by: Ashley Rippee
Former Intelligent Assistant
You know she's out there; punctual, brilliant, with the patience of a saint and undeniable people skills. She is meticulous about organization, loyal to a fault and isn't bothered by the way you can never remember to calendar your own court dates. She likes long hours behind a desk redacting depositions. She is your "Administrative Soulmate". That she exists is not in question, but what are the odds that if you are lucky enough to find her she will be unemployed while the position is available, local to your business location and willing to work at a salary you can afford?
Too many professionals find themselves short-handed while they search for Mrs. Right or dissatisfied because they settled for Mrs. Right Now.
From this need is born the concept of administrative teams. Here's why administrative polygamy is the new thing:
1. They're Brilliant. When you add up the work experience of ten or a hundred college-educated assistants you get access to a massive array of professional strengths. Need your memo proofed? Pass that on to the English major who will red line it into perfection. Need a presentation designed? Hand us your notes over to the marketing student with an eye for design. Top quality work, every time. Don't have time to delegate? That's okay too. The right admin team comes with a single point of contact who knows the team inside and out and will be your quality assurance manager. She'll remember how you like your margins set, when to remind you of your mother's birthday and the exact shade of green you like on your letterhead.
2. They're On-Demand. Tired of paying someone to sit by the phone and wait for it to ring? Hate the way business is crippled when she calls in sick? Admin teams are on-demand, they work for you when you need them and for someone else when you don't. Sure, they take sick days, but it never affects your bottom line, because there's always someone else already in place to get the work done. No temp agencies necessary. You pay for the time spent on your work product and none of the Facebook-checking filler.
3. They're Affordable. Think you can't get ten times the superpower without paying ten times the price? Being wrong never felt so good. Because you're only paying for what you need and none of the fluff, you save massive amounts of money on the overhead for a single, traditional full-time admin. You don't pay their taxes, their benefits, their lunch hours.
What are you missing? Someone to brew your coffee? With the money you save, you can splurge for the designer stuff at the coffeehouse down the street.
