You Be the Judge

Dear Reader,

Not too long ago, Admin Gal was made aware of an unfortunate situation of an administrative colleague.  

We Admins are often in positions to make many different decisions based on undocumented conversations.  This particular colleague had been asked to add some variety to the catering to an annual multi-week event.  Ever conscious of budgets and time constraints, this Admin went to work to make this request happen.

Imagine her surprise when she was taken to task by her manager, in front of multiple departments, for having blown a budget.  

Here are some key points to take into consideration:

1.     Said Admin had negotiated excellent rates with every vendor who provided food for the event.

2.     At no point did the manager ask to see costs for the meals being provided before he made a scene.

3.     Said manager had a plate full of food as he made a fool of himself.

4.     Everything came well with in the budget alloted for the event.

Admin Gal has heard many a sad tale in her career, but this particular tale of abuse raised her hackles.  

As Admins, we are like ducks, shaking off the bad and reveling in the good.  However, one bad manager can certainly spoil the job.

Dear Reader, what would you do in our dear Admin's place?

Workplace Dance

How many times have we felt overwhelmed, over-worked and over-utilized by the people we are suppose to be supporting?  It's sad that we seem to be able to do their job and not get their pay.

An Administrative Professional is a special breed of employee.  We have a special ability to be able to see globally while managing the details that get the job done.  Unfortunately, there are co-workers that see this as an opportunity to pass on parts of their jobs to the Admin.  

This is where, we the Admins, must have clearly defined roles in our workplace.  I'm happy to help people out, but only my boss has the authority to add to my workload.

I'll be blunt, I'm not paid enough to do their job and mine.

Chain of Command

Admin Gal has noticed that as people climb the corporate ladder, the rarefied air can sometimes go to people's head.  As the titles of Managers, District Managers, Director etc. start getting attached to names,  individuals can forget that they still must report to someone.

Frankly?  When your boss says a meeting must take place, you shouldn't push back.  You should say - Yes, sir/ma'am!  Just because you sit in a management position, doesn't mean you don't have a chain of command you fall into.

When you say 'NO' to your boss enough times.  Your boss will say 'No, we don't need you working here anymore.'

Confessionals & Morale Meters

As an Admin, we are a combination of confessionals, morale meters, undercover cops and good people trying to make their work environment better.  This can be a heavy load to bear.  We are a clearing house for information good and bad for our managers on the emotional and environmental health of our areas.  Sometimes it can be overwhelming or inspiring.

We can stop trouble before issues arise with a word of well placed advice in the ear of someone who can make a difference.  At times, we have to make the difficult choices that will impact personal relationships for the greater good of the company.

While we reflect our managers in our jobs, a good Admin also manages their environment.  Providing the best work place they can for they people they work with.

Everyone deserves to work in a healthy community.

Helping the Helpless

Sometimes the helpless can not be helped. Being asked to call the help desk for an issue that requires permissions that I, as an admin have not been granted, is a colossal waste of time. You see, the help desk is bound by certain protocols that even the most resourceful admins have a hard time breaking through.

But I digress.

Oftentimes we, the admin, are asked to find forgotten passwords, give permissions to systems that we have no rights to, OR pose as the manager or executive in question to figure out a problem that they have described as "the computer is doing that thing that sounds like {insert an unpleasant body sound}."

Seriously?

I know we have super powers and if you were to put the admins in the governing bodies of the world, we'd have the majority of the problems fixed before lunch. But I don't know how to describe a problem to the help desk that sounds like a fart.

There are times when the management needs to suck it up and help themselves.

Following Directions

Policies and procedures are in place for reasons that are specific to the bottom line of the company.
As an admin, I am amazed by the convoluted efforts made to get around those simple steps.  All so they can "Save Time"or a classic "I don't need to follow procedure". When in reality they who go against the established protocols are just causing more problems than solving them.

The need to circumvent the process is rampant from top to bottom in an organization.  Executives do it as much as the employee at the very bottom of the employment rung.

So here is the truth, when people come to me in a fit of frustration.  Complaining about how they can't get something done because the process is broken, they present a pile of papers or an email chain of misery to me and beg me to do what they can't.  A couple of clicks of the mouse, clicks of the keyboard and a form or two printed later... VOILA!

I have performed a MIRACLE!

