Make Mondays count
When the boss asks you how your weekend was, don’t just say, “fine” and move on. Instead, tell how you benefited from an experience on the job or had a work-related brainstorm.
Does your job title matter? You bet!
One admin wrote: “Our company just reorganized and changed our job titles from administrative assistant to ‘office assistant.’ None of the job functions changed. I feel demoted. Should we go to our manager and speak to him about our displeasure or just be quiet and not say a thing?”
Remember to praise
Just because you have high expectations, don’t take great work for granted. Taking a moment to say “great job” can make someone’s day.
Assess company culture to gauge ‘Where am I going?’
Gauge your long-term prospects with your current organization by assessing its bottom line and culture. Here are the questions you’ll need to answer and the steps you’ll need to take, divided into four key parts:
Get out of voice mail jail
Check whether someone unfamiliar with your company’s voice mail system can navigate it easily. Always give callers the option to talk with someone, so they aren’t stuck in voice mail hell.
Do you have entrepreneurial passion?
Entrepreneurship isn’t just about making money or starting a business. It also means having a passion for doing something you love: devising a new procedure, planning a meeting, creating a more organized back office. Take this quiz to assess whether you have an entrepreneurial spirit:
Help new employees
Before they arrive to work for the first time, email new employees helpful information such as where to park, what the organization’s dress code is and where to go when they arrive at the building.
Minimize disruptions to your daily schedule
Appointments and errands need not devour the lion’s share of your “free” time if you follow these tips during the work week:
Clear the air
Clear the air with a grumpy colleague by bringing the topic out in the open. Example: “You look unhappy. What can we do about it?”
1-Minute Strategies: Oct. ’11
What helped clinch this year’s OfficeTeam Administrative Excellence Award for Deborah Carter? … Perk up your daily emails with MeebleMail … Double-check your work. A survey by Accountemps shows that “lack of attention to detail/sloppy work” is the No. 1 pet peeve of CFOs …