I've been in the admin. field for over 20 years.  I truly enjoy the work I do, but I wish "Administrative Professionals Day" would just go away (Boss's Day, too). If you're appreciated in your work, you don't need the recognition.  If you aren't appreciated, one special day isn't going to change anything.

Where I work we use e-tickets for domestic travel, but always paper tickets for international travel (nearly 100% of my boss's travel).  I'd like to know if anyone has used e-tickets internationally and how it works for them.  I just get a bit nervous about booking international e-tickets, especially to some of the countries where our employees travel.

Repercussions?!!!  Sadly there's almost no such thing here where I work.  I'm sure employees around here will expect the "room contact person" (all admins.) to handle.  We'll have to wait and see.  I'm "room contact" for a couple of the conference rooms, and if I get any complaints, I'll refer them to the last users of the room.

RadarO - What I did was issue a 7 page memo that contains a ton of detailed information.



Page 1 - introduced the policy and reasons for the policy



Pgs 2 & 3- list each conference room with the following info for each room: phone ext., contact person, their ext., seating, equipment available.



Page 4 - explains how to book each room on our email system



Page 5 - explains how to book our more elaborate a/v equipment on our email system (video projector, teleconference equipment)



Page 6 - gives particulars of all a/v and other equipment possibly needed for meetings, where it's located, how to reserve it, how to replenish supplies of dry erase markers, easel pads, etc., what to do when you're done with the equipment.



Page 7 - my personal favorite - Conference Room Etiquette, aka "Your Mother Doesn't Work Here So Clean Up After Yourself!"  (I didn't add the aka to the memo.  Some people have no sense of humor!)



RadarO - If you'd like more detail, I can send you an email.  Let me know.



 

I haven't posted in awhile, but have been "lurking" several times a week since this original posting.  Thanks in part to your response to this post, today a written policy went out to all employees in my company from the Admin. Staff and I.S. Dept. regarding the rules and regulations for conference rooms.  So far, only one tiny complaint from a manager who didn't like the names of the conference rooms - something beyond my control.  They had their names before I came to this company.  I'll just ignore him unless he becomes a pest about it.



Thanks again for all your suggestions.  

Thanks to everyone for your good advice.  I have a meeting Wednesday to get this policy set up and in place.  I've decided to print out a daily schedule each morning for each conference room and post it outside the door.  That way employees will see when the room is booked.  If they slip in unscheduled and run over into a scheduled meeting, they can't plead ignorance and will get booted out.



 

The conference rooms at my company are becoming a disaster!  Employees don't clean up after themselves, move equipment from room to room without returning it, or show up in a conference room without scheduling and won't leave when a scheduled meeting is to take place.  I have volunteered to set policy in writing on rules and regulations for conference room use.  Any input I can get from all of you would be very helpful. How do you handle scheduling, equipment set up, clean up, etc. for the conference rooms where you work?



We have 5 conference rooms of varying sizes in our building, and it's a one story complex housing approximately 100 office employees (excluding plant personnel who don't normally use the conference rooms).  We have an "open office" concept (a topic for future posting!) with very few real offices with doors.  So whenever anyone has a confidential issue to discuss, they head for a conference room.



All conference rooms are set up for scheduling on our e-mail system.  We also have a contact person (admin) assigned to the various rooms solely for scheduling assistance.  



What am I missing?  Maybe just getting everything in writing and out to all employees will help the situation.  Help!

I had to take a visiting employee from France to an emergency dental visit.  He spoke no English and I speak no French.  The long version of this story is quite interesting, but too long for posting.  Short version:  Waiting at the pharmacy for prescriptions I met a man who spoke French, and he was able to communicate with the Frenchman.  The man gave me his business card, and after I showed it to a male coworker, that coworker told me the man who helped was most likely an escort (yep - that kind of escort!).  Yuck!  I've always been a little naive, but that was just too embarrassing.  I often look back and wonder what the Frenchman and that man were discussing in French while I sat there totally oblivious to what they were saying!

This topic covers the notary public issue.  How many of you are notary publics and have been asked to notarize signatures of spouses or other family members for employees in your company when you haven't witnessed the signature or it's left blank?  My company pays for my notary renewals because my job requires that I be a notary for business documents.



