ABOUT THIS VIDEO
WEEK 4: Managing Office Technology
While administrative professionals use technology all day long, they need to realize that people are on the other end. Learn when technology gives you the edge and how to manage it by viewing this to-the-point webinar/video “Managing Office Technology” by Joan Burge. (06:56 mins.)
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to week four, Managing Office Technology. I bet you where thinking, as an executive administrative role, it’s ALL about technology. Well, I may surprise you today because actually, it’s not! In all the research that we do, from surveying executives, managers, human resources personnel, training and development as well as administrative professionals; we’ve learned that becoming successful in the administrative role is actually 90% interpersonal and soft skills, and only 10% technical.
To elaborate, it is true that you use technology all day long. But this is just the tool used to get the job done. When you send an e-mail, there is a person who will read the e-mail, and when you leave a voice mail, there is a person who will listen to the voicemail. Without good interpersonal skills behind the use of this technology, it could result in ruining your career as well as your relationship(s). Even in looking at this series of 26 weeks, we’ve only dedicated one week to the use of technical skills.
As an executive and business owner myself, and from communications with others who train, we believe that if you can learn, you will be able to grasp the technical portion of this profession. Taking a class or a program online can teach that to you very easily. But, teaching the soft skills, that is a more difficult skill to teach. That is because the soft skills contain: communication, leadership, conflict resolutions skills, managing change, self and stress management, problem solving skills and many more. These skills are not basic and take more time and expertise to accomplish with time.
However, since you do use the technology on a day to day basis, I’d like to give you three points, which will assist in successfully using those skills. They are:
- Embrace it!: For the ‘baby boomers’ like myself, it’s hard for us to embrace the technology that we were not raised with. We need to learn and grow with the younger generations who have had this skill their whole lives, we need to embrace it!
- Techno Savvy: Teach your managers what you know! Having an executive assistant like I have, it’s nice to know that when I’m struggling with something, Jasmine can come right in and whip it together for me. To make everyone’s’ life easier, it’s better to teach your executives what you know.
- Don’t allow the technology to dominate your life: This topic is very important to me. Why? Because various articles from not only myself, but from other great authors, have shown that office technology can get to a point where it just consumes our lives! You need to know when to shut it off, and get back to the basics.
A few more things to remember, even with technology we have to keep in mind that there is another person on the other side. Always remember to PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FOREWORD. When you’re communicating with someone, via e-mail BE TACTFUL; remembering that the other person cannot see your face or hear your voice, keep in mind that you don’t want to offend, even when trying to get straight to the point. Lastly, BE PREPARED TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY; gather your notes, be organized, have your thoughts together before you send that e-mail or leave that voice mail.
Activity for the week: Limit the amount of time you read e-mails in a day. DON’T PANIC! I don’t mean ignore them all day, but you should try not to jump every time you see that little e-mail icon pop up on the screen. Set aside scheduled times to devote to your e- mails throughout the day. Second, no matter what – do not read your e-mails while you are in a training program or in a meeting. In today’s society, too many people lose focus of the speaker/topic, and miss information that they may need for the future. Third, listen to your voicemail message; see if you are leaving adequate information, how do you sound? Enthusiastic! Or like you’ve just rolled out of bed? Have a great week!
Read our administrative blogs for more on managing office technology today.
Until Next Time…