Calgary Herald, Calgary AB

Positive, image-enhancing article from Calgary Herald, Calgary AB, Canada - outstanding job of providing quotes by Calgary Chapter president Tracy Heslop. Reporter used information from IAAP APW press kit and contacted IAAP HQ for sources and background information.


Secretaries' role is ever expanding

By Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Tracy Heslop, an executive assistant at Husky Energy Inc., has watched her occupation evolve in complexity, as corporate downsizing in the past decade moved secretaries and receptionists beyond their traditional roles.

These days, filing and dictation are rarely part of the job description of executive office staff such as Tracy Heslop, said Steve Baldwin, chief executive of Officejobs.com, a Calgary-based staffing firm.

A generation ago, the job duties of a secretary might have included fetching coffee, running errands, filing paperwork and answering the telephone.

But today, administrative professionals are being asked to perform creative and technical tasks within their organization and take on a host of responsibilities that once belonged to their supervisor.

Tracy Heslop, an executive assistant at Husky Energy Inc., has watched her occupation evolve in complexity, as corporate downsizing in the past decade moved secretaries and receptionists beyond their traditional roles.

"If a company cuts back on desktop support staff, for example, it automatically falls to the administrators to fix machines or open a document," Heslop said.

"We're quite often the first person to go to if there is any kind of a problem in the office."

April 18 to 24 is Administrative Professionals Week, an annual event that celebrates the jobs of 4.5 million secretaries, executive assistants and clerical supervisors in the United States and Canada.

More than just typists, they are graphic artists, event planners, writers, communicators, crisis managers, database experts and office managers.

The findings of a 2003 study by Utah Valley State College and the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) suggest creativity and critical thinking are among the most frequently-used skills of secretarial staff -- not bookkeeping or typing.

In fact, filing and dictation are rarely part of the job description anymore, said Steve Baldwin, chief executive of Officejobs.com, a Calgary-based staffing firm.

"Administrative professionals are playing a much bigger role within their organization," he said. "They are relied upon not only for ideas and input but to act as front-line ambassadors for the company."

In recent years, a slowing economy meant fewer jobs -- and lower pay -- for secretaries and executive assistants, as CEOs chose to plan their own meetings and answer their own mail. That's changing, said Baldwin.

"After Sept. 11, there were a flood of job seekers on the market. Now we're busier than I can remember, and filling more positions than before the dot-com crash. It's a good time to be in the industry."

A new breed of office administrator -- the "virtual assistant" -- is also gaining popularity among entrepreneurs and small businesses in need of off-site support for such tasks as typing letters, organizing schedules and making travel reservations.

Some have predicted that personal digital handheld technology used by an increasing number of executives will eventually eliminate the need for secretarial staff. Heslop, who is also the president of the Calgary chapter of IAAP, disagrees.

"The actual office job will never disappear. But the administrative role is definitely evolving so we should all be looking to help make our way into the future by making change a positive part of how we function," she said.

While it's common for bosses to offer secretarial staff a bouquet of flowers or lunch at a tony bistro to mark Administrative Professionals Week, the IAAP suggests employers do the following instead:

- Organize a training seminar for secretarial employees to boost computer, interpersonal or business skills;

- Support membership in a professional networking organization, such as the IAAP;

- Encourage staff members to attain industry certification, such as the certified administrative professional (CAP) designation.

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ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS WEEK:

- There are about 500,000 administrative professionals in Canada, including 26,390 executive assistants;

- Job duties include project management, meeting planning and scheduling, desktop publishing and computer troubleshooting;

- A 2002 survey of office administrators suggests 74 per cent earn more than $30,000 US a year, compared to 40 per cent in 1997.

Source: The International Association of Administrative Professionals

This story features a factbox "Administrative Professionals Week".

© The Calgary Herald 2004