It takes one to appreciate one.

 I have served as an administrative assistant. Often time I felt overwhelmed with tasks and responsibilities. However, to keep me going, all it took was a little encouragement from my boss and coworkers acknowledging that they saw the work I was doing and appreciated my commitment. This simple action fueled me and gave me the motivation to keep doing my best every day.

Today is a day we take time to celebrate our support team members. But, shouldn't we do this every day? Showing appreciation for those that support you is as easy as ending your emails with “I appreciated you and all your hard work today” or stopping by their desk and saying, “Thank you for all you do". A leader should constantly strive to recognize, thank and inspire confidence in support team members and the work they do.

Appreciation of your support staff can and will strengthen their desire to continue helping the team and the company to achieve their goals. Without our support teams we would be lost. Trust me, the majority of us don’t even know how to scan, print, fax, or send a document (you know who you are). We need our support teams to thrive, so we can thrive.

So, lets take advantage of this day of appreciation. Need creative ideas on what to do?   Here are some easy things to do for your support staff to show you care about them:

• Give them a paid-time-off day to use on a day they choose. This is always a winner!
• Bring them a coffee or a surprise treat like a warm cookie delivery.
• Take them to lunch. Bonus points if you can include some key leadership in the office to join!
• Make them a gift basket of their favorite snacks or items. 
• One time for admin appreciation day, my leadership let all the admins go early for the day and bought us movie tickets to a nearby theater. It was fun to go to an afternoon movie and then play hookie from work afterwards!
• A hand-written note
• A gift card to a nice restaurant for them to use with a friend or significant other.

So. thank you to our administrative action stars! Thank you for showing up every day, getting your hands dirty, and taking on the abundance of tasks that are thrown at you on a daily basis. You are the glue that keeps our teams together and help us to achieve the common goal. We see you and we appreciate you!

All it takes are simple words to help our admins know how invaluable they are to the team. Remember to take 5 minutes on your way into or out of the office to stop and thank your admin for making your life a little better.