Administrative Professionals Day Gift List

Do you need ideas for Administrative Professionals Day?

 

It’s April. You’ve likely landed here because you just realized that Administrative Professionals Day is around the corner and you need a gift. You might just be curious about what kind of gifts would be appropriate for an assistant. Use this post as your handy dandy Buyer’s Guide to Shopping for the Administrative Professional in your life. I will go through the ‘what’ and they ‘why’ behind purchasing a gift for Administrative Professionals Day.

First, let’s start with some basics.

When is Administrative Professionals Day? Administrative Professional’s Day is on April 24 and it’s time to start thinking about what you would like to get for your amazing assistant this year.

What exactly is Administrative Professionals Day – and why do they get a day? Truth be told it’s actually Administrative Professionals Week, and yes, they get a whole week! Having a day (or week) for administrative professionals isn’t about Hallmark making a buck. It’s about making your assistant feel appreciated and respected for all they do for you. A great assistant bends over backward for their leader and their organization makes personal sacrifices, always knows who to call and puts out a fire before you ever feel the heat. So, taking one day out of the year to say “I appreciate you.” is way easier than hunting to fill the position time and time again because they just never felt appreciated and something better came along.

This list will guide you to the perfect gift for your administrative assistant or executive assistant.

Here are my thoughts on great administrative professional’s day gifts.

Respect the profession – This is rule #1. It happens day-after-day in too many offices around the world where assistants are being belittled because of their role. Do me a favor and never again use the phrase “just an assistant.” In addition, comments to your assistant like “You are so good, why are you an assistant?” or “You are great at this, you should consider working in the XYZ department!” aren’t really compliments. You see, being an administrative professional in many cases is actually a chosen profession. They are in this position not because they can’t get another job but because they really enjoy the work they are doing as an assistant and there are ways to grow the breadth and depth of what they do without changing roles. Comments like those listed above can actually be hurtful to some assistants. Assistants around the globe are helping businesses run every single minute of every single day, respect that. #AssistantsGetStuffDone

Workspace make-over – Your assistant spends more time in their workspace than they do their own home. Wouldn’t it be cool if you provided a budget or consultant for some really great decorating advice on how to best utilize and personalize the space? Note: This idea might backfire if you are just trying to get rid of your assistant’s personal style. If that is the case there is a deeper issue needing to be addressed here and we can help you with that. DreamCubicle.com has some interesting graphics that add a little warmth to the boring cubicle walls. Other interesting décor ideas to dress up a cube space.

Knowledge – An executive or administrative assistant is worth their weight in gold when they have a continuous growth mindset. Is your assistant always growing, a constant learner, never finished developing?  Perhaps more education is the perfect gift in their case. We have a great selection of books related to the administrative profession here. If you want to go bigger, consider a conference or high-level training experience.

“Never be so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise. View life as a continuous learning experience.” – Denis Waitley

A one-on-one coffee chat with you – Admit it, you don’t keep to your one-on-ones every day of the week with your assistant like you should or if you do; the two of you get interrupted by others in the office. Why not take a few moments in the day to take your assistant out for coffee and just chat about what’s going on? You might actually gain some insight into how employees feel about the new benefit plan you rolled out or what your assistant has going on in their life. Yes, they have a life and if something major happens to them – it happens to you.

A well-planned day away with pay – A day away also made my DON’T list. Click here to see why. You adore your assistant; they get things done and make it easy for you to function so to have them away for even one day is a scary thought. If you decide to offer them the luxury of a day away you must, and I repeat MUST, also plan for back-up (someone well-trained to provide back-up) for the day they choose to be out. The last thing they want to do is come back to work more hours to make up for the time they missed.

We’ve got options in all price ranges for you. I hope you found some great ideas. Remember to read my don’t buy list as well.

Bonus Tip: Do you have a lot of assistants at your company? Ask for quantity discounts or special group pricing on the registration. Most companies will work with you if you have 10 or more gifts to buy.

You will show up confidently saying:

“Happy Administrative Professionals Day!”

Do you feel like you found the perfect Administrative Professionals Day gift? 

We want to hear from you. Are you still looking and need help finding a training option that will best suit your assistants learning objectives? We’re here to help with that.

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