Administrative Assistant's Update

Messy desks Having a cluttered desk may not be a bad thing, according to a new survey from hiring fi rm Offi ce- Team. More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of HR managers inter- viewed said they felt it's at least somewhat acceptable to have a messy desk at work. In fact, nine per cent even said it's a sign of a creative person. However, nearly a third of those surveyed said they would question an employee's organizational skills and effective- ness if that person had a messy workspace. HR managers were asked, "Which of the following state- ments most closely describes your perception of someone at work who has a messy desk?" Their responses: It means the person is creative .. 9% It's OK................................. 59% It's not OK ........................... 32% Source: Offi ceTeam 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 2015 UPDATE INSIDE What's your EQ? . . . . . . . . . . . 3 People with high EQs often outrank people with high IQs. Here's why. Hands up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Getting the Q&A started. Teamwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Alignment is critical for teams. Social media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 It's not the medium, it's the message. When you're posting on social media, be aware of your personal brand and whether it's refl ected in your messages. Continued on page 7 Credit: Lisa F. Young/Shutterstock By Helen Latimer Companies spend a lot of money on corporate branding, marketing, staffi ng and training to attract poten- tial customers and close deals. But all of that money can go to waste instantly if the people on the front lines of the organization don't have a customer-oriented outlook. That can be refl ected in small details such as voice mail. Our outgoing voice-mail message is the face we present to the public, to external clients. Seen that way, it really is a bridge between poten- tial sales and a public relations disaster. Are your phone skills up to par? Here is a real-life voice-mail disaster that happened to me recently. Con- sider it a cautionary tale. I was on my way home, checking my voice mail while waiting for the bus. As I fumbled to replay a mes- sage while simultaneously trying to increase the volume on my phone, I cursed the caller who had left me a long, rambling phone message at low volume. She requested my as- sistance while mumbling her name and providing her call-back number at a speed more suited to a race track than to voice mail. I had to replay the message fi ve times before I was able to make out most of the woman's name and feel confi dent that I had her phone number written down accurately. Luckily, in her message the caller mentioned when she had met me and what we had talked about, so I was able to consult my past meeting notes and confi rm her name, using some of the mumbled syllables I'd managed to catch. At this point, I wasn't too happy. But I wasn't fi nished, either. Hav- ing confi rmed the caller's identity, I dialed the number she had left and shook my head in dismay when it rang through. Her voice mailbox was full. This was a business call! Who has time for all of this nonsense? This woman had come across as smart and savvy when we'd met in person. Now I was doubting my fi rst impression of her. Was she in fact, Voice-fail messages Does your outgoing message sabotage you? JUNE 2015 Voice-fail messages Does your outgoing message sabotage you?

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