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With the automation of offices in full swing in recent times, work culture has changed drastically. So has the role of executive secretaries. ASHWIN RAJAGOPALAN writes...
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IT IS 11a.m. on a Monday and Sheryl's phone rings for the 20th time in just 90 minutes. This time, it's the corporate office in Mumbai and the caller wants some figures for an urgent meeting. Sheryl is the secretary to the regional manager and her boss is away. She has 30 minutes to fax the information. She does it in 20 minutes.
Just a couple of buildings away, Ajay Malviya's mobile phone rings. It's a call from Arun Rangarajan, the head of sales and he wants the sales figures for the month at a lightning speed! "Sir, it can only be done tomorrow. Sudha is on leave today".
Sudha is Ajay Malviya's secretary and it is on days like this that Ajay wished that he did not have to depend on his secretary. But he realises that he needs her assistance, whether it is to help him in the occasional game of hide and seek with his superiors or help with his page formating on Microsoft Word!
Ajay is not alone. A lot of executives bank on their secretaries as if their whole "work-life" depends on them. But the role of a secretary has undergone a complete transformation with the advent of office automation, particularly computers. Today's secretary no longer arrives in her boss's cabin with a shorthand notebook every time.
Nicola Jayakumar, a senior confidential secretary at the Taj Coromandel, echoes the transformation. "My job is no longer just taking notes and taking calls for my boss and seeking his approval all the time. I find myself in situations where I need to take decisions myself and this has meant that my self-confidence and responsibility levels have really increased". Nicola plays a significant role in sales support and has seen her job content enriched tremendously.
Shoba Ryan has also seen a sea change in both her job responsibility and her peers in her 15-year career. She is the executive secretary to the chairman and CEO of SSI Technologies and has expanded her role to assist in internal communication programmes, and corporate citizenship activities. "A lot has changed since I began, for instance, the computer has eclipsed the typewriter," says Shoba. New technology and `smart sizing' have not just created opportunities but also forced many secretaries to redefine their jobs.
In the words of K.M. Ravikumar, regional personnel manager, Britannia Industries, "Until the 1990s, a secretary was hired for stenography skills. Some managers expected assistance on personal issues, not professional ones. Today, the same candidate for the post of factory manager's secretary may not be suitable for the sales manager." He firmly believes that the challenges of the information age have had a positive impact on those secretaries who are willing to take the challenge. It has also given them new vistas for growth. Audrey Greenwood, executive secretary to the executive director at PepsiCo, is certainly one of them. Her job has shades of administration, human resources and co-ordination. "I no longer work for just one individual. I work for the entire organisation", asserts Audrey. "With companies keeping an eagle eye on manpower related costs, every individual's contribution is constantly under the microscope and that includes us too."
Most professional secretaries agree that today's environment needs a different approach. Audrey believes that today's secretaries need to be better informed and also have a clear vision of their long-term career plan. Computer skills are taken for granted. Rajeev Ramamurthi, sales manager, Radisson GRT Hotel, agrees with Audrey. "Secretaries are now seen as intelligent companions and also function as spokespersons for their bosses". Rajeev was assisted by a secretary in his previous job but there is no room for one in his tightly manned team. This has helped him hone his time management skills.
While the growth of office automation has changed the way most people work, it sure has enriched the role of a secretary. Little wonder that a growing number of secretaries in Chennai do not look at their job as a 9-to-6 ordeal.
Ravikumar validates the same point. "There was a time when my secretary would stop work and disappear at the stroke of 6 p.m. Today, it is not unusual for her to work longer hours than me".Secretaries have come to realise that their jobs count in the overall organisational equation and they can see the bigger picture clearer than ever before.
At a glance
Following is a list of some of the institutions that offer courses in the field of secretaryship.
* S.C.S Kothari Academy for Women 17, Venkatapathy St, Kilpauk. Ph: 6460558
One year PG Diploma in Executive Secretaryship.
* Stenographer's Guild, Guild St., T.Nagar. Ph: 4337387 /4342421.
Six-month Executive Secretary training programme. The programme covers basics in computers, shorthand, communication and bookkeeping.
* Ryan Educational Society, Catholic Centre, 108 Armenian Street. Ph: 5382419. One-year course (Only for women) Course includes shorthand ,typing, office procedures and spoken English.
*The Cultural Academy, 25 Santhome High Road. Ph: 4940268.
Secretarial Course that includes shorthand, typing, basics in Computers and Business Correspondence.
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