Stress. We all experience it. We all dream of ways to alleviate it. But many people overlook one big way they can facilitate stress relief at the office. Procedures!
If you’ve been following me for very long, you know I’m a fierce advocate of administrative procedures. So this week, I thought it might be helpful to share the experiences of some of your admin colleagues, and how administrative procedures have provided them with stress relief and a whole lot more!
Peace of Mind, Training, & Time Savings
“I wanted to have the peace of mind to know that I was doing everything I could to help train others in a clear and concise manner. I realized by documenting it myself, I’d better be able to train others to back me up when I’m on vacation, but also to onboard someone quickly if I needed to. Documenting procedures in the binder helped save me time by just having everything in one place.” – S.L., executive assistant, information technology, San Diego, California
“Before reading the eBook, 5 Simple Steps to Creating Your Administrative Procedures Binder, I was approaching my work using some steps and guidelines to complete the assignment. However, I was stressed, under pressure, and most things took more time to complete. Now that I’ve created this binder, it’s a fabulous tool for my own reference to save time and make it easier to complete my work and ask for additional work and responsibility in my position. It is easy to add tasks that I need to perform and manage daily. But the best reason to create an admin binder is so I can train any new member at work in a short time.” – Muneer A., executive office manager, electronics company, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Leadership and Professional Development Opportunities
“As it would happen, I was preparing to go on medical leave and would be gone for at least eight weeks. At the time, I was supporting two busy senior officers and knew that anyone coming in to cover for me would be totally overwhelmed. So, to prevent that from happening, I started developing my administrative procedures binder. The person covering in my absence would have to hit the ground running, and this guide would serve as the tool to help them do it.
Before leaving, I was able to spend a few days going over the binder with my temp. She was very appreciative to have such a detailed point of reference to help her quickly get up to speed. As a result, she felt more confident about covering for me.
While out on leave, I would check on her periodically, and she would always comment on how helpful the binder had been to her. From a professional development perspective, my administrative procedures binder blew my managers away. A few initiatives were developed out of the creation of this guide:
- I was asked to share my binder with the legal secretaries in my division in our Chicago and Washington, D.C. offices, and train them in how to create their own desk reference guide. This is my current initiative.
- At the completion of the first initiative, I will present the guide to other administrative staff in my association to get them on board.
- After I complete that initiative, I will revise my current guide to fit a general association standard for presentation to my HR division to possibly implement into a company standard for administrative personnel.
These initiatives are essentially goals for my Professional Development Plan and each goal will be weighed and rated. Needless to say, this entire process has become very near and dear to me.
I am very pleased with the results and the many compliments I have received. It’s a very rewarding feeling. I am excited to share with my colleagues this product and how it can make a difference for them in their professional development as it has done for me.” Lá Shawn S., executive assistant, insurance industry, Chicago, Illinois
Business Continuity and Succession Planning
“I ordered the Administrative Procedures Toolkit binder because when I started my job, I felt like I was floundering for direction. I am in a 2.3 person department, so I am the only one who does most of my daily duties. We had a family tragedy three years ago and I learned that there may come a time when I can’t come to work and things have to go on in our district even if I’m absent. Before implementing the administrative procedures binder, I relied on my memory and the memory of my coworkers to complete duties when someone, including me, was absent. Now I feel confident that the needs of my boss and my customers will be met in my absence.” – Terri P., student services secretary, public education, Sauk City, Wisconsin
“Before participating in the 5 Day Challenge, I knew I had to update my admin procedures, but I wasn’t sure where or how to start. And since I am the only admin in this office, I didn’t see a need to get it done. I thought, ‘Why write anything down? I’m always here, and I know what I’m supposed to be doing.’ After participating in the 5 Day Challenge, I realized just how important it is to have a procedures binder in place because I am the only admin in this office. Folks need to know what to do when I’m on vacation, out sick, or leave this position.” – Lori B., sr. administrative assistant, Redmond, Washington
In my feature article this week, I share a few more specific tips on how office procedures can have a significant impact on stress relief for you and your entire office. We’re also sharing tips and resources on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages.
Finally, I invite you to put your procedures on the fast track and register for our 5 Days to Better Office Procedures Challenge! It has become one of our most popular programs…because it works. And I’d love to personally help you get over the hump in moving your office procedures from your to-do list to your “done” list in the coming week!
Supporting your administrative success,
Julie
