In the United States, they have identified a day of the year which celebrates those working in administration, secretarial and reception work. This is called the Administrative Professional Day. It is less commonly celebrated in the United Kingdom. But around the world employers who have their own personal assistants might always be looking for gifts to give their personal assistant to say thank you for being so great.
Administrative Professional Day was founded after the second world war, and although it is not an official public holiday, with over 4 million people in the US alone working in this area, it was introduced to recognise the importance of these roles in the workplace.
Here is a list of 10 best gifts which administrative assistants and those celebrating administrative professional day would love to receive!
1. Gift Experience
These can be inexpensive or expensive depending on your budget. You can buy a gift that will excite or something that you know your personal assistant would love. From supercar driving through to a chocolate making day – you can pick something that your personal assistant can enjoy. A lovely option.
2. Day Off Work
Why not give your administrative assistant a bonus day of holiday that year. It will cost you nothing (apart from their absence on an extra day) and they will feel extremely valued and appreciative of the gesture.
3. Bubbles
Giving champagne or prosecco is always a welcomed gift. Depending on your budget you can splash out or be more conservative. Upper market shops sell gift boxes and hampers which can complement the bottle that is being given.
4. Chocolate
Chocolate are a girl’s best friend (honestly, more than diamonds!). Giving chocolates to your administrative assistant is a great gift, especially if they have a sweet tooth! Be sensitive and don’t buy food if you know they are on a diet! Also be careful of other dietary choices like vegan etc. Buy the right type of chocolate.
5. Charitable Donation
Giving to a cause that is important to your employee is a really heartfelt gesture. This can be any charity of their choice, or indeed you can donate in advance knowing it is a cause they hold dear to their hearts. In a day and world where people are often saturated with gifts, giving to a charity can be a really generous way to demonstrate your appreciation of them. Make sure that the charity donation is made in their name.
6. Subscription
If you’ve seen your assistant reading a newspaper or magazine, why not consider a subscription – this can be easily bought in the form of a voucher and is not as cold as giving money! It’s a great gift to receive if they enjoy reading.
7. Gift Voucher
This can be for a specific store – iTunes offer great gift cards, and most people love music (or Apple) so the gift card can be used for whatever they want. Alternatively, you could buy a gift card for the local cinema, Amazon, Netflix, restaurant chain – anything goes!
8. Green Fingers
A lovely gift, you can buy a beautiful plant or flower. Nowadays we’ve seen a trend not to buy cut flowers, but to buy living plants that can be grown and live. Make sure that you administrative assistant isn’t allergic to anything before you opt for this!
9. Handwritten Letter
This might sound quite old-fashioned. But these days most people don’t write letters – we send emails. By sitting down and spending a short time writing a letter about how you appreciate them etc, can be a really touching (and free) gesture for you to make. You can do this in addition to giving a gift or on its own, but it’s a lovely thought and gesture.
10. Food
Yum, yum, yum. Why not buy a lovely hamper of food or a snack box? You could also be inventive and hire a chef for the office for the day, or send a chef to their home! Most human beings love food, so why not be creative and arrange something tasty for their gift?