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Alice Bumgarner, Moderator
Alice Bumgarner, editor of Administrative Professional Today and contributing writer for Executive Leadership, has been writing about workplace and family issues for 13 years. Her articles have appeared in dozens of publications, including http://Salon.com, http://MSN.com, Continental magazine, Southern Living and Town & Country. She lives in Durham, N.C., with her husband, two daughters and dog Milo.
Submit a question for the Admin Pro Forum at Admin-Pro@NIBM.net.
Question: “Our organization will start a performance-based management for all employees in 2010. We are to select two goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. As an executive assistant to a senior-level executive in a large organization, I find it difficult to define specific and measurable goals. I schedule meetings, make travel arrangements and generally manage the people traffic for my boss's attention, but I don't see those duties as measurable. Does anyone have suggestions for adding specific performance goals for an administrative support professional?” — Karen Bryant
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said this on 07 Aug 2009 3:34:36 PM EST
In this case, it's the little details that count. Some ideas I have:
Take a class in some new software, or software you aren't very familiar with in order to decrease the time needed while using the software. i.e. creating powerpoint presentations, visio projects, etc. Review the way you arrange travel arrangements. Would hiring an outside company be just as cost effective and open up your time? Maybe you could just make your boss smile more everyday? It's heart healthy :) |
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said this on 07 Aug 2009 3:39:56 PM EST
A measurable goal is taking so many classes in the year. Also becoming a Certified Professional Secretary (CPS) or Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) are also measurable goals.
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said this on 07 Aug 2009 3:48:26 PM EST
This is a great tool to show your ability and knowledge. In order for your boss to know and value your work, you have to make a show case. Take a class to learn something new; learn new tricks for existing software; streamline a ordering or work process, even if it saves half an hour or $100 is something you can measure; teach colleagues or your boss some neat shortcuts which will save them time. Most awarding and easily to define and measure are the things that will save time, money, effort, and materials. Make it a fun thing not an additional chore.
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said this on 07 Aug 2009 4:03:14 PM EST
Karen, having been in the same position with creating goals I can offer you the following suggestions on how to "quantify' what seems like just routine tasks. First, set standards, travel arrangements will be complete in 3 days from request (or 1 day, etc set a standard). Do you manage large department or division meetings? Anything you do Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, etc now becomes a performance standard. Second, think about projects you handle Community Relations (volunteer events, adopt a family, etc), scheduling of performance reviews for your manager, anything that you can set an appointment on your calendar to plan on in advance (think recurring activities), is a project that you manage. This will also help you to be proactive in just doing what your manager needs before they ask for it. Next, remember that you are essentially the "face" of your organization include a section on People Skills. The way you handle interaction with other executives, their admins, and potential conflicts show your skills in diplomacy and conflict management. Do you manage vendor relationships? Think, think, think. Lastly, include a section on time and attendance. Remember that setting goals in a performance review is your opening to additional training and education. If you only get to pick 2 sections to add to your goals, choose the 2 things that you would most like to have development opportunities in. Hope you find this helpful.
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said this on 07 Aug 2009 4:09:26 PM EST
If you are looking to measure your specific responsibilities, you can break those areas into measurable parts. For example, on the travel arrangements: The Objective/Goal could be "travel arrangements are completed within two days of request." The Timeframe might be from August 2009 to December 2009 (depends on the what your company set as the assessment period - is it from January 2010 to December 2010?). The Key Actions would be the steps/actions you would take to make sure you complete all travel arrangements within two days of the request. The Measure could be "number of completed arrangements made within two days of request," or "75% of travel arrangements were completed within two days of the request." Then, to measure the measure, keep track of how many travel requests you received within in the Timeframe, and how many of those travel arrangements were completed withiin two days of the request. The assessment would be a percentage. At the end of the assessment, you would know if you met or exceeded the percentage you stated in the Objective/Goal.
You can do the same thing for the other responsibilities you hold. Define the Objective/Goal, the Timeframe, the Key Actions, and the Measure. That will assess your performance on your responsiblities. |
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said this on 07 Aug 2009 4:19:32 PM EST
We have been doing SMARTs for several years now. This past year, my boss (the CEO) decided to make my goals the same as him, since I am his assistant we should be on the same page about everything. It's working out really well and we have to report to each other each day (15-20 minutes at the end of the day) how things are coming along. Our company has a public reporting tool that we have to put our scores in each week. It's been terrific.
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said this on 07 Aug 2009 4:34:40 PM EST
Take out a copy of your current job description and break it down. What percentage of the time do you spend on each? Are any of them measureable by quantity? If not how about quality (as in cost or time savings). I keep an excel worksheet on my desktop and log in under categories, special projects, assignments, and timelines for things NOT on my job description as I go. These are "other duties as assigned." It's amazing how my ad hoc duties adds up. By doing this it does not go unnoticed. Both my boss and I are sometimes surprised by the end-of-year as to all the things that were accomplished. Some of the assignments became a regular part of my job. Doing this exercise may require an update of your job description or job change/promotion at your next review. If neither, it will at least back-up the quality and/or quantity of your performance even if it more on a broader scale.
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said this on 07 Aug 2009 4:43:32 PM EST
I have the same role as you, Karen. In my performance evaluations, I find that the more I can use dollars or numbers, the more impressive it looks. Have you saved your company money by implementing a new system (ex: I saved the company $1,200+ by streamlining the supply ordering process and distribution)? How many trips did you arrange this year (ex: I successfully made 23 travel arrangements, including airline, hotel, and rental car)? How many committees or staff meetings do you provide administrative support for (ex: I provide administrative support for eight departmental staff meetings and three division committees, including meeting notes and recording/tracking action items)? Are you the administrative liaison for any projects (ex: I was the administrative liaison for a $200,000 building remodel, working exclusively with the project manager, construction superintendent and interior designer.)?
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said this on 10 Aug 2009 12:34:18 PM EST
Our company uses quarterly appraisals and an annual appraisal. The Admins are scored (1%-100%) on timeliness, accuracy, proofreading, teamwork, communication, attendance, are a few. There's also a place in the back where you can talk about your own goals and what your supervisor and company can do to help you achieve them. It's great! It takes less than 15 minutes to go through the entire process.
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said this on 11 Aug 2009 10:10:51 AM EST
are there projects you can complete by a certain time? those are some of goals, for example: Complete Admin Directions binder by end of 3rd quarter; reorganize filing system and archive old files by end of year; etc.
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said this on 11 Aug 2009 5:41:42 PM EST
Karen, as a fellow administrative professional, I found an effective SMART goal to be a process improvement within a specific time frame. While there were great suggestions from others to complete travel within 2 days of request, one way of process improvement. Another may be, only 2% will need to be corrected/rescheduled or have change fees. That will show your boss that you're work is high quality with low error rate. Good luck! Writing SMART goals gets easier with practice. Pretty soon, you'll find tons of things you can make into goals!
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said this on 25 Aug 2009 1:37:11 PM EST
I actually need a "cut & paste" for my responses, because I say the same thing each time I post: "document, document, document, and document some more!"
Nothing can help a salary increase, or open the way to a promotion, than excellent and astute documentation! Excellent posts by everyone. Wow! This was exciting to read team. :) Thank you for sharing this with me and everyone else. Dr. C. |
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