Tools of the Trade

We all have tools by which we do our jobs. Tools we love and tools that we hate. Admin Gal has a particular tool that she LOATHES with a vengeful passion.

Instant Messaging - the bane of corporate America!

Instant Messaging, by itself, is a benign program. Used to say 'Hi!', send short, fast snippets of information back and forth. Pass time with.

In the corporate environment, it has become the tool of the DEVIL! DEVIL I say! There is no nicety in Instant Messaging. No 'Hey do you have a minute?'. Worse, people write tomes in it. Send an email already!

The box just rudely pops up on top of whatever you are doing and demands your attention. Your status might be 'Busy', frankly few people actually pay attention to that. There are days when Admin Gal has 17 different conversations going at once. All relevant to her job.

Her boss insists that she stays logged in, he's allowed to make that request. Everyone else, needs to be very polite. The minute Admin Gal figures out how, she's going to develop an IM defense system that will destroy annoying people that are too rude and lazy to pick up the telephone.

Just because my status shows I'm 'Available', doesn't mean I'm available to you.

A PSA on Behalf of the Admins...

When trying to get the attention of any given Administrative Assistant, you need to only ring the telephone or instant message or email them. Not in any particular order.

NOT ALL AT ONCE!

Really people.  Is it necessary to demonstrate your attention deficit issues by by using every single method of communication you have at your disposal to get our attention?  We know you exist.  Unless you are the person who signs our paycheck, you will have to get in line and wait your turn with the others.

Waiting 30 seconds is not an acceptable wait time.  Try 30 minutes.  If its not bleeding or an ambulance doesn't need to be called, it can generally wait.

Thus concludes our Administrative Public Service Announcement.

Have a Nice Day.

What's In A Name

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Reeks of Desperation

Admin Gal has had enough with the desperate measures of consultants. She realizes that times are difficult. The free flowing wells of filthy lucre of venture capital and large corporations have all but dried up in today’s economy.

But nothing, and I mean NOTHING, should ever bring a consulting company to stoop so low.

To Quote the Boss "Are You Freaking Kidding Me?"

Yes, that is a Valentine card with a goodie-bag. To add insult to injury, the bag had a stuffed animal.

People, this company sent these out to CIO, CEO, and other senior leadership positions. These consultants are suppose to tell a company how to forge a future?

Admin Gal realizes that they are trying to stand out in the ‘herd’, but keep the grade school antics in school yard where they belong.

The Air is Filled with Music

Songs fill the air as unattended cell phones ring forlornly for their owners.  Pieces of songs from Alicia Keyes, Black Eye Peas, Metallica, Gershwin filter across the floor.  Then the annoying message alarms that range from Beep, Blat, Honk, Clash and Boom.
Admin Gal admits that she likes a relatively quiet workplace.  Not silence, just everyone doing their job. If someone is listening to music, that's what ear buds are for.  This need to abandon a cell phone on the desk and leave it off vibrate is just plain inconsiderate of others in the work place.
Yes, we live in the age of unilateral communications.  Be considerate, keep you cell phone with you so the rest of us don't have to listen to people try to get a hold of you.

RESPECT THE MEETING NOTICE!

MEETING - an assembly or conference of persons for a specific purpose or event.

There is nothing more frustrating than having set up a meeting 45 days ago, then finding out the day of the meeting that two of the principle players couldn’t be bothered to participate.  They accepted, but never chose to change their status so that alternative arrangements could be made.

This particular meeting had already been rescheduled 4 times.  All participants tell me it is imperative to have said meeting.  My boss, who was at the right time at the right place, was made to look bad.  Which in turn made me feel crappy.

I get it, plans change.  People get busy.

For Pete Sakes! Check your calendar and be courteous.  Decline the meeting if you aren’t coming.

Modern Communication Methods

I have 'sues. Big, red, floppy clown 'sues with modern day communications methods.  We tweet, text, IM, email but we seldom seem to pick up the phone for some human contact before we fire off some form of electronic communication.
Now, don't get me wrong.  Sometimes it is the only way to get to a person is to drop an email or an IM.  But it shouldn't be the only way.  I seem to be surrounded by people who are hooked on their crackberries and iPhone (disclaimer: I own an iPhone) as a way to keep in touch without interaction.  They rather type a thousand characters than 7 digits on the telephone for a simple conversation.

As human beings, we take a lot of our cues from interaction.  We deduce how a person is doing through body language, tone of voice or facial expression.  In the electronic world we have none of that.  The tone of a text, tweet or email can easily misconstrued unless there is a intimate familiarity with the sender or recipient.

While the advent of modern communication methods is cleaner than messenger pigeons, we lose a lot in translation.