Next Wednesday is Administrative Professionals Day. If you rely on administrative professionals to help get work done, this is the ‘scheduled time’ to stop and recognize those people who support you and your business.
Anna’s Gourmet Goodies is in business to send gifts that make people happy. But, we know from experience that there are other things you can do to show your gratitude. And while we are ready and prepared to ship gourmet cookie and brownie gifts next week, here are some alternatives you might consider if what we have is not the right fit:
Send them to lunch (or dinner) with someone else – their spouse, significant other or family
While it is nice to take someone to lunch, it is far more impactful to allow someone to share something they’ve earned, with someone else outside of work. You may have a great relationship with your staff and that is great. However, many managers overestimate the real desire of support staff to spend time with them outside of work. Lunch or dinner may actually create more stress, depending on how a manager has behaved during the other 51 weeks of the year.
Surprise them with a day off AND do all of their work
Taking a day off in our ultra-connected world is not what it used to be. The sad truth is that for many people, a day off simply means that work piles up until you return and have to do double duty to catch up. Give your admin(s) a day off and hire someone to handle all the tasks they would normally do. If this is not possible during their time off, hire someone to be their admin when they return so that the day off was really a bonus, not a postponed penalty.
Say ‘thank you’ the other 51 weeks of the year, and mean it
Surveys on workplace satisfaction vary and depending on the source (and whether you believe the results), as much as 80% of the people working at companies are dissatisfied enough to leave if given the opportunity. Why is that? I don’t believe it is the task performed. There are things all of us have to do that we don’t like, but the greatest source of discontent comes down to people who manage other people. If you work for someone who is not grateful for your efforts, nothing will be satisfying in the long run. A dose of genuine gratitude is medicine that could cure a world of hurt in the workplace. Say thanks, mean what you say and do it often
If you do decide to send one of our gourmet cookie or brownie gifts, then here are a couple of things you might want to consider.
1. Send the gift to their home, especially if they have a family. Don’t hand them a gift at work so that they have to ‘thank you for the thank you gift’. Send them something outside of work to let them (and their family or friends) know that you appreciate them outside of work.
2. Size the gift for the recipient. If you are sending a gift to a person who does not have a family or significant other, you don’t need to go overboard and send a basket of 48 cookies. A nice simple box will do just fine. All our gifts are about the experience of something really good in elegant packaging that is nice, but not gaudy or overly extravagant.
3. Consider having us ship on Wednesday so they arrive on Friday for the weekend. What a nice treat to enjoy over the next couple of days!
Whatever you decide to do for those people who support your operation, remember that gratitude is should be a part of your management philosophy 365 days a year, not just on special occasions. And while it is great to do something to say ‘thanks’ during the ‘scheduled time’, think about how you can practice the same thing at other times of the year, when it is least expected. A little lagniappe can go a long way.