Next Wednesday, April 27, 2022 is Administrative Professionals Days, and I have never had an admin staff before, they aren’t my assistant, they are the admin for our whole section, but they do so much to make our section run smoothly. It has taken me a bit to get used to having an admin professional and I’m definitely under-utilizing them and all their skills but I want to let them know that I do appreciate them and that I do notice all the work that they do.
My first note is that I don’t love any of the stereotypical, “Pinteresty” admin professionals gifts, they look so generic and like you don’t really know your person. However, the pandemic has made that really hard! I don’t actually know them, we haven’t spent a lot of time together casually where we can chat about what we like and just get to know each other. I also really don’t think my admin would like anything like that.
I’ve been talking about this with a few people, and largely the consensus seems to be gift cards, unless you are their boss/business owner, and then the answer seems to be a bonus, vacation days, time off, which I get that. I am not our admin person’s employer so I don’t have the power to do that, but definitely the best idea.
So the best ideas seem to be gift cards to coffee shops, restaurants, or UberEats, infamously my town doesn’t have delivery, so I won’t be doing that one. One person mentioned a bookstore gift card because she is a huge reader and she really loved that. Some people suggested plants, but as a former vet professional to me that raises so many questions. Do they have pets? Kids? Allergies? Those are all things you need to think about with plants. Also do they even want to have a plant to take care of?
I think the hard part with this is that I would really like to get them something more personal than a card and a gift card, but it does really seem like it is the best option. Also I love getting a gift card, so are they really as bad as I think they are?
If you have an admin, what are you doing for the day?
Laura
Thoughtful Millennial 