Maybe I have a sick sense of humor or I'm immune to their plight, they come to me grateful that I've gotten done what they've been unable to accomplish.  I simply say, when they ask how I got it done so quickly, 'I followed the directions.' without batting an eye.

On the Cheap

Nothing seems to be safe anymore in today’s employment climate. Gone is security of generations gone by. Very few people can stick with one company for their entire career. If they manage to do that, they have to reinvent themselves to stay ahead of the latest management model that leans toward automation, downsizing or out-sourcing.

I realize that there are many processes that can be outsourced, off-shored, and just plain automated. When all these cost cutting measures are taking place, what happens to the actual employee, who helped build the company? The general morale? The principles that built the company? More importantly the corporate history?

While the government gives lip-service to keeping jobs in the country, more and more companies are sending department functions overseas. Why? ‘Because it can be done cheaper elsewhere’. Sure, there are binding contracts that impose penalties if things are not done to the SLA's (service level agreements) of the corporation, but what happens to the customer service interface? There are no guarantees that expectations will be met.

To be frank the customer wants to interface with employees they feel confident will fulfill their needs. Not third-party vendors that have no clue as to why the company even exists.

As employees ride these waves of uncertainty in the workplace, they go through cycles of anger and fear. Rightfully so. Whether they have been with the company 3 months or 30 years, their livelihood is threatened. So the affected portions of the company are shunted off to the side, cut off from the rest of their corporate brethren. The isolation takes its toll on morale and perception.
While the management who has to manage the outsourcing process must be sensitive to the needs of the employees, the rest of the company is oblivious and often makes matters worse.

I don’t have a crystal ball that tells the future, but I do know that when a company treats their employee as well as it treats its customers there is a renaissance in business and vitality.

When a corporation treats its employees as so much dross, they will soon follow their greatest assets, the employee, into oblivion.

Valuable Resources

The Administrative Assistant has come a long way from the days of “Would you like cream with your coffee, sir?” 

While we still might answer phones and take meeting notes, we also manage offices and projects, balance budgets, act as unofficial keepers of morale, and general ombudsman of schedules.  Sometimes our job descriptions have us working in a more personal capacity to our employer, for example running small errands for your boss, helping them in small details in their personal lives all so they can have time to get their jobs done. 

As Admins, we often have the pleasure of training people new to the experience of having an Administrative Assistant’s skills at their disposal. For the newly appointed manager who has never had access to administrative help.  An experienced Admin will work hard at determining their needs and creating a partnership that will be beneficial to both in the long run.

My personal favorite is the new MBA or clueless collegiate graduate who comes into a department with an admin.  Lo and behold, they are incapable of sending faxes, getting coffee, composing letters or other tasks they consider menial because ‘that’s what an Admin is for’. 

While I am willing to offer assistance to those in need, they are secondary to my primary function.  That function is to support the executives that too whom I report directly. 

This Admin firmly believes in teaching people how to fish.  You see, I have one to two top executives that take the majority of my time.  If they ask me to send a fax or compose a letter, it is because they do not have time not because they are lazy.

After one or two instances of people not in my direct chain of command pawning their work off on to me, I will have a conversation with them.  If that doesn’t work, woe be unto them.  I will then bring out the big guns.

You see my executives do not like to have their resources wasted. 

I am a valuable resource.   

Upon Your Actions

The hierarchy of the workplace is a fascinating thing.  For some, their rise is a result of steady, quality work that is rewarded by promotion through the ranks.  For others, hierarchy is viewed as a maniacal game of strategy.  The farther they are promoted, the better the 'parachute' is on the way out the door.  For the rest of us, it is truly only a mindset.  Work provides only a base for our lives outside of work.
 The reality is we all put our trousers on one leg at a time and bleed the same color, red.
 Whether we drive a Yugo or a Lamborghini, you are only as important as you are in your own mind.  Respect is earned through your actions, not through your paycheck or title.
 Businesses are only as good as the people who manage them.  If managers are always seeking the next nifty, shining business model that promises to save the company and put the profits through the roof the end result is nothing.  But when managers use common sense, respect and hard work, their employees can see and respect that no matter the out come.
Countries have been won or lost based on the respect or lack of due to the actions and behaviors of their respective hierarchies.  The same can be said about companies.