As she approaches retirement, Mary Dimech admits it’ll be tough leaving her much-loved role as EA at FMCG skincare company Beiersdorf Australia Ltd…
Please tell us a little about yourself…
I’m what you would call a ‘mature and vastly experienced’ EA, having worked for more than 35 years. I’m single and have no children but I have an older brother, many nieces and nephews, and a wide circle of friends. I come from Maltese heritage but was born and bred in Sydney. Oh, and I love coffee and travel.
What was your most interesting role as an assistant?
In my mid-twenties, I saw an opportunity to go to National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) where I was the administrative assistant to the director. It was a very interesting and rewarding position and, as I enjoyed bushwalking and nature, the environment was something I was passionate about. Day-to-day business was about State flora and fauna, saving koala habitat, rainforests and environmental planning. I came to identify almost every variety of parrot in NSW and also know a lot about monotremes!
Have you ever not been an EA?
Yes, after my role at NPWS I reluctantly Ieft to join the world of big corporations – and there were none bigger than then tech giant IBM. I was offered a role as one of two EAs on the personal staff of the Managing Director of IBM Australia and New Zealand, which was a whole new ball game. But I soon progressed into a world outside of the EA arena. I went on to do various roles: procurement administrator, project administrator, sales management advisory, sales operations and sales training. I was then introduced to event management, where I worked for Asia Pacific in the finance industry as a marketing events program manager. For three years I travelled through Asian cities organising customer and internal conferences for up to 150 people, and had administrative staff. I was promoted soon after to the office services manager role where I managed 40 EAs.
Tell us about your current role. Does anything stand out as being very different from what assistants in other industries may experience?
I love it, and it has grown and evolved in the 10 years I have been with Beiersdorf. As the business grew, I made a submission for an extra head count to help support the senior general managers and assist with wider organisational responsibilities. I now have a team assistant who reports to me. I love training her, sharing my knowledge and experience, and seeing her grow with the passion she has for the role and the business. I have responsibility for contract management, which involves working closely with our legal counsel for the version control, contract signatories, ensuring audit requirements are met in relation to authority limits, and updating our global central repository. In addition, although most EAs have responsibility for booking all aspects of travel, I am the account manager and first point of contact for our travel company. In conjunction with finance and procurement, I was on the selection committee for the current tender and helped write a detailed international and national travel policy for ANZ. I am also in weekly contact with our travel company in relation to fixing issues reporting and implementing our policies in their system.
What are the most important parts of your role?
I like to say I keep things ticking at Beiersdorf. I am not the clock face, nor the hands, but I work behind the scenes and keep the mechanism ticking along.
What do you rely on most to do your job?
The anatomy of a good EA must have many soft skills, as well as a thick skin, which are often taken for granted. Those that also come to mind include communication, forward thinking, resilience, resourceful, being an active listener and enjoy collaborating with others, but also can work independently. And having a good relationship with your IT department is a plus!
What motivates you?
Adding value and being valued. Full stop.
What’s your favourite thing about working for the company?
It’s like a like a family. The organisation is relatively small compared to the large IBM company I came. Here you are not a number – you are a name and a person, and take care of you both physically and mentally. They are also ethically responsible to the community and the environment. The flagship brand, NIVEA is a household name, and I am very proud to say I work for such loved skincare brand.
How do you find the work/life balance?
We are offered a hybrid working week – some mandatory days in the office, some from home – and if you need time off for a medical appointment or a sick child, this is given without a blink. We have also recently been given a few personal days (CARE days), as well as our annual leave, recognising we need to stop and smell the roses occasionally.
What’s been your career highlight and why?
I don’t have any particular career highlight. Each job has given me an opportunity to develop and grow both personally and professionally. Some have pushed me far out of my comfort zone, but always with a safety net of support. Just doing this for Executive PA has made me reflect with joy at the many things I have achieved; setbacks I faced and overcame; the colleagues I made and still call friends, and I smile.
How do you see your career progressing, and what is your ultimate career goal?
I’m actually thinking about retiring in the not too distant future. But I enjoy my work, my colleagues and the company I work for too much, so it may be a difficult decision! When I retire, I would like to be able to look back and see I was valued for my skills, my knowledge, my passion and above all, being a role model. Leaving a good footprint; a legacy if you like, in training and developing my successor.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about the assistant role?
Credibility is everything. Be honest, reliable, trustworthy and accurate. Don’t be remembered for the mistakes you made. We all make mistakes but own them and fix them if you do.
What do you think will be the biggest challenges for assistants in the next few years and how can we overcome them?
It will be important to be tech-savvy and keep up with ever-changing technology. Have a good relationship with your technical support team. Use automation to improve efficiencies and streamline processes.
Beiersdorf Australia Ltd is an affiliate of the German company Beiersdorf AG based in Hamburg. It researches, develops, markets and distributes skin and health care products throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Its flagship brand is NIVEA and it also has the Elastoplast brand.
