If you are like the rest of us, you probably receive a ton of email everyday. And like the rest of us, you probably get through most of it, but leave the rest for the next day. Before you know it, you have a ton of unanswered emails in your inbox. So here are a few suggestions on how to deal with that cluttered inbox:
Put aside some time during the day to just review emails. It can be every ten minutes at the top of the hour on end of the hour. It can even be every two hours. Having a regular schedule will help you to get through your email in a timely and efficient manner.
Another way to go is to make various email folders for your inbox. Your folders could be task specific, or it could be name specific to the persons you interact with the most, or who send you the most emails. This way, when you are answering emails, you are able to find your emails dealing with a particular person or project relatively quickly.
For others, scanning and answering emails as they arrive is another way to stave away email clutter. This way, you are alerted to tasks that need your immediate attention. Further, answering emails as they arrive in your inbox allows you to give immediate responses, and helps you to delete or remove those emails out of the inbox immediately.
Finally, responding to emails in a timely fashion is beneficial to both you and the sender of the email. You reduce the clutter in your inbox, the sender gets an answer to his or her question in a timely manner, and you are viewed as efficient and proficient.
So tell us, what are your strategies for staying organized when it comes to your inbox?
Has everyone seen Sex and the City - The Movie? I hope not! Because this weekend I recommend that you ladies check it out. It is a pretty cool movie, but something that you may have missed was the great performance by Jennifer Hudson. She did a wonderful job playing the part of Carrie Bradshaw’s personal assistant, who kept it together for Carrie when Carrie was falling apart.
How many of you, as personal assistants, have at times found yourselves in similar situations like Jennifer’s character? Yes, I am sure that some of you could relate. Think back to the times when you were the go to person, when your boss really needed you to run that really personal errand, or needed that “big” favor, and you did it just to help out. So ladies, stop by the video store this Friday night, and check this movie out. I think you will have a good ole time with all the girls and Jennifer too.
I like to surf around the internet looking for interesting, innovative, and fun ideas related to our world. That’s when I became across FridayGirl Virtual Business Services. Their site is currently under construction, so I was unable to get the scoop of what they are all about. However, based on their business approach, I can imagine this is a fun and innovative approach to the virtual assistance business concept.
You have to frequently scrape White-Out off her computer monitor.
At the board meeting for which she is recording the minutes, she stops the proceedings to ask, “What did fatso say?“
Your customers come around only during her lunch period; they peek around the door asking, “Is the coast clear?“
When she gets low on typing paper she asks you what to do; you tell her to use copy paper. She then takes a blank piece of typing paper and puts it into the copy machine and makes 10 copies.
She rolls her hosiery to just below the knee and keeps it there by tying it in a knot.
The Ringling Brothers Clown College announces that she has won a prize for her original make-up.
She tries to fax chocolate chip cookies to her daughter in college.
She staples her thumbs together more frequently than once a week.
For anyone who is in a supervisory position or in management, the day will come when you will have to endure the unpleasant task of firing someone. Note however, that firing someone should be a last resort. Before terminating someone, you should first consider giving that employee a warning. This warning could take the form of a verbal or written warning. A warning should then be followed up with an action plan. The action plan should lay out specific expectations about what the employee should be doing to improve his performance, and the employee must agree to comply with the action plan. If the employee does not perform accordingly, then you may proceed with the termination.
The process of firing someone is uncomfortable for both the person doing the firing and the person being fired. Below are some suggestions on how to conduct a termination as efficiently and smoothly as possible.
Have your documentation in order. Make sure that you have performance appraisals, written warnings, salary information, and all other correspondence related to the job performance of that employee.
Do not make the firing personal. Inform the employee that he or she is being let go because of their job performance. Have documentation ready to back up your claims of past poor on-the-job performance.
Have a second person, such as a human resources manager in that meeting with you.
Explain to the employee why he or she is being fired. Avoid going into long explanations about the reasons, you want to avoid starting an argument with the employee. Be firm and courteous throughout the entire meeting.
Explain to the employee what termination benefits are available to them, such as a severance package, or unpaid vacation days, medical benefits, etc. Have the employee sign a waiver or release, make receipt of the benefits conditional on them not suing the company for the termination.
Before concluding the meeting, be prepared to collect all access codes, passwords etc. from that employee. Also, discuss with the employee how much time they will have to collect their personal effects before having to leave the building.
Try to make the exit as graceful as possible. Monitor the employee’s departure, but do not escort them off of the premises unless, a criminal act lead to the termination.
After the meeting is concluded and the employee has left the premises, meet with the other employees and let them know that the other employee was let go. Keep the details of the termination private, and work towards either quickly filling the position or reassigning the responsibilities to other employees.
RSS Feed
Digg this post
Share this post
? I hope not! Because this weekend I recommend that you ladies check it out. It is a pretty cool movie, but something that you may have missed was the great performance by Jennifer Hudson. She did a wonderful job playing the part of Carrie Bradshaw’s personal assistant, who kept it together for Carrie when Carrie was falling apart. 
