Is this me being weird?

[EamonnFyre]

Please help me with some perspectives on this.

I work in an admin role with very specific responsibilities for front of house and security. Part of the role I carry out is to welcome visitors and to make sure they have what they need whilst they’re in the building.

It makes my role easier if I know in advance who is coming, when and why and so I am more than happy to help people plan their visitors visits and set them up with what they need to make their visit successful.

I have been told today that I should stop helping people organise their visitors and should actively encourage colleagues to make their own arrangements as that’s what the other admin assistants do. They think that if I help colleagues they’ll be expected to too, and they want their teams to be self-sufficient.

I have previously thought that the other admin assistants are often more concerned with getting others to do tasks rather than in doing them themselves. I see an admin assistant’s role as being admin and taking work from more senior people who have specific roles. They see it as delegating upwards and ‘encouraging’ people to do their own admin work.

From my point of view it makes my role simpler, means that I am better informed, and that visitors are welcomed with what they need so I want to carry on helping colleagues with their visitor related admin. But this is apparently wrong of me.

Please could others let me know what happens in their organisations? Or let me know if I’m in the wrong here. I don’t think I am but maybe I’m just clueless to what’s normal now.

Did you boss say this
or other people your level
if the latter I wouldn’t give it another thought
if the former I’d just do what my boss wants. Yes it may be worse for everyone else, but that’s your bosses decision to make. Some jobs call for initiative and give you the freedom and respect to do your job well, some jobs just want a hired hand. This may just be one of those hired hand jobs

Thanks. It was my boss who said this. She was passing on feedback from people at my equivalent level. The particular person who is saying this is my bosses best mate. Thanks.

It’s a sure fire way to make sure admin support isn’t actually needed.

Your colleagues reducing their usefulness is one sure way to see the role replaced by a sign in app on a tablet.

It's not efficient either. Today I spent over an hour doing a task which previously required a 3 minute form & email to our admin team. It probably cost them about £40 in my hourly rate, and I didn't do any of my actual work in that time.

As PP said, I'm inclined to do as asked by my line manager - it doesn't mean you can't have an opinion though.

Yes I said the same - that we are talking ourselves out of a job - but that was ignored. It just makes no sense to me as it seems obvious that the admin staff should be doing the admin. But I hear what you’re saying about having to do it if my boss says so.

Yup, anyone in an admin role trying to “delegate up” is a turkey voting for Christmas. When I first started working as a junior solicitor we had one secretary for every 4 or so lawyers plus a team of night time Typists/ word processing people. But over time as younger lawyers came in with better and better skills using computers, and older lawyers learnt how to use them too, the secretaries and WP team were needed less and less, and lawyers were pushed to do things like fill in their own timesheets using special computer programs. These days there are no secretaries, only “Personal Assistants”, and there is maybe one for every ten or so lawyers. They just aren’t needed.

Thanks. I agree and I can’t understand why they can’t see this too. Our organisation is currently undergoing a restructure and people are being made redundant. The admin team have been told that they’re safe and they seem to believe this. It strikes me that they’re only safe until the major restructure is complete and then admin staff will be looked at once they know who’s in role. They have all been in the organisation for their whole careers - none of them have ever worked elsewhere and I wonder if this is part of the reason they can’t see the possible implications.

Probably. Whilst not openly disagreeing with your manager, I’d find a way to still be invaluable & do a good job for the senior managers, as they’ll be the ones making redundancy decisions on admin staff (if it gets to that).

This madness sounds very much like what's happening at our uni. It would (and does!) Drive me nuts - massively inefficient and frustrating for everyone. No advice OP, only solidarity.

@MeandBobbyMcGoothanks. It’s reassuring that I’m not the only one. What ever happened to helping colleagues out? Weird.

I think that your approach annoyed the admin colleague, who then spoke to your boss as her mate, and your boss has asked you to wind your neck in.

I'd be annoyed by it, but what can you do? Some work places are weird. Remember 'who moved my cheese' (as in, things change so stay ready) and I would do my best while grey rocking, and keep an eye on how long you have been there and when the best time to leave might be...

@something2sayi bet that’s exactly what did happen. And I’ve got my eye out for alternatives, despite wondering slightly that I might be missing out on redundancy pay when the (I feel, almost inevitable) cull does come.

I've seen a few different set ups including current job where reception has one 'workplace assistant ' person who sits at the desk plus a tablet for visitors to sign in if she is not there.

Having experienced a brilliant receptionist like you sound, I really value the support of someone who can use her initiative to help everything run smoothly and give visitors a wonderful warm experience. Especially interviewees.

Unfortunately, there is a very pervasive view of getting people to do own admin, which is unlikely to change. So we have to book our team lunches even though the cost of our time would suggest an assistant would be better value.

Agree with advice above and would suggest you might consider asking facilities/workplace experience if you can help with anything in their area - so less overlap with the PAs. This could be quite varied and interesting .

Showing you are someone who solves problems and is easy to get on with will go a long way.

If a big part of your job is greeting visitors and that is taken away its a step towards your job being redundant. But if your boss has told you to do this then the change will have to be made. Looks to me they've thought where can we cut jobs. So lets look for something that works well and take an axe to it.