Leaderboard

As time goes on, even the cons are starting to be worked on. Technology is being modified to accommodate the new, albeit temporary, normal. Some companies are also deciding that investing in multiple monitors for works to take home is worthwhile for increased productivity. I'm interested to see what more evolves as time goes on. At the end of this, there will be many lessons learned.

What is your current on-boarding/orientation process? Any formal documents such as a schedule, mentoring guide, welcome kit, etc., are appreciated.

Do you have an administrative network at your organization? If so, how effective is the network, leaders, content material, etc? Are you dealing with drama? Is there cohesiveness and respect among the administrative members? My reason for asking some of these questions is because I was elected this past December to lead our administrative members and the first thing that came into my mind was....why me? I am a leader but I prefer to lead in the background. It has been 6 months and it has had its challenges but I am now starting to gain some momentum. The first thing I did was held a meeting with my leadership board and began strategizing on calendar of events, thinking about training and lunch and learn topics based on our organizations messaging, etc. I am very creative and I believe that we now have to think outside the box and step out on faith and be risk-takers. Our first meeting was a "general meeting" where we thought it was important to lay the foundation with our members and make them aware that it is time for create a safe space for us to talk and share information and/or concerns. Embarking on this task has allowed myself and the leadership board to see things more clearly and think smart when it comes to changing up the "norm" of things. One thing I have learned from being in this lead role is that some of the members do not want to change the way things have always been and I get it but it is time to change because as society is changing, organizations are changing, etc. we will have to change or we will get left behind. To sum of everything, I made my administrative members know that I have a passion for what I do and I will do my best to try and lead with respect, open mind, transparency and a listening ear. Let's talk about this because it is important that we build an effective administrative network within our organizations. What is working? What is not working?

I've asked my team to put together a list of their pros and cons during this time of isolation and working while in quarantine. Here are the major takeaways- Pros: For the introvert - working remotely is a welcome break from all of the interruptions (more focused) No commute (less stress) More face-time with family members throughout the day (better work-life balance) Video meetings keep us connected Teamwork has strengthen as everyone now gets to share the duty of answering our main phone line throughout the day and we're not juggling lunch breaks Ample time for online professional development through webinars, LinkedIn Learning, industry articles Working in casual clothes Full-access to our technology platforms Keeping in mind that this is a temporary situation and life with resume as "normal" at some point Cons: For the extrovert - the isolation and lack of face-to-face interaction Technical blips Lack of multiple monitors Concerns about getting mail sorted and distributed (since resolved) Not going out to lunch with coworkers Sedentary workday with increased snacking 🙂 Easy to forget to "clock-out" at the end of the day For those with young children - interruptions

@JMcCumber Have you posted any of the best practices that referred to in your post? I want to make sure I didn't miss them. Thanks.

To learn more so I can share more... When I learn, I am able to then share what I know with colleagues and those I support, which adds value to the support I provide.

In my experience, I have personally handled calendars but have also used Scheduling Assistant Apps such as TimeTrade, ScheduleOnce, Calendy and Acuity...to name a few. Of course, depending on the executives' need determines the route best taken. Below are my findings after conducting research. COMPARISONS: TimeTrade vs. ScheduleOnce vs. Calendly | https://www.trustradius.com/compare-products/timetrade-vs-scheduleonce-vs-calendly TimeTrade vs. Doodle vs. BookingBug | https://www.trustradius.com/compare-products/timetrade-vs-doodle-vs-bookingbug TimeTrade vs. Acuity Scheduling vs. Booker | https://www.trustradius.com/compare-products/timetrade-vs-acuity-scheduling-vs-booker PRICING: TimeTrade | Individual: $6.50/month/user billed annually ($78) | Business: $12.42/month/user billed annually ($149) | Business Plus: $25/month/user billed annually ($300) Acuity Scheduling | Freebie: $0 | Emerging: $15/month | Growing: $25/month | Powerhouse: $50/month ScheduleOnce | Basic: $7.50/month billed annually ($90) or $9 MTM | Professional: $15.80/month billed annually ($189.60) or $19 MTM | Enterprise: $32.50/month billed annually ($390) or $39 MTM Doodle | Private: $4.08/month | Small Business: $5.75/month | Business: $2.98/month/user Calendy | Basic: Free | Premium: $8/month billed annually ($96) or $10 MTM | Pro: $12/month billed annually ($144) or $15 MTM BookingBug | Solo: $19.95/month (200 bookings per month) | Small: $34.95/month (500 bookings per month) | Medium: $69.95/month (2,000 bookings per month) | Enterprise: Customized

Renee, I'd like to do something similar in my organization. My on-boarding experience could have been better and I'm working on a manual specific to my role but feel that system wide there needs something. In my discussions with other admin, there is nothing provided - you have to learn as you go. I'd like to know if you would be willing to share information on your progress.

Hi Joanne! Just a few thoughts... Where does your department struggle the most? Where could they improve? For example, if tardiness or sick days have become more frequent, you could set a group goal to limit sick/tardy days. Or is there something you feel the team already does, but you could push to the next level by setting an obtainable goal to improve? Such as accomplishing a task in a shorter amount of time or getting more "first time rights" as a group. Hope this helps! Wishing you the best of luck in your goal setting! Jen

Our onboarding/orientation process is good but it could be better. One of the good things is that our company start new hires on Fridays so that definitely works. For my team, the hiring managing and a couple of team members take the new hire to lunch, the new hire will meet with IT support for about an hour to get setup, etc. Eventually, the new hire will be free to leave early but will be ready to dive in on that Monday. All formal documents will be provided on the next business day but depending on the hiring manager they will send them home with some reading material to get caught up on their new responsibility. We do provide a welcome kit. For the administrative side, I believe that we can do much better with "welcoming" each other into a new organization. For example, I am the new lead for our administrative team within the Potomac Region (Arlington VA) and I am working with my leadership board to create and implement a thorough but effective "Administrative Handbook" for the entire administrative team. I am responsibility/leading 90 assistants across this region and each site location may be slightly different.

I've been a long-time fan of AdobeScan for anything that needs scanning. It uses the camera on your phone to turn any paper document into a PDF that you can then email to anyone or save to Google Drive etc...