Administrative Assistant's Update

February 2019

Focuses on the training and development needs of admin professionals and features topics such as hard skills (software competencies, writing, communication, filing) and soft skills (teamwork, time management, leadership).

Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/1071575

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By Jennifer Lewington AAU Associate Editor What does it take for an executive assistant to deliver at an "above and beyond" level on the job? For Ali Ah-Yu, an executive assis- tant at Best Buy Canada, a willingness to take initiatives, an ability to com- municate and a focus on company goals has earned her kudos since she arrived at cor- porate headquar- ters in Burnaby, B.C., in early 2017. "She has a lot of positive energy, she loves people and she is a great collaborator," says Angela Scardillo, senior vice-presi- dent of marketing and store design at Best Buy, a major consumer electron- ics retailer. Ah-Yu works for Scardillo and Thierry Hay-Sabourin, senior vice-president of e-commerce and information technology, who together lead a total of 600 employees at the company. "She sees what opportunities there are in the organization and activates to move things forward and make them happen," says Scardillo. Em- phatically, she adds, "I could not do my job without her." Ah-Yu's willingness to take on a project, unasked, paid dividends last year for Best Buy's 1200 head office employees. In 2017, shortly after she arrived at Best Buy, Ah-Yu assisted in prepara- tions for a new internal networking event, known as Random Coffee. Ah- Yu manually compiled a spreadsheet for those working in e-commerce to meet their peers and senior leaders over coffee in the Best Buy cafeteria. Given Best Buy's fast-paced growth, the coffee meet-up was an informal way to encourage personal camaraderie, collaboration and, ulti- mately, a shared understanding of the company's goals. "It builds stronger working re- lationships when you know a little something more personal about someone," says Ah-Yu, noting that the event embodies a Best Buy value of "having fun while being the best." The Random Coffee event, initially for e-commerce employees, proved so popular that other departments wanted to join as well. As a result, a once-manual process by Ah-Yu of pairing candidates for coffee now had to be computerized and simplified to meet growing demand of employees. In spring 2017, when Best Buy held its second annual internal hackathon FEBRUARY 2019 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O R C A N A D A ' S O F F I C E S U P P O R T S T A F F Administrative Assistant's UPDATE UPDATE PM #40065782 INSIDE Your dynamic duo � � � � � � � � 2 For your exec: 5 tips to raise your combined performance A governance role? � � � � � � � � 3 Part 3: If you choose this route, you'll never be bored Messaging mode matters � � � 5 Choose the best format for each of your messages Convert text to speech � � � � � 6 Speak and Read Aloud will read email and docs to you Women see automation, AI as job threats Women employed in all sectors of the economy fear losing their jobs to automation and artificial intel- ligence within 10 years, according to a survey by Randstad Canada. Those who feel most vulnerable work in manufacturing followed by those in information technology and retail. Female respondents cite the ability to adapt to new technology as the most important skill for the coming decade. In preparing for change, Randstad Canada's Carolyn Levy, President, Technologies, urges the development of additional skills, including the ability to solve problems and work collaboratively. Source: Randstad Canada Continued on page 4 Ali Ah-Yu Angela Scardillo She makes things happen, her boss says An EA's can-do attitude creates value for employer

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