Administrative Assistant's Update

P R O F E S S IO N A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O R C A N A DA' S O F F IC E S U P P O R T S TA F F Administrative Assistant's JUNE 2014 PM #40065782 UPDATE PM #40065782 P R O F E S S IO N A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O R C A N A DA' S O F F IC E S U P P O R T S TA F F Administrative Assistant's JUNE 2014 UPDATE Browser safety Internet Explorer (IE) is likely not the best browser to be using every day, a tech guru recently told admins at the 2014 APC conference in Toronto. IE isn't as secure as other browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox, said Jim Spellos. He said many IT organizations are reluctant to migrate their companies away from IE because it's an incred- ible amount of work. But a recent security breach of IE that had people around the world scrambling to other browsers is a sign that it's not secure enough, he said. And that it will likely happen again. The issue has been patched, but tech authorities world-wide are advising against the use of IE including the Dutch police's Team High Tech Crime unit, who recently encouraged users to switch to Opera, Firefox, Safari or Chrome because they are safer. INSIDE Write for one person . . . . . . . 3 Your correspondence will be more powerful if you remember the rule of one. Mad skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 What we can learn from Mad Men's "Joan Holloway." Bad, bad bosses . . . . . . . . . . 6 A humourous look at the worst. Dragon fashion . . . . . . . . . . . 8 "Dragon" David Chilton solves the question of Arlene's style. By Joyce Grant Three corporate executives talked about what they need and expect from their executive assistant at a panel discussion, "The future of the offi ce professional—what you need to be." The discussion took place in front of an audience of admins at the 2014 APC conference in Toronto in April. EAs need to be fl exible and adapt- able, willing to learn, curious and able to give excellent customer ser- vice, said Ian Clarke, CFO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. "For me it's about that fi rst point of contact. Knowing enough about the organization so you can send people to the right spot." Arlene Campbell, General Manager of Sales and Event Man- agement for Exhibition Place said she wants someone who can cut through the clutter of all the infor- mation coming at her offi ce and help her prioritize. "I rely upon my assistant to be my ears and eyes, to let me know what's happening as well as priori- tize." Most EAs have the hard skills, because they're essential to the job, but what sets a great EA apart is someone who also has the soft skills, said Marnie Dicker, Executive Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Infrastruc- ture Ontario. "I'd like to stress communication skills," she said. "To me, communi- cation skills are key." Communicate with the boss She said the way to build good com- Continued on page 7 What do bosses want? Executives talk about what they want from their EA Photo: Stephanie Wilding

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