Outstanding job of providing information to local
paper by IAAP Wausau Chapter members, including prominent mention of IAAP's
certification programs. Reporter did an excellent job as well.
Direct link:
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhbusiness/280933190561606.shtml
Article text:
Executive assistants take on greater responsibilities
They're like nerve central of virtually any office. They're the first face
visitors see and the last line for information before it hits an executive's
desk.
Over the years they've gone from office typists and phone operators to office
managers and database experts.
The evolution of their responsibilities has come with the evolution of their
name, from secretaries to administrative assistants. The change is reflected in
the week in which offices are asked to take special notice of the people who
make many workplaces tick.
Today begins Administrative Professionals Week with Administrative Professional
Day celebrated Wednesday.
"It brings attention to the work that an administrative assistant does," said
Mary Formanek, secretary with WPS Health Insurance. "To other people, they think
it's flowers and that type of thing. I don't know that people realize what a
satisfying career it is to be administrative assistant."
The week was started in 1952 as National Secretaries Week and took on its
current name in 2000, when the week's sponsor organization, the International
Association of Administrative Professionals, also updated its name to reflect
the greater responsibilities of the position.
Vicki Romang, an executive assistant for Wausau-Mosinee Paper Corp., started on
her career path 15 years ago. To keep up with her changing responsibilities,
like virtually all administrative professionals, she regularly updates her
skills through classes and seminars.
"When I started, it was more typing, filing and answering the phones; now it's
setting up newsletters and publishing, things of that nature," said Romang, the
president for the local chapter of the International Association of
Administrative Professionals. "As technology has grown in different areas, it's
really allowed administrative professionals to grow."
The need for administrative assistants to take on greater responsibility in
today's workplace is shown through the amount of education available to them.
Schools like Northcentral Technical College offer an administrative assistant
program, and there are two professional certifications available to
administrative professionals.
The tests are difficult, and it's not easy to pass on the first try, said Kalynn
Pempek, executive assistant for the chief medical officer of Community Health
Care.
A certified professional secretary must show proficiency in office systems and
technology, and office administration and management, said Pempek who's earned
that certification.
A certified administrative professional most show proficiency in the same
categories as a CPS plus show it in advanced organizational management as well.
Administrative assistants are not just judged on how fast they can type anymore.
As they move up the corporate ladder many are the first in the office to learn a
new computer program and responsible for teaching the rest of the staff, and
others are asked to lead group projects.
This week isn't about giving flowers or dropping off a Hallmark card to the
administrative assistant in your office, Pempek said.
"I think they appreciate us all year long," she said. "It's the time to say
thank you if you kind of forget to do that."
To learn more
For more information on Administrative Professionals Week and the International
Association of Administrative Professionals, log on to iaap-hq.org.
To join the local chapter of IAAP, send an e-mail to membership chairwoman Mary
Formanek at mformane@wpsic.com.
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Nick Sargent is the business reporter for the Wausau Daily Herald.