provide lunch for the office staff.
- A few hours or half day off
- Provide online training time to allow staff members to expand their skills
- Create certificates to recognize teamwork and other skills specific to your organization
- Give a prize or reward the best attitude to promote good customer service
For those who have made the transition from years as an administrative professional to business owner this day is still significant.
Without Administrative Professionals, many offices would be in chaos because they are the cornerstone of business.
I know how hard it is to feel appreciated for the job you do. I salute you and all that you sacrifice to make your office, department or organization successful.
If you don’t think you are a potential victim you are wrong!
Anyone can be a victim of identity theft. If you don’t think you are a potential victim you are wrong!
It can happen in minutes, and take years for the fallout to stop. Someone can steal your identity and leave you a mountain of legal and financial entanglements.
The amount of hours it could take you to unravel the impact on your life can be like having a full time job. Depending on the nature of what a stolen identity was used for, the number of agencies that would need to be contacted is more than you can imagine.
The number of people from every walk of life that are victimized every day is continually increasing. The loss of time and money spent by victims trying to put their lives and finances back in order can be devastating.
You can have peace of mind because there is protection that you can use that is affordable and offers the services you need today. I use this service and the peace of mind is priceless for the investment.
Pre-Paid Legal’s Identity Theft ShieldSM is an affordable solution to combat a growing crime that knows no boundaries. Just look at the coverage and services that you will receive.
Your IDT membership includes:
• An up-to-date Experian credit report, including your personal credit score calculated and analyzed by an independent service. A review of your credit report and credit score is a step that make or break your financial future.
• Continuous monitoring of your credit file at Experian so you will be alerted if new activity is added to your credit report. If the activity is not initiated by you, it can point to identity theft.
• Identity restoration means that licensed investigators are on your side working to correct damage caused by identity thieves. This includes working with law enforcement, the government and credit cards companies on your behalf. Also, fraud alerts will be sent on your behalf to all three credit bureaus and affected companies and agencies.
• You are covered as soon as your application is processed by Pre-Paid Legal. Your membership packet contains simple steps that authorize monitoring of your credit report, plus crime preventions tips that identity thieves don’t want you to follow.
Assistance is as close as a toll-free number to report any potential problems in your credit report.
If a discrepancy is identity theft, a Fraud Restoration package will be rushed to you and our expert investigators will assist you in steps to correct inaccuracies.
What do you do if you discover that you are an identity theft victim? No one is exempt and we are all at risk. Do you do any of these things?
• Do you hand your credit card to restaurant servers?
• Do you receive mail at your home?
• Do you shop on the Internet?
• Do you shred all discarded personal mail?
What if it happens to you? Ask yourself these questions and then contact PrePaid Legal:
• How many phone calls must you make?
• What agencies do you call?
• How many hours will it take?
• How much money will be lost?
Do something today, click here on the link to get started today.
PrePaid Legal can help you avoid identity theft.
Operations & Marketing Plan to Increase the Value of Your Business
The OperateItRight Company Manual is a comprehensive easy to follow workbook to document the planning of your operations, marketing and entire business. It also serves as your disaster plan, succession plan and dissolution manual all rolled into one.
This workbook is so dear to my heart because it has saved my business and countless other businesses. The OperateItRight Company Manual gives you peace of mind and ensures you’ll have every aspect of your business documented and in one easy to find place.
The OperateItRight Company Manual lays everything out…
Increasing the value of your company if you decide to sell The OperateItRight Company Manual gives you a ready-to-use template to cover every aspect of your business. Get your copy now!
Five Essential Characteristics of Successful Business Owners
By Beryl Powell
If you are thinking about starting a business you must possess certain characteristics and qualities in order to succeed. Let’s take at look at those characteristics and decide if you have what it takes to success as business owner.
An important characteristic of business owners is the ability to motivate yourself. Will you be able to motivate yourself to complete a project when you don’t feel like working would much rather be in mall? Will you be able to motivate yourself to start a project when all your girlfriends are out to lunch at the latest hotspot and your client is demanding a completion date? These are important questions to ask yourself because you before you began your quest to business ownership because no one will be in cubicle next to you cheering you on when you don’t feel like working. If you aren’t able to motivate yourself when you don’t feel working, or things aren’t going the way you aren’t envisioned you run the risk of being one of those statistics that go out of business within the first three years.
Another significant characteristic you should possess if you plan to start a business is the ability to manage your time and resources. Are you able to prioritize tasks based on their importance and deadline? Are able to keep to your schedule no matter what? Are able to schedule need resources and people to reach your deadlines? It’s critical that you are able to schedule your tasks, people and everything else you need to get your projects completed by their deadlines. You don’t have to be everything or even do everything to succeed as a business owner but you do need to be aware of what you can do within the time frame you to get it done and with what resources.
Another characteristic that is vital to possess as a business owner is professionalism. Even if you are operating your business from your home in your pajamas you still have to be professional. When the business line rings you will have to answer the phone in professional manner or you let go to voice mail. When you turn on your webcam or flip video recorder you want the parts of you that are seen to be viewed as the CEO you are. When you are meeting with prospective clients you have to dress and speak the part of CEO. If you don’t present the image of professional business owner then it can be hard to be taken serious.
Communication is also a crucial skill for business owners. You have to communicate face-to-face, over the phone, via the internet and in print. You have to be able state what you do and who you help in marketing, you have to be able to make a prospective client see that they should work with you and you have to be clearly state what you expect from vendors and contractors. Being able to clearly communicate your message is important in every aspect of business especially since there are so many ways to communicate.
It’s also imperative that you are a people person. After all its people who will buy what you are selling, people who will tell other people about your business and the vendors and contractors you work with are people. Even if you businesses are clients, businesses are made up of people. People buy from people they know, like and trust so, being a people person is a must.
Instead of complicating your business startup efforts by just jumping into business and not taking into consideration your characteristics and personality start by making a list of 10-15 adjectives that describe your personality. Then have someone who knows you really well make the same list. Comparing the two list should give you are clear picture of your characteristics so you know whether or not you have what takes to succeed as a business owner.
© 2008 Beryl Powell
Beryl Powell, Business Advisor and Trainer helps women who operate a business online from home create a profitable business so they have the time and money to enjoy the life of their dreams. Visit her website at http://www.OperateItRight.com and get a free copy of the OperateItRight Online Business Toolkit.
