5 Ways to Thank Administrative Professionals

Happy Administrative Professionals Week! Administrative Professionals Day is April 26, but many businesses celebrate all week. Be sure to thank administrative professionals in your organization; even if it’s just a personal “Thank You,” you’ll make admins feel valued and appreciated.
According to the International Association for Administrative Professionals (IAAP), there are more than 22 million administrative and office support professionals in the United States.
“Administrative Professionals Week celebrates and sheds light on administrative professionals’ devoted, valued work,” the IAAP states.
Chances are, your organization depends on the organizational help of admins to run smoothly — or run at all!
Your Administrative Professionals Week celebration doesn’t need to be fancy. Your gratitude for employees is what counts.
At Ridge Crest Elementary in Idaho this week, for example, the school’s administrative staff was honored with cake and Thank You gifts. But the school principal’s public announcement of appreciation was the most important part of the celebration.
“The school secretaries have the most important job in a school … [their] welcoming smiles communicate to parents and students that Ridge Crest is a place of love and respect. I could not ask for better help in the front office. They are the heart and soul of my school,” he said.

Why Administrative Professional Week Matters

Etiquette instructor and Culture and Manners Institute founder Callista Gould calls administrative professionals “the ones who manage the managers.”
“Behind every successful executive or manager, there is the ultimate multitasking, negotiating, organizing, master scheduling, protecting, event planning, crisis managing, psychological counseling administrative professional,” she writes.
Admins are so behind-the-scenes that they’re often forgotten. When a project goes well, admins are not usually the ones to get the glory.
That’s why Administrative Professionals Week is so important: it’s a great reminder to express our appreciation for these critical team members.
Gould suggests keeping Administrative Professionals Week celebrations simple.
“A special lunch out or a lunch ordered in is nice. A personal gift or a gift card is thoughtful. Time off works, too. And the rest of the year, a kind word or occasional written note of appreciation goes a long way,” she writes.

5 Ways to Thank Administrative Professionals

Share appreciation with your admins in a way that’s meaningful and memorable. Here are five ideas to thank administrative professionals:

1. Tell the world how awesome your admins are
Write a letter to the editor or pitch a story to the local newspaper or an industry publication that lets everyone know how important your admins are to the company and how much you appreciate them.
2. Make a coffee date
Arrange for or encourage managers in your company to invite their admins out for coffee (or lunch) and conversation. It’s a chance for managers to get to know their assistants and other support staff one-on-one (and vice versa) and build a stronger working relationship.
3. Be inspired by history
Writing a Thank You note? Be inspired by these famous expressions of gratitude from history — and the personal success stories of these famous former administrative professionals.
4. Empower everyone to thank admins
Everyone in a company benefits from the hard work of admins. Use the power of peer recognition to help employees recognize their favorite admins. Shower admins with a deluge of paper “thank you’s” or have everyone write a handwritten note and deliver it in person.
5. Thank your admins on social media
Join the administrative professionals appreciation party happening this week on Twitter and elsewhere. Tag your star admins and be sure use the hashtag #AdministrativeProfessionalsDay!

Free Resource: Your Day-to-Day Employee Engagement Calendar

We all need inspiration to make employee appreciation a daily habit. gThankYou’s 2017 Day-to-Day Employee Celebration Calendar gives you the tools and inspiration to build a culture of appreciation every day of the year. Be inspired; download yours today, absolutely free.

“In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day — or to celebrate each special day.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru, coach and author

Here’s to a happier workplace in 2017!

About gThankYou, LLC

Turkey Gift Certificates, Ham Gift Certificates, and Turkey Or Ham Gift Certificates by gThankYou are America’s favorite employee gifts and can be redeemed for any brand (Turkey, Ham, or Turkey Or Ham), at virtually any grocery store in the U.S.
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