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.

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