Wind beneath the manager’s wings!

Many people think that being a secretary is exactly like being a receptionist, but that is not true. There are definitely some similarities, but being a secretary is different from being a receptionist in many ways. However, indeed, both play crucial roles in organisations.

Most people do not understand that the secretaries are the ones who often do more of the running of organisations than the entrepreneurs, managers, CEOs, presidents and department heads. They keep the wheels in motion and maintain links and connections between their bosses and the rest of the world where the company leverages for business success.

In my opinion, there are two women who are important in a manager’s life – his wife, who is responsible for his personal wellbeing and social stability. The other is his secretary, who is responsible for the wellbeing of his corporate profile and departmental/organisational stability. It is of paramount important that these two persons understand each other’s role and that they get along well. If there is inconsistency in this relationship, the manager falls apart!

The relationship between a secretary and a boss is very much like a marriage. The two of them work long hours together towards a common vision.

In the case of the lady manager, the supporting role of her secretary, male or female, and that of her husband, is what helps in the right balance to maintain her sanity in a very competitive business world.

A secretary can make an organisation a success or increase the risk of failure

The secretary interfaces among all the departments, customers, vendors and information flow so that the manager can use his time effectively. A secretary can screen out irrelevant data from wasting the time of the chief.

The secretary also knows a lot about how the organisation works, much more than anyone would ever imagine. He/she is a person, whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication and organisational skills. A good secretary anticipates the needs of office staff, solves problems quickly and works efficiently.

However, unfortunately in Sri Lanka, many people do not realise how valuable the secretary is until he or she leaves the job. Secretaries also have excellent people skills and they are secure in handling confidential material, high-strung executives and the chaos that is often present in a busy office.

These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit of more than one. The primarily responsible for the schedule of their boss and must carry out any errands that the boss needs done to make sure work can be done without any hiccups. For example, a secretary would be sent to pick up supplies for a presentation, or go to a conference room and make sure everything is working right for their boss.

A secretary can run organisations

This statement can be perceived as a bit of a controversial comment. Some may think of this as crazy and some may think of it as a brilliant idea. Yet, it is true that an executive secretary is many times already doing everything the boss is; sometimes they are practically running the company.

Over time they are able to know what the boss wants without even asking them. Why? Because, they learn how they make decisions and thus, can make those decisions on the fly, without having to bug them every five minutes or ask them questions. They just take control and lead the organisation through all the challenges.

Secretaries are often very important people in the offices that they work in, although they may not command the salary and respect from outsiders that higher ranking people in the office do.

Secretarial positions are quite old; Greek and Roman businessmen and politicians, for example, used personal secretaries and clerks to manage their affairs. Today, secretaries may be known by a variety of other titles, like administrative assistants, clerks or personal assistants. These titles may reflect different types of secretarial jobs, although all of these positions share the common theme of administrative tasks.

It is important to note that although the secretary ensures that these responsibilities are met, much of the work may be delegated to paid staff or volunteers.

TRADITIONAL MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities of the secretary of a management committee:

1. Ensuring meetings are effectively organised and minute

• Liaising with the chair to plan meetings.
• Receiving agenda items from committee members.
• Circulating agendas and reports.
• Taking minutes.
• Circulating approved minutes.
• Checking that agreed actions are carried out.
• Follow up on implementation of decisions taken at the meeting.

2. Maintaining effective records and administration

• Keeping up-to-date contact details (i.e. names, addresses and telephone numbers) for the management committee and (where relevant) ordinary members of the organisation.
• Filing minutes and reports.
• Compiling lists of names and addresses that are useful to the organisation, including those of appropriate officials or officers of voluntary organisations.
• Keeping a record of the organisation’s activities.
• Keeping a diary of future activities.
• Perfect the up-dates of the annual strategic framework with final outcomes of the top management meetings.
• Indexing for easy reference and retrieval of files/documentation.

3. Upholding legal requirements

• Acting as custodian of the organisation’s governing documents.
• Checking quorum is present at meetings.
• Ensuring action planning is in line with stipulated procedures.
• Ensuring organisation’s activities are in line with its objects.
• Ensuring charity and company law requirements are met (where relevant, unless there is a separate company secretary).
• Sitting on appraisal, recruitment and disciplinary panels, as required.

4. Communication and correspondence

• Responding to all committee correspondence.
• Filing all committee correspondence received and copies of replies sent.
• Keeping a record of any of the organisation’s publications (e.g. leaflets or newsletters).
• Reporting the activities of the organisation and future programmes to members, the press and the public (unless there is an Information or Publicity Officer).
• Preparing a report of the organisation’s activities for the year, for the Annual General Meeting (in the case of public quoted companies).

If your boss is a CEO or business unit head:

A secretary working for such a boss will have to prepare to be involved in:

• Recruiting, retaining and training talented employees.
• Develop and implement business strategies that result in profitable returns.
• Reduce operating costs to increase efficiency.
• Ensuring that the ‘Right-the-First-Time’ (RFT) Index is 100%. A secretary at this level does not have the luxury of making mistakes or carelessness.

Dealing with bad bosses

If other strategies don’t work, the secretary has two choices:

Choice A – If you have good personal reasons for staying in your job – you love your work, you’re learning a lot, you like the people you are working with – you can hold your nose and ignore your boss as best you can. What I mean is, don’t let his peculiarities affect you personally.

Choice B – You can quit. Life is too short to deal with this pressure and stress.

How to strengthen the work relationship with your boss

• Earn his respect and trust.
• Know who is important in his life.
• Treat your boss as your key stakeholder.
• Think of your boss as a human being.
• Give active encouragement to your boss.
• Don’t waste his time.
• Above all, don’t entice him.

Company secretary

A company secretary is different from any other secretary as they are responsible for the efficient administration of a company, particularly with regard to ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and for ensuring that decisions of the board of directors are implemented.

The role of a company secretary is not clerical or secretarial in the usual sense, despite the connotations of the title. The company secretary ensures that an organisation complies with relevant legislation and regulation and keeps board members informed of their legal responsibilities.

The company secretary acts as the company’s named representative on its legal documents and so s/he must see to it that the company and its directors operate within the law. It is also their responsibility to register and communicate with shareholders, to ensure that dividends are paid and to maintain company records, such as lists of directors and shareholders and annual accounts.

The company secretary is usually the primary source of information and advice as to the conduct of business which includes a wide range of opinion from legal advice on conflicts of interest, accounting advice on financial reports, to the development of strategy and corporate planning.

Historical evidence shows that executive secretaries have become HR directors and marketing directors of multinational and other large conglomerates.

(The writer is the Managing Director and CEO, McQuire Rens Group of Companies. He has held regional responsibilities of two multinational companies of which one was a Fortune 500 company. He carries out consultancy assignments and management training in Dubai, India, Maldives, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. He is a much sought-after business consultant and corporate management trainer in Sri Lanka.)