Rocky Mountain News, Colorado
April 16, 2004

By Erica Heath

Article link: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_82_2812032,00.html


Heath: Bosses blow special day with flowers


It's time to pay tribute to those overworked, underpaid office heroes, the administrative staff. Next Wednesday is -Administrative Professionals Day.

Check your calendar - your assistant probably entered it already. I visited the International Association of Administrative Professionals Web site at www.iaap-hq.org and wasn't surprised to note that those masters of organization had posted the dates for their official day through 2006.

Pre-millennium, AP Day was known as Secretary's Day. By any name, the occasion strikes terror into the managerial heart. There are so many ways for a boss to blow this event, it can send an otherwise confident executive into a panic.

The tension comes from the sharp distinction between the old-fashioned secretary and today's administrative pro, aka executive assistant, exec assist, EA or admin. The secretary of yore was a combination of office mom and woman-behind-the-throne, while today's model cultivates technical skills even more than political ones. Both preserve the sanity of the organizationally impaired, of whom I am certainly one.

Either brand is fine with me; the only kind of administrative support person I can't work with is the one who has an eye on bigger things and deeply resents requests for support. I remember one Machiavellian character for whom supporting the CEO was a path to marrying rich. But 99.7 percent of administrative professionals should be honored as often as possible for saving their employer's time, money and dignity.

IAAP surveyed its members and found that they prefer professionally oriented AP Day observances: guest speakers, professional development and networking events. Gifts might include desk accessories or that most professional of remembrances, cash.

Sadly, participants report that their clueless bosses instead continue to ply them with flowers and candy. Defenders of this approach say they're going for the personal touch, but a couple of the more poignant poll comments tell the tale: "Whole staff appreciated with a lunch (which the admin coordinates)." And saddest of all, "The office manager buys the same flowers for everyone and has them delivered in bulk to her secretary, who distributes them." There's a blues song lurking in there somewhere.

IAAP wisely advises executives to ask their administrative staff how they prefer to observe Administrative Professionals Day. You can't go wrong there, and there's entertainment value to be had, as well. It's always fun to hear a staffer explain, diplomatically, why lunch with the whole department isn't high on her list of fun activities. (The real answer, of course, is that she has to spend every day with you clowns and she needs a break at lunch hour.) There's still time to get it right. Treat your support staff well, and, for heaven's sake, don't make them arrange their own celebration. And to the administrative wizards who've saved me from myself many times - Michelle, Kaye, Laura, Dianne: Thanks from the bottom of my disorganized heart.

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Erica Heath is a 20-year veteran of the corporate wars.