Ways to Celebrate Administrative Professionals Day

Administrative professionals are incredibly important to businesses. They make things happen. Every detail or task you might forget about, your admin remembers. When you need information, your admin gets it for you. When you need to coordinate with a bunch of people for an event, your admin plans, executes, and tracks so you can focus on your role in the company.

For all the hard work admins do, they deserve a day of recognition and appreciation each year. This year, Administrative Professionals Day is celebrated in Australia on Friday 6th May. Here are some suggestions on how to celebrate Administrative Professionals Day to let your admin/s know how much you appreciate their help.

Bring them morning coffee and a yummy treat

Even if the local coffee shop is out of the way while you’re heading to work, take a little extra time to swing by and get your admins their favourite drinks and a yummy treat. They’ll appreciate that you thought of them so early in the morning and were thoughtful enough to get it for them.

Take them to lunch

Everyone likes to be taken out to lunch but admin professionals often have a workload that doesn’t allow them to go out often. An idea is to let your admin know you would like to take them to lunch so they can plan to be able to take some time out and have things covered at the office. Ask if they have a particular restaurant they would like to go to or would they like you to pick and surprise them with a location they probably haven’t been to. If time doesn’t permit for you to personally take your admin out on Friday 6th May, suggest that your admin take the group of admins at the company out for lunch so they can all enjoy a meal together. They deserve a splurge for all the hard work they do throughout the year.

Give them the afternoon off

I know that it’s hard to get anything done without your trusty admins at your side, but you can probably make it through one afternoon without them. If it can’t be on Friday 6th May, plan to give them an afternoon off that suits you both. Your admins will be grateful for the unexpected free time. If you want to be even more thoughtful, give them the afternoon off to go and do something. Buy them a voucher or movie tickets or similar for them to enjoy during their time off so they can switch off from work mode.

Pay for training or events of their choice

Mandatory training is already a part of being an admin, but what about giving them the opportunity to select what they want to learn and from who/where. Richard Branson once said, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so that they don’t want to.” Letting your admins pick a class, seminar or event of their interest and footing the bill accomplishes both of these things. If you want to do something for them without them having to pick, there are some amazing resources and events out there for example the Australian Admin Awards, mentoring with Door20A and The EA Institute. They learn something and appreciate not having to pay for it while you get more skilled staff.

Publicly recognise them on your company’s intranet, website, or social media channels.

Recognition, especially the public kind, is free and effective. Maybe a shout out on LinkedIn or a post on the company Instagram account. Everyone likes having their hard work recognised. Recognise your admins’ accomplishments and you’ll reinforce their value to your company.

Give them a personally written card

Cards are underrated, but that may be because some people give cards that don’t say anything personal in them. If you opt to get your admin a card, make sure you put something thoughtful and personal inside. Cards can be a great way to show someone you care, so long as you put in the effort that demonstrates your appreciation, ie. more than just one sentence.

Get them a plant or flowers

A plant is a great long-lasting gift that brightens up any office space. Office plants promote health by improving air quality and have been shown to decrease stress and improve productivity. They’re thoughtful and helpful (which, incidentally, is a compliment that can be reused in the hand-written note you’ll include with the plant). A bunch of beautiful flowers are always appreciated as well.

These are just a few of the many ways to celebrate Administrative Professionals Day in Australia on Friday 6th May. No matter what you do, your admins will feel special knowing you took the time to show your appreciation.