Before International Administrative Professionals Day, there was National Secretaries Day (since 1952). As the title, the role of the administrative professionals in the modern workforce has evolved. It has transformed from a supporting role to more of a strategic one. Often a whole team lean on one for internal communications, strategic counsel, technical expertise, event planning, and onboarding…etc. The list goes on. So, let’s remember to take a moment to thank our heroes!
For HUONE, the day (April 21st in 2021) has always had a special meaning. We work very closely with many of them since ‘an event organiser’ is one of many hats assistants wear. And the founder of HUONE, Evon Blomstedt, also started as one!
Celebrate the Administrative Professionals in your team!
HUONE celebrates International Administrative Professionals Day every year; we do it by organising a meaningful breakfast seminar just for them. On this day, they get to actively ‘participate’ in an event, instead of the usual planning and stressing about the event. It’s the day to show appreciation for those who make our success possible.
The event 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic, and unfortunately for the same reason again, we couldn’t celebrate the day with all the amazing bunch. However, we have brought something to lift the spirit:
Let us introduce Elli, the beloved colleague in EMU
Earlier in 2020, HUONE Helsinki organized a surprise for Elli, together with her colleagues in EMU. Elli is EMU’s HR & Administration Coordinator — the superhero. Her colleagues secretly made a video to thank her for the hard work and shared their love.HUONE had the pleasure to host the ‘surprise’ meeting, where Elli was invited to watch the video with her colleagues!
Check out the video(in Finnish), and feel the warm hugs and pure emotions. We hope this will put a smile on your face 🙂
*Please note the video was filmed prior to the pandemic in February 2020.
We asked Elli how has the pandemic affected her work
It’s been a year since ‘the surprise’! How has the pandemic affected your day-to-day work as an administrative professional?
I have transferred to mainly work from home office like most of us. Sometimes I do also visit the office for routine tasks. I’ve been able to manage my tasks remotely, and last winter, my responsibilities has actually evolved to be more HR-oriented; interviews via videocalls are a routine now.
What makes a good assistant? What kind of skills are important? Are these different from pre-Covid time?
“Ability to understand the bigger picture, good organization and listening skills, are important. Especially if the remote working stayed (in the future), one has to be able to manage all of these. Communication is also important, and being able to choose the right communication channels for different types of communication is key. A good assistant also has a certain kind of creativity to be able to plan all tasks to fit the hybrid model, which I believe the future of work is heading to, at least to some extent. I don’t think these skills are hugely different than before, but the fact that they need to be used in different environments and channels brings new challenges”