Secretary Assistant
Nature of the work
As
the reliance on technology continues to expand in offices, the role of the
office professional has greatly evolved. Office automation and organizational
restructuring have led secretaries and administrative assistants to assume
responsibilities once reserved for managerial and professional staff. In spite
of these changes, however, the core responsibilities for secretaries and
administrative assistants have remained much the same: Performing and
coordinating an office’s administrative activities and storing, retrieving,
and integrating information for dissemination to staff and clients.
Secretaries and administrative assistants perform a variety of
administrative and clerical duties necessary to run an organization
efficiently. They serve as information and communication managers for an
office; plan and schedule meetings and appointments; organize and maintain
paper and electronic files; manage projects; conduct research; and disseminate
information by using the telephone, mail services, Web sites, and e-mail. They
also may handle travel and guest arrangements.
Training and development
Training and development managers and specialists conduct and supervise
training and development programs for employees. Increasingly, management
recognizes that training offers a way of developing skills, enhancing
productivity and quality of work, and building worker loyalty to the firm, and
most importantly, increasing individual and organizational performance to
achieve business results. Training is widely accepted as an employee benefit
and a method of improving employee morale, and enhancing employee skills has
become a business imperative. Increasingly, managers and leaders realize that
the key to business growth and success is through developing the skills and
knowledge of its workforce.
SOURCES
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook
Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations
Managers and Specialists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos021.htm
(visited January 14, 2008).
