She's not your father's secretary.

We used to just call them secretaries.

If you are a fan of Mad Men, the image of the secretarial pool should be fresh. Just by mere fact that the “girls” are “pooled” indicates a certain business culture that assumes that they are easily interchanged with one another and all waiting on stand-by at the pleasure of the executives. But even Don Draper knows that all secretaries are not created equally.

Where once there was a pool of generalized office help, we now have administrative professionals with a wide variety of job titles and roles: administrative assistant, executive assistant, office manager, business manager, operations specialists and countless others. They serve across departments: business operations, sales, human resources, finance – often with highly specialized roles, responsibilities and skills. A good admin isn’t just the person to whom one goes to find out where the pens and sticky notes are kept, administrative professionals are the ones we go to for answers and solutions.

Ironically, the better an administrative professional is at her/his job, the less you might notice their influence on the business. There arises a level of expectation that business functions smoothly and efficiently – as if by magic. It isn’t magic; it is skill, discipline, dedication, attention to detail, and putting the needs of others first. So it is only right that we take time to stop and appreciate the contribution that these professionals make to our organizations.

The boys at Sterling Cooper might have brought flowers to their secretaries on Secretaries Day or taken them out for one-too-many cocktails and inappropriate displays of appreciation. The International Association of Administrative Professionals (the IAAP) has some better suggestions:


• Offer professional development and training opportunities

• Subsidize membership in professional organizations (like IAAP)

• Appropriate business related gifts like personalized business cards, gift certificates, cash bonus, upgraded office chair or equipment

• Lunch (a Vmeals favorite!)

• Paid time off (even just an afternoon would be welcome gift for many)

• Or simply a personal hand-written thank you note.

So how do you observe Administrative Profesionals Day? And if you don't - why not?

Admins are our favorite customers! This week, Vmeals has a special just for you. Click here to find out more.