During any given weekday, an office’s administrative staff provides constant support to every other department, usually taking on the tasks and duties no else wants to complete.
Sometimes it does not occur to management how important it is to motivate administrative professionals, even though these individuals provide invaluable work to the company as a whole.
With Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professional’s Day right around the corner, businesses can take a few minutes out of their hectic schedules to show appreciation for and continue to motivate their administrative staff.
Let’s Go Back
Sixty-three years ago, the combined efforts of the leaders at the National Secretaries Association (now called the International Association of Administrative Professionals), Dictaphone Corporation, and Young and Rubicam helped launch the
celebration of National Professional Secretaries Week and National Secretary’s Day.
Since 1952, National Secretaries Week and National Secretary’s Day has evolved into Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professional’s Day.
According to the International Association of Administrative Professionals’ website, “Each year, administrative professionals are recognized for their skills and loyalty, attributes almost every office depends upon. Administrative Professionals Week celebrates and sheds light on administrative professionals’ devoted, valued work.”
“We all appreciate being thanked, but why not go the extra mile and make a point of using gift cards, hand-written thank you notes, and other gestures to recognize achievement,” contributor Caron Beesley advises in a U.S. Small Business Administration blog post.
Beesley also notes in her SBA blog post
How to Show Your Appreciation
An office can demonstrate its gratitude to the administrative personnel in a variety of ways: flowers, gift cards, lunch out, and so on. However, a gift that motivates the recipient long after Administrative Professionals Week has ended, a certificate serves as a reminder of how much their work is appreciated by their co-workers and bosses.
Take the gift one step further by placing the certificate in a jacket or envelope to make the effort last that much longer. When your office awards the administrative staff with customized certificates recognizing their dedicated efforts, you’ll be amazed with how positively they respond to the gesture.
Picking up a Starbucks gift card or signing an off-the-rack greeting card are easy ways to recognize your company’s admins during Administrative Professionals Week. Yet these gifts don’t serve as ongoing motivation. Celebrate your administrative professionals while motivating them with a present that speaks directly to their hard work and ongoing efforts, such as a certificate.