SHOW APPRECIATION OF EMPLOYEES' HARD WORK WITH BASKETFUL OF GOODIES

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) A well-functioning office staff is to their employer what oil is to a smoothly running machine. They strive to keep things running perfectly.

April 23 is Administrative Professionals’ Day, and the perfect opportunity to show appreciation for their hard work. This holiday, along with its related Administrative Professionals’ Week, (April 20-26) has been celebrated since 1952 in recognition of the work administrative professionals do in almost every business office.

The term administrative professionals takes in a wide variety of positions, such as receptionist, secretary or administrative assistant, office manager, file clerk and customer service representative. Many companies also have highly specialized employees who aren’t part of the administrative team, but are equally deserving of recognition.

If you’re stumped on what to give your hard-working employees, The Bountiful Basket, a southern California business that specializes in creating custom designs, has lots of unique ideas.

All good workers deserve a good coffee break, so The Bountiful Basket owner Marilyn Taylor has designed a “For the Perfect Assistant” basket with this in mind. This basket, actually a faux-leather train case, is filled with gourmet snacks such as butter wafers, shortbread cookies, chocolate and caramels, and a tin of coffee, cocoa or tea.

The gift basket also comes with a notepad and picture frame, perfect accessories for the well-organized administrative professional’s desk.

“This gift basket is elegant and sophisticated, like administrative professionals strive to be,” Taylor said. “And it helps them to feel good. What’s more, when they’re done with the snacks, they have a wonderful upscale container to help them stay organized.”

Taylor designed her “For the Perfect Assistant” gift basket with women in mind, as most administrative professionals are women, and most women are fond of sweet confections For male administrative professionals and those bosses who would rather not indulge their employees’ sweet tooth, she has other designs as well.

For a man, Taylor recommends her Gourmet Sampler gift basket. This basket is filled with savory snacks like cheese and crackers, nuts, popcorn, pretzels, mustard and sausage. There’s also coffee and cookies in this basket.

“Men appreciate more savory snacks, so this basket is filled with the things they like,’ she said.

Administrative professionals also crave serenity at the end of their day, and for women, The Bountiful Basket’s Serenity Pampering Gift Basket strives for exactly that. This basket is filled with Taylor’s own Bountiful Spa Therapy line of bath products, including intensive moisturizing hand cream, body wash, bath salts, a luxurious towel and more.

“I think it’s important to let women know they should pamper themselves,” Taylor said.

She noted that men like some of the Bountiful Spa Therapy products as well, so a basket could be tailored for them.

If a boss knows their employees have certain interests outside of work, a themed basket may be best for them, Taylor said. She’s already designed baskets for golfers, sports enthusiasts, gardeners, movie lovers and many others with specific hobbies, and can custom-make baskets as well.

The above gift baskets, as well as many others described on the web site www.thebountifulbasket.com , would also be great gifts for Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day, which aren’t far behind Administrative Professionals’ Day on the calendar. And for those who have a wedding or graduation on their calendars, The Bountiful Basket makes a large variety of baskets sure to please.