Officially, you could say that Executive Assistant Appreciation Day (also known as Administrative Professionals Day) is a one-off in April. Or executive assistant appreciation week might be more your style, spreading it out long enough to give some time off or extra kudos.
If you’re looking to retain your EA for the long-term, that approach won’t cut it.
67% of American workers say they aren’t appreciated at work. Similarly, nearly half of respondents to a recent poll on Boldly’s LinkedIn said the most frustrating part of their job as an executive assistant was feeling unappreciated.
It’s clear that one day or week each year won’t fix the problem.
Employees who do feel appreciated are four times more likely to be engaged in the workplace and with their work. That’s a major boost in productivity and morale — and typically doesn’t even require a big budget.
A premium, trusted executive assistant is incredibly vital to your success, as well as your ability to lead your company. That means that Assistant Appreciation Day 2024 is actually Assistant Appreciation Day 365.
We’ll show you how to make that happen.
Every Day Should Be Executive Assistant Appreciation Day
It starts with mindset — appreciation has to be part of your everyday culture.
Without a culture of thankfulness and appreciation, there are no special days or an assistant appreciation week that you can use as an excuse for weak culture the rest of the year. No matter how carefully planned, a nice holiday gift won’t make up for a year where your executive assistant doesn’t feel appreciated.
How do you build that culture of appreciation, care, and kindness?
- Build gratitude into everything — and lead by example. Not everyone has a natural tendency to be thankful or to be aware of all the little things that have made the big things possible. It takes practice. Put in the time to make it a habit, and that will become your culture. Model gratitude for others by making it a habit for yourself.
- Be inclusive for all team members. For a team made up of in-person and remote workers, including everyone in company events, memos, or gifting is important when it comes to showing everyone their contributions are equally valued.
- Recognize that people express and receive gratitude in different ways. Mentioning an employee’s hard work on a staff call might make someone’s day — or it might make them feel embarassed. Your idea of what’s enough (or what’s appropriate) when it comes to showing appreciation might not be.
- Don’t argue with how someone feels. Feeling appreciated isn’t something you can measure from your end. Pay attention to how your executive assistant responds when you show gratitude in different forms to better understand what appreciation looks like for them.
Why bother doing all of this?
Showing appreciation to your executive assistant benefits you, too. It can help you:
- Retain your best people. Expressing appreciation for your executive assistant is one of the best retention hacks you can find. 93% of employees who feel that they are valued are motivated to stay engaged and do great work.
- Clarify expectations. Saying thank you and showing appreciation for good, hard work also communicates what you consider valuable work. It’s part of how you give your executive assistant feedback. If your executive assistant doesn’t know what is considered excellent work, how do they continue to meet that high bar?
- Improve team attitudes. A work culture founded on gratitude does wonders for team morale. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that negative attitudes in the workplace cost about $3 billion each year. Gratitude does away with negativity.
How To Show Your Executive Assistant Appreciation
Executive Assistant Appreciation Day (or even week!) should be the cherry on top of a normal pattern of appreciation. Here are four basic methods to showing appreciation all year long.
1. Show Your Appreciation Both Privately And Publicly
There are times when a private and personal thank you is appropriate, and there are times to let others know publicly how much you appreciate your executive assistant.
A quick but sincere message via Slack or email, either directly to your executive assistant or the entire team, is one of the easiest ways to insert gratitude daily into the work culture.
Acknowledging your executive assistant’s contribution during a team meeting or company communication works, too. A remote executive assistant might feel distanced from the in-person team, so including them when handing out team kudos is a reminder they are part of the larger group.
Know your executive assistant’s personality. Not everyone desires frequent public accolades; some are made uncomfortable by it.
2. Be Specific About What You Appreciate
A general thank you is fine, but a specific thank you or acknowledgment of excellence directed towards specific work or projects packs a powerful punch.
It doesn’t have to be long or fancy, but it should be more than a generic message that ChatGPT wrote!
Thank your executive assistant specifically for a job well done, and specifically mention how they helped you out. When possible, connect their actions to the impact on the broader company or stragey. It’s hard to close a big deal with a client when you can’t get a meeting on the books — those little things matter!
Not only does that show you’re paying attention to their work, but you’re also providing them cues on what things they are doing that should be continued.
High-performing executive assistants need consistent feedback — and knowing how to give feedback to your executive assistant about their specific accomplishments overlaps with how you can show appreciation.
3. Acknowledge The Difficult Work They Do
The better your executive assistant is at the job, the easier it is to forget to acknowledge the challenges they face.
A premium executive assistant makes the job look easy, but it’s important to never take excellence for granted. High-performance executive assistants might not seem like they need a thank-you. Their excellent work seems to be just a part of who they are and what you’ve gotten used to.
When things are in a rush and your executive assistant is doing a great job to the point where you almost don’t even realize how much work they are doing to make your day run smoothly…it’s easy to forget to say something about it.
Everyone needs to be told they’re appreciated, especially those who are high-performing.
Of 1,000 high-performance workers surveyed, a startling 86% said they were exhausted at the end of the day. The more capable, efficient, and highly productive your executive assistant is, the greater the chance of burnout there might be.
There are times when the job is just difficult, and it’s not possible to lighten the load. Simply acknowledging that you’re aware of how many difficult things your executive assistant is trying to manage all at once is exactly what they need to hear. It shows that their hard work is noticed.
4. Remember That They’re Human
Similarily, in the rush of projects and to-dos, it’s easy to forget that your executive assistant:
- May make mistakes from time to time
- Likely has hobbies, friends, and family outside of work
- Needs time for doctors appointments and other health-related things
- Is likely juggling your priorities on top of their own!
Respect your executive assistant’s boundaries. They have a life outside of work — maybe even ask about it, from time to time!
5. Show Appreciation In A Tangible Way
We don’t recommend this as your first or only solution to (otherwise it can come across as insincere), but small gestures of tangible appreciation can go a long way!
It’s why we have things like Assistant Appreciation Day or Administrative Professionals Day — but without a foundation of gratitude to back them up, they can backfire.
There are many ways to show tangible appreciation to your executive assistant:
- Include them in team gifts or team-building exercises and events (especially if they’ve helped plan them!)
- Give them a gift card to a favorite restaurant or other activity/service they might enjoy.
- Provide professional development or training opportunities.
- Give them extra time off or a flexible schedule.
- Send hand-written personalized thank you notes that show you took the time.
- Ask your executive assistant what they need to be more successful in their role, and then actually follow through on those suggestions.
And most importantly, continue to invest in your executive assistant.
This includes consistently taking the time to explain what you need done, what you need done differently, and thoughtfully helping your executive assistant know your expectations. That’s an investment of time into your executive assistant, and it’s the most precious tangible gift of all.
