If your mama was like mine, she trained you. Sometimes it was intentional training; sometimes it was her consistent example. What Mom didn’t train in me, my first boss did. I can still remember that steely voice “See this and this? This was filed in the wrong place and the client missed out on a call! Always check your slots at the end of the shift – both carousels!—to make certain everything is filed correctly.” Yes, ma’am. And I did, faithfully check those carousel slots at the end of the shift.
Whether we as “in-charge people,” like it or not, we’re always training and reinforcing. If we abdicate our responsibility to train, then we’re not only reinforcing mediocrity but also losing out on a valuable opportunity to model leadership to our new charges. So, while HR News is mostly about HR, below are a few tips written by Erin Pratt that you might want to use to orient that “fresh into the job force” employee.
Keys to being a great administrative assistant
- Stay organized
- Listen to your boss
- Ask questions! – if you don’t know how to do something, just ask; if it is something general, look it up on Google
- Pay attention – in a matter of time, you will learn to figure out what they need done before they ask you
- Be innovative – think of new, more time efficient ways of getting things done
- Take initiative – start your own projects that you know will benefit the company
- Keep track of office supplies – when you notice something is running low, alert your supervisor so it can be purchased
- Reduce, reuse, recycle – print unofficial documents on scrap paper, print client documents on both sides of clean paper, use scrap paper or computer programs like notepad to make notes for yourself
- Make a daily list of tasks you completed so that your supervisor knows what got done and what did not
- Continue to intake as much knowledge as possible about the company and the clients
- Fine tune your communication skills – both verbal and written – if you sound polished, the clients will take the company more seriously and view it as a professional organization
- Monitor the speed at which you talk on the phone – if you talk too slow or too fast it will not leave a favorable impression upon the client
- Try and present yourself as a friendly, upbeat person…even if you do not consider yourself friendly and upbeat – you are the first face of the company and first impressions are everything
Finally, a word from Doris: “Write down procedures for the tasks you perform on a regular basis. It’s a great way to train your replacement as you move up that ladder!”
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Article revised 11/06/24