As a professional woman, presenting objective, clear information about your new assistant's job both helps your assistant start, and builds the impression that you can be relied on as a solid boss with strong and sensible guidelines. How your assistant perceives you is reflected in even the subleties how they communicate to others about you, and as a professional woman, building your reputation as a diligent and appropriately detached professional is ever important. Creating and executing a good start plan is critical to starting off right, and avoiding bumpy beginnings.
Since your assistant interacts with you on a daily basis, makes certain your professional life is organized and takes care of work that allows you to be even more productive, the start plan has to enable your assistant to feel confident helping you. You’ll want to have the most constructive relationship possible with this person. Getting off to a rough start can set a precedent that may not ever resolve itself. Three key parts of a new assistant starting plan are:
1. Establish a brief orientation: That will help prepare your assistant for the new position, but it requires some careful thought as to what is most important. If not, you could easily forget to pass along key information, setting the person back almost immediately. For example, not mentioning the board meeting you attend every two months means it might not be entered into your calendar and you risk forgetting to attend.
2. Clarify responsibilities: During the orientation, expectations will need to be spelled out. Topics to discuss include: what the immediate priorities and issues are that need to be addressed; how often and in what form do you want project updates; and how you evaluate performance.
3. Set initial goals: Agree on a time for regular meetings to touch base and discuss progress. Be sure to inquire whether any of these job duties presents a conflict for the individual, such as lunch times, the need to come in or leave early because of parental obligations, or other concerns that may be negotiable. It’s better to clear up any potential discord at the beginning instead of allowing them to continue and risk causing friction.
Keep your door open. Initially, your assistant will probably have a number of questions, so make certain he or she knows that you’re available to talk. If possible, keep your schedule light the first week so that you have time to meet and go over any uncertainties that may arise.
Your investment in creating and using a good assistant start plan, with the three key components: orientation, responsibities and goals, along with an open door, will go a long way toward helping you and your assistant excel together.
If you and your assistant are able to begin on a positive note, you build an immediate foundation of trust and respect, one that will pave the way to a meaningful, successful working relationship.
Written originally for w2wlink.com by Dave Willmer, Executive Director of officeteam.com .
w2wlink Discussion and Thought Provoking Questions from the Author: 1. Have you ever assisted someone in any capacity, official or unofficial? 2. What helped you to assist them better?
Dave Willmer,
is executive director of OfficeTeam, the world’s largest specialized temporary staffing service for administrative professionals. In this role, he manages operations for the more than 300 OfficeTeam locations worldwide, which place tens of thousands of highly skilled candidates each year into positions ranging from executive and administrative assistant to receptionist and customer service specialist. Willmer is a frequent speaker on employment issues. He has presented at industry conferences and has been interviewed by the media on workplace topics. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Akron and a master’s degree in in education with an emphasis in educational leadership from Ohio University.
