Celebrating the evolution of the secretarial profession

Says ESA, “Gone are the days when secretaries only answered phone calls, typed correspondence and managed executive diaries. Today, it is more relevant to talk about a personal assistant (PA) - an extension of the management team. PAs are the pivotal connection between an executive and the business' clients, staff and stakeholders - the executive's strategic advantage!”

Risen to the challenge

The skills demanded are multifaceted and secretaries have risen to the challenge. “They have expanded their role in business to becoming a vital link in the business chain,” says Gayleen Baxter, ESA COO. “The secretarial field offers exciting career opportunities and many of SA's top PAs have business degrees that complement their secretarial and soft skills.”

In particular, secretaries have single-handedly redefined their role in the workplace. Interpreting data, research via the Internet, spotting industry trends, tracking international developments, displaying great proficiency across a multitude of technology, first-class customer care skills and acting as agents of change are all in a day's work for the New Age secretary.

In fact, today's secretary adds value far beyond their job portfolio.

Baxter says, “Companies are increasingly willing to invest in talent acquisition and retention. The more skilled you are; the greater your talent-value! To succeed in today's talent-led workplace, you need to show you are a winner. You need to be passionate and enthusiastic about everything you do and learn as much as you can about your company, industry and technology. More than that, you need to top the trends. You need to be one step ahead of the rest!”

She continues, “When you look at how the world of work has changed over the past 20 or so years and you look at how the secretarial professional has not only adapted to change, but embraced change, then you know they are topping the talent trend! The emergence of the technology-age in the mid-90s raised some questions around whether the job of the secretary would become obsolete. But, this has not happened. Rather, they have evolved their role to the next level and have become more important than ever!”

Active team-player

Secretaries no longer quietly performed their duties in the background. Today, you need to be a liberated self-starter. You need to contribute to effective and successful change in the workplace. Today's successful secretary is an active team-player, who adds value to his/her team.

Baxter offers some tips for young secretaries aspiring to the next level:

1. Commit to lifelong learning and upskilling.
   
2. Confidentiality, flexibility and adaptability are critical success factors.
   
3. Be resourceful and knowledgeable.
   
4. Be an assertive decision maker.
   
5. Ensure you are an all-round multitasker with great communication and computer skills.
   
6. Be a trend-spotter. If there is new technology, you should be the first to know.
   

A few more ways in which you can make a difference and show you are top talent:

1. Offer advice when recruiting support staff in your department - after all, this is your forté!
   
2. Enhance policies and procedures. If something doesn't work, make suggestions on how to improve it.
   
3. Make decisions and accept responsibility for your actions.
   
4. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Work at turning your weaknesses into strengths.
   
5. Look out for and identify learning and development opportunities.
   
6. Assess other support staff's needs to assist them in being more productive and efficient. You can offer to prepare a monthly newsletter filled with tips on how to be more productive, dealing with stress, time management, handling difficult customers and so on. Just remember, if you have signed up to do this, you must follow through on it.
   

In closing, Baxter says, “Success is all about attitude; about the way we look at our jobs and live our lives. As Steward B Johnson said: Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves - to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.”

Bizcommunity.com wishes all secretaries and PAs a happy Secretary's Day.