Administrative Assistant's Update - sample

5 Administrative Assistant's UPDATE potential of collaboration and, with results, the group grew in strength. "They started to realize this was a forum they could use to help them with problems they were having in their own department or something that was an all-school situation, such as wellness," says Dunbar. "It was an exciting way for them to actually give voice to their ideas and see some ideas come to fruition." Debbie Alvarez, Senior School re - ceptionist and administrative assistant to the Senior School, was among the early skeptics. "We sort of know what each other does," she says. "I thought it would be a waste of my time." But over time, she became a convert as she learned about the activities of her colleagues and honed her skills in public speaking and meeting facilita- tion. "They taught me a lot and I am grateful for that." By Laura Brockwell Davis Too often senior EAs, who are skilled at solving issues rapidly and expertly, fail to include junior staff in their decision-making process. I recently needed to schedule a training session to introduce a stan- dard IT software rollout to a staff of 30 people, from the administrative team to upper management. As most companies would agree, IT training sessions can be downright boring. Our staff needed the informa- tion on how to use the new software but most of our team likely could have figured it out through trial and error. My challenge was to design a ses- sion that would (a) get full atten- dance from initially unenthusiastic execs and managers and (b) present the learning in a way that made it not only palatable but effective. So I turned to my admin team, as I often do, for problem solving as well as a mentorship opportunity, since they would be attending the training session as well. I scheduled a review meeting where I laid out the goals of the training: (a) encourage staff to move to a paper - less system so that the software could be used to its maximum potential; (b) reach as many staff members as possible in as little time as pos- sible; and (c) provide information on dates and times of the software rollout. I welcomed feedback and encour- aged creative thinking. An open team dialogue Together, our administrative staff posed strategies, ideas and methods. The result was far superior to what I would have individually devised. Not only did we come up with an effective solution, we had unwittingly cre- ated an administrative brainstorming session. The entire admin team felt acknowledged, and we all learned from the opportunity of open dialogue and strategizing together. Our solution included moving the training to a beautiful local golf course within our company's port- folio that would not charge us room rental or audio-visual fees. We transformed the session into a team-building event, utilizing the in- frequent opportunity to have multiple departments within the company together at one time. We decided to merge the multiple sessions into one longer session to re- duce redundancy and included a tan- talizing breakfast to encourage early morning attendance. We planned for each attendee to receive a golf course- inspired gift and we provided a barbe- cue after the session with ample time for group communication on a patio overlooking the golf course. We spread the word about the ex- citing new session with a great trainer as speaker. We had 100 per cent atten- dance and focused participants. Managment impressed Upper management was impressed with the excellent turnout, the posi- tive attitudes and the success of the software rollout training. The cost in- crease from the original format to this enhanced experience was quite low. Taking time to communicate with colleagues when challenges arise is a mentorship opportunity that regu- larly gets missed. We can become so focused on immediately fixing the issue that we overlook opportunities for reflection and teamwork. Look for these mentorship mo- ments every day and you will be surprised how often they are avail- able to you! Laura Brockwell Davis, CMP, is a senior executive administrative assistant at a Toronto-based real estate development company. She is a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP) and is active in the Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners, Senior Planners Industry Network and the Association of Administrative Assistants. Laura Brockwell Davis Power in collaboration Continued from page 4 Mentoring through joint problem solving

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