Expertise is Built on Scar Tissue
Your weekly round up of what's going on in the Admin world
Hello and welcome to this week’s Admin Wrap!
THANK YOU so much for all the lovely, lovely birthday messages. I think I responded to everyone, but if I didn’t, I’m really sorry but I did read your email. Here’s to the next five years! 🙌
Sometimes I come across an article or book that really makes me think. This was one of those weeks. After you’ve filled out the EA Salary Survey (if you’ve not already done so - please and thank you!), you’ll see the article on the Adequacy Gap. If you’ve ever made a mistake at work and learned from it, this is for you.
Finally, Microsoft published a really interesting report on productivity, using their telemetry data from Microsoft 365 and Teams. Apparently there’s a surge on PowerPoint in the 10 minutes before a meeting; and 57% of our meetings are ad hoc calls without a meeting invite. As a lover of data, I loved reading this. You can find it at the end of the NewsWrap!
Our US readers have had a public holiday for Juneteenth this week, and the UK has been melting in soaring heat (well, the south has). Whatever you’ve been doing, I hope you’ve had a great week.
Yvette
NewsWrap
There’s still time for you to complete the EA Salary Survey! If you’re in the UK, US, Australia or Canada, this is your opportunity to contribute to (what we think is ) the best salary report around. If you’ve not completed it yet, pop over to the website and it should only take you four or five minutes to complete.
If you want a peek at last year’s reports, you can find them here. You can also watch us being interviewed by the one and only Lucy Brazier on what last year’s reports told us:The Adequacy Gap is a new term to me this week but makes so much sense. Today’s younger generation of workers are typically being paid well but offered very few career advancements. They have started their career with AI by their side, so they are much less likely to know what it’s like to make that mortifyingly embarrassing mistake in your first week. Our new joiners are starting work as “good enough” and aren’t given the opportunity to create competence from incompetence. A really fascinating read, especially for some of you older-timers - of which I am very much one.
How would you answer the question “Is AI going to replace you?”? Often these types of questions can take us by surprise, so it’s a good idea to think of something constructive to say, rather than going straight onto the defensive. Thankfully The EA Campus have already thought of this and have a great article on how we can answer this question in a helpful way to the person asking.
How much does it matter to matter? Similar to being valued, it’s the concept that what you are doing is important to those around you. It’s so, so easy to be caught in the rut of feeling like no-one would notice if you didn’t go to work or attend that meeting (I’ve certainly been there). But studies show that we do better in our work and are happier when we matter. So it’s really important to find value in what you do, and find what matters in what other people do.
Would you take a side job while you are fully employed? Apparently a MASSIVE 10% of us take on additional paid work, and a third of us work on them during our contracted hours for our employer. With so many people reporting to be more productive whilst working remotely, perhaps we’ve never asked what they are being productive on! what about you? Would you take on a side job on top of your permanent full time role?
Does your workday feel Infinite? Microsoft took a whole load of work productivity data and drew up what an infinite workday looks like. In this absolutely fascinating breakdown of what we do and when, we can see that our working days are generally dominated by other people’s attention spikes, and an avalanche of messages. On top of that, we are interrupted on average every 2 minutes by an email, meeting or message. No wonder we can’t get much meaningful work done until we are all working from home on a Friday!!
Looking for a Mentor?
I’ve teamed up with three fabulous mentors to offer mentorship across a range of specialities. You can book in for an hour, or a block of three hours, to get expert advice and guidance from one of four women who all have vastly different backgrounds and experiences. Take a look here
Your 360 Review
If you’ve ever completed a 360-degree review, you’ll know it might feel daunting. If it’s your first time—well, brace yourself. The idea of getting feedback from your manager, peers, and direct reports (if you have them) might sound like a recipe for overthinking, but when approached with intention, it’s one of the most powerful tools for growth in our profession.
By referring your friends and colleagues to The Admin Wrap, you can earn yourself free access to The Extra Wrap - our in depth thought leadership pieces which are sent out every Monday. Can you make it to the top of the leader board?
💻 TechWrap
Each month we’re going to be deep diving into a software platform or piece of tech that you might use, and we’ll give you a Top Tip each week for it.
For June we are looking at Microsoft Excel (because that’s what you voted for!)
Freeze Panes to Keep Headers Visible
Make scrolling easier by keeping your headers in place. Go to View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row (or selected rows/columns). You can do the same thing if you need to keep the first column too.Add Drop-Down Lists
Make data entry faster and reduce typos. Go to Data > Data Validation > choose “List” and add your options. This is ideal for when you are making graphs and charts too, as it reduces the number of different options you are analysing.Conditional Formatting for Visual Cues
Highlight deadlines, expenses over budget, or completed tasks automatically with colour-coded rules. It helps to spot key info at a glance.
Select range → Home tab → Conditional Formatting → Choose a rule or create a custom one. This is brilliant for visualising number gradients from largest to smallest.
EventWrap
EPAA are running a People Management training session specifically for EAs. Their next online session is on 19th July. For all the information, including costs and alternative dates (including some face-to-face in London) here.
One definitely for the diary is this interview with Molly Denham, former EA at the Pentagon on 25th June at 6pm BST. You can sign up free for this EA How To event here
The Executive Assistant Network is holding a webinar (members only, but you can join) about being creative when it comes to setting up your support systems. This one is at 1pm AEST on 8th July, and you can watch the recording if you can’t make that time. You can sign up here.
For a list of Conferences, head over to the Conferences section in our Ultimate Assistant’s Toolbox.
If you are running an event aimed at administrative professionals, please send me an email and let me know all about it - hello@theadminwrap.com
The Ultimate Assistant’s Toolbox
Your complete guide to the tools that every assistant needs! And it’s FREE!
In the salary report form under USA, I am an hourly EA, and I do not receive overtime pay. When I select "Other," it doesn't let me move forward; it says I need to select an option.