Honoring the glue that keeps it together

Once upon a time, it was known as Secretary’s Day. Now that secretaries are referred to as administrative assistants, it’s Administrative Assistant Day, Administrative Professionals day 2009 and Admin Day. Does that simplify things for you? Just remember to keep it separate from Bosses’ Day and Arbor Day and you’ll do fine.

Today, April 22, is the big day. The liberation of time has freed them from the term “secretary” and given them a title with more weight to the verbal ton. Not only do they answer phones, take minutes, arrange travel, prepare memos and lend executives moral support, but they are often referred to as the “glue” of an organization. “Attaboys” are great, but extra pay keeps personal loans and debt relief at bay…

Lilit Marcus of SaveTheAssistants.com wants us all to take a moment to recognize everything secretaries do for the corporate world. In particular, bosses should recognize their secretaries with gifts. What follows is a countdown of just how special administrative secretaries should be made to feel. For the record, Marcus’s article appears in The Huffington Post. Here goes, professional administrative assistance collaborative secretaries. Oh, you’ll probably pick out my embellishments. Think of it as my gift to you (if I were an executive, which I’m not)…

Your Administrative Assistants’ Day Celebratory Checklist

1. First of all, it is tacky to ask your administrative assistant to pick out their own gift. It doesn’t matter that he or she is your right hand in the office, that they pick up stuff for your spouse and kids. “Go pick out something nice” actually means that you don’t give a flip about your surgically attached subservient. Get the gift for your administrative assistant yourself; it’ll be an adventure.
2. Don’t go practical. If “Look, Mr./Ms. Johnson, you mean a lot to this office, so I got you this exclusive ivory letter opener with heated, massaging pleather handgrip. Keep up the good work” is something you might say, expect said gift to end up between your scapula on the way out.
3. Don’t you dare call it Secretaries’ Day. Your secretary will hate you for it.
4. Cards are great, but not E-cards. Your administrative assistant is worth more than a viral video.
5. Some say that money is tacky when a gift is called for. However, in this recession, money talks.
6. I like this one… Marcus says you shouldn’t pen some inspirational ditty like “you’re lucky to have a job with this company under the current economy” when the same thing could apply to you, Mr. or Mrs. Executive.
7. Acceptable gifts include brand name chocolate or candy (unless diet or allergies make it a no-no), perfume (really? I wouldn’t do that), a gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret (sorry, can’t agree with you there Ms. Marcus… I’d find the shopping trip too distracting), or a dartboard with your picture affixed (a given, right?).
8. Money talks, get it?

Sometimes, even a gift will not be enough to remove the foul stench of abject hatred. Remember, once per year is not enough to let your administrative assistant know how important they are to your organization. So be nicer to them. Let them know in little ways that you value their work. They might just start giving you better gifts on Bosses’ Day.

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