I don't mind notarizing personal documents as long as the person signs in my presence, but I am asked so many times to do otherwise.  For example, "My mother's an invalid and can't get out to a notary."  This was for mortgage documents in another state!  One employee tried to get me to notarize his wife's signature on a document he brought in for a loan against his 401-K!  Another employee needed me to notarize his signature on an apartment lease for his daughter in college.  I notarized his signature quite legally.  There was a blank for his wife to sign, but since she wasn't there, he had his daughter sign his wife's name!  This was all after I notarized his signature.  I'm sure they expected my seal to cover it all.



I finally had to get adamant with people and say no to this kind of personal stuff.  They sure aren't happy about it, but you really do have to protect yourself.

The summer after my first year of college I worked for a plastics injection molding company. There was a secretarial job opening later in the summer that I wanted at the company, but I had to already be an employee there to get it, so I took a job on the line working the midnight to 8:00 am shift running a machine that made the plastic applicators for tampons!  Every time that machine filled a bin with applicators, I had to inspect them for defects.  Later in the summer I got the secretarial job and was back to decent working hours.  But think about it--shouldn't we be glad someone inspects that plastic?

You don't hear from me much in the forums because I'm uncomfortable taking the time at work to post my advice/opinions, and at home I have to fight for computer time!  However, I may have some help for you on this one, Jade.  And let me apologize before I start - this is going to be a long one!



I'll preface this by letting you know I'm no tax expert. But.....make sure you and your husband are claiming as many exemptions as you possibly can on your W-4s.  By upping your exemptions you will have more immediate money available in your paychecks each week.  You will want to consult a tax expert or someone in your payroll department first.  Now is not the time to look at your yearly tax refund as a savings plan.  You need that money now.  Since your family income has dropped considerably, you should be okay by doing this.



It's been many years since I've had a maternity leave, but I received 65 or 75% disability income from my company during my 6 weeks off.  A co-worker passed on to me that you can change your W-4 exemptions twice a year, and a lot of the women headed for maternity leave would up their exemptions to a certain limit (I'm thinking 12) before they left and when they returned they changed it back.  This gave them more disposable income while they were disabled.  Again, your own personal tax situation would dictate what you should do.



Also, if you're having money deposited each week in 401-Ks (which I believe are still good long term investments/savings), you may want to consider discontinuing that for awhile to have more immediate income available.



Okay - enough from me.  I'll just close by saying I absolutely empathize with you.  My family (of 4) has been through similar situations.  Nine years ago my husband started his own business.  The first year his income was only $6,000!!  His business and all of us are doing great now, but it was a struggle at first.  Try not to stress - take care of that baby!!

 

Thanks to everyone for your advice.  Since the terrorist attack last Tuesday, the subject of traveling to Chicago has not even come up at our house, and I hope it doesn't.  But if my husband insists on still going, I will pass on your comments.

My hubby plans to attend a show at the McCormack conference center later this month.  He'll be flying in and out the same day.  Since he has his own business, he's really tight with his travel dollars.  He'd like to know what a cab or limo service (sedan) would cost from O'Hare to the conference center.  Are the fares comparable?  He can get a better airfare into O'Hare than Midway, but transportation costs may eat up the savings.  Any other suggestions?  Maybe renting a car (plus parking costs) would be best.  I appreciate any input you have.  Thanks!

Dettu:



I also use that popular brand of laser printer labels all the time, too.  Check your sheets of labels.  Mine are perforated between the columns, so you can divide them into single columns of labels to shoot through your printer.  This may save you some labels.

Like officeduchess, I go home for lunch.  I can't walk it, but I drive and it just takes a few minutes.  I get an hour for lunch. I either pop a frozen lo-cal meal in the microwave or graze the leftovers.  If I'm organized, I even start preparing dinner.  If I'm "super" organized, I get dinner in the oven and set timed-bake and dinner's ready when I get home from work.  If I feel really "Suzy-Homemaker-ish" (Is that a word?) I'll put in a load of laundry, pay a few bills or clean a bathroom.  It's amazing how much you can get done when no kids or hubby are around!!  To be honest, I don't work this hard at lunch every day.  Sometimes I just lounge with a book.