John is a successful small business owner, and like many other small business owners, he wears a lot of hats. John has taken things one step further and has hired an assistant, Jane. He’s heard over and over that there are “non-income-producing tasks” that he shouldn’t be doing.
Interestingly, despite his new hire, John is still feeling very overworked. He’s tired and still juggling a lot of tasks. Perhaps most frustrating of all, his administrative assistant doesn’t seem very engaged.
She’s good enough at her job. She can type, file, and has a pleasant demeanor when answering the phone. But something is still missing.
John wants her to take initiative. To make suggestions. To get excited about her job.
But here’s Jane’s perspective: I come to work, do my job and go home. My boss is nice enough, but doesn’t seem to notice me, really. We meet, he gives me a pile of work, I do it and I go home. There’s no creativity and I have very little real responsibility. But at least it’s a paycheck.
Yikes.
How many of you are scratching your heads, thinking, “Hey, I wonder if MY administrative assistant feels this way?”
Or do you even care?
I’ve been reading a lot of books by Seth Godin recently – Linchpin, Tribes, and Free Prize Inside – just to name a few. And one theme keeps popping up over and over as I read these books.
That one thing centers around personal responsibility and leadership. And frankly, I think these things are missing in the solo and small business world when we talk about teams.
Here’s the typical scenario: a solo or small business needs someone to answer the phones. Doesn’t seem like a hard job and no major skills are required beyond a pleasant demeanor and ability to multi-task a little. So, the business runs an ad, and hires a younger or older woman (99% of the time it’s a woman) and pays her $18,000 or $25,000 a year. Sometimes they hire someone to work onsite; other times they hire a virtual assistant.
In most small businesses, the phones aren’t ringing all the time, so they throw on a few other tasks – typing, printing invoices, stuffing and stamping letters.
And here’s the thing – none of that engages a person’s intellect, stimulates their curiosity, or helps them feel like part of your team.
If you’re frustrated and feel your administrative team isn’t engaged, ask yourself:
- What am I doing to engage them?
- Am I including them in team meetings?
- Do I give them special assignments?
- Do they know what a crucial role they play in the business?
- Can I give them a certain title (Director of First Impressions) to help emphasize the importance of their role?
- Do I solicit their feedback and ideas regularly?
Remember our business owner, John? He can’t seem to muster the energy to engage this administrative assistant. Over the course of a year, he hires and fires two more. Finally, he gives up. Tired and frustrated, he continues to try and do it all because it’s easier than trying to (1) find and hire a go-getter or (2) figure out how to get an administrative assistant excited about her job.
Want some help engaging your administrative team? Need to figure out how they can be more effective and efficient team players? Let MBS, Inc. complete an external audit of your administrative team and provide recommendations for increasing their commitment, initiative, and buy-in as a valued team member.
Angie Mattson, (704) 553-8082 or [email protected]