What's in a name? Professional requirements for various categories of secretaries The secretary is called differently

The secretary is called the boss's loyal assistant and right hand, and for good reason, because the duties of the manager’s secretary include ensuring effective management and administrative activities. The manager's secretary is engaged in the preparation and execution of business papers and documents, helps the chief in business, and solves many organizational issues.

The position of the assistant secretary can also be considered representative, since he is the face of the company - he meets guests, answers calls and letters. Such work requires a lot of composure, communication skills and organization. For this reason, the profession of a secretary can promise great prospects - in the future, a specialist can become an office manager, and then one of the directors or top managers.

The position of executive secretary is required in almost every company that has an office for clients and visitors. These can be both large enterprises and small business organizations.

History of the profession

Over time, the powers of the secretary have expanded significantly and today they can perform a wide variety of functions. Thus, the need arose for specialists of narrow specialization, as a result of which the profession of secretary-assistant, clerk, secretary-translator and office manager appeared.

Duties of the secretary

The duties of the secretary-assistant include:

• reception of visitors;
• receiving phone calls;
• record keeping;
• planning the manager's working day;
• organization of meetings;
• booking tickets and booking hotels for the manager and other employees during a business trip;
• ordering office supplies;
• fulfillment of the requests of the head.

Sometimes the functions of the executive secretary include correspondence in English.

Secretary requirements

Requirements for an executive secretary include:

• secondary or higher education;
• PC ownership;
• knowledge of the basics of office work;
• knowledge of English (sometimes).

Also, the position of a secretary presupposes the following skills:

• punctuality;
• the ability to look good (presentable);
• organization.

Secretary resume sample

Resume sample

How to become a secretary

How do I become a secretary? This can be the owner of any higher education who has completed courses of secretarial assistants or received training directly at the workplace. As a rule, employers do not impose special requirements on the applicant's specialty, but focus on ensuring that the applicant has the necessary personal qualities and is able to perform duties at the proper level.

Secretary salary

The salary of the secretary can be different - from 15 to 45 thousand rubles. Income depends on the scope of the employee's responsibilities and the region in which he works. The average salary of an assistant secretary is 30 thousand rubles.

Back to Leadership Responsibilities

The secretary performs the following job duties:

- Carries out work on the organizational and technical support of the administrative and administrative activities of the head.

- Accepts the correspondence received for consideration by the head, transfers it in accordance with the decision made to the structural divisions or a specific performer for use in the process of work or preparation of responses.

- Accepts documents and personal applications for signature of the head.

- Answers phone calls, records and transmits service information to the head, organizes telephone conversations of the head.

- On behalf of the head, draws up letters, inquiries, and other documents.

- Carries out work on the preparation of meetings and meetings held by the head (collecting the necessary materials, notifying participants about the time and place of the meeting, agenda, their registration), keeps and draws up minutes of meetings and meetings.

- Carries out control over the execution of the issued orders and orders by the employees of the enterprise, as well as over the observance of the deadlines for the execution of the instructions and instructions of the head, taken under control.

- Provides the manager's workplace with the necessary organizational equipment, stationery, creates conditions conducive to the effective work of the manager.

- Organizes the reception of visitors, promotes the efficiency of consideration of requests and proposals of employees.

- Forms cases in accordance with the approved nomenclature, ensures their safety and submits them to the archive in due time.

- Organizes business trips for the head: orders air and train tickets, reservations hotels.

- Carries out individual service assignments of his immediate supervisor.

The secretary has the right:

- Receive information, including confidential information, in the amount necessary to solve the assigned tasks.

- Submit proposals to the management to improve their work and the work of the company.

- Request information and documents necessary for the performance of his official duties personally or on behalf of the head from the divisions of the enterprise and other specialists.

- Require management to create normal conditions for the performance of official duties and the safety of all documents generated as a result of the company's activities.

- Make decisions within their competence.

The secretary is responsible for:

- For failure to fulfill and / or untimely, negligent fulfillment of their duties.

- For non-compliance with the current instructions, orders and orders for the preservation of commercial secrets and confidential information.

- For violation of the rules of internal labor regulations, labor discipline, safety regulations and fire safety.

Duties of the director
Former director
External control
Operational management
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What the secretary should know and be able to do is set out in the qualification profile.

Qualification characteristic- This is a regulatory document that establishes what a particular employee should do at his job, what he should know and be able to do for this, and what his level of training should be.

Job responsibilities (the secretary must be able to) Perform technical functions to ensure and maintain the work of the head of the enterprise (or department), help plan the head's working day. To receive the information necessary for the head from departments or performers, to call on his behalf employees. Organize telephone conversations of the head, receive and transmit telephone messages, record received messages in his absence and bring their content to the attention of the head. Organize travel and business trips for the head. Carry out work on the preparation of meetings and meetings held by the head (collecting the necessary materials, notifying participants about the time, place and agenda of the meeting or meeting, their registration), keep and draw up minutes. Provide the manager's workplace with office supplies, organizational technology, create conditions conducive to his effective work. Send and receive information on receiving and intercom devices, quickly print various materials at the direction of the head. Conduct documentation work, accept correspondence received in the name of the head, organize it in accordance with the procedure adopted at the enterprise and transfer it after consideration to the heads of departments or specific performers for use in the process of their work or for preparing a response. Maintain information services for the manager and employees (oral, documentary, compose press reviews, provide copies of interesting articles). Monitor the timing of the execution of orders from the head on personal applications of citizens. To organize the reception of visitors, while showing tact and attention to them, to facilitate the prompt consideration of requests and suggestions from employees, to form cases in accordance with the approved nomenclature of cases, to ensure their safety and to submit them to the archive on time. Create and use databases (including Internet information).

The secretary should know: the activities of the company and the duties and competencies of employees; regulations and instructions for documentation; typescript; work on a personal computer, modern computer editors (Word, Excel, etc.); spelling and punctuation rules; the order of the arrangement of the material when printing various documents; operating rules for office equipment (faxes, mini-automatic telephone exchanges, copiers, voice recorders, tape recorders); rules for the use of intercom systems; standards for a unified system of organizational and administrative documentation; internal labor regulations; fundamentals of scientific organization of secretarial work; human psychology and the laws of effective communication; service etiquette; rules and norms of labor protection, safety, industrial sanitation and fire protection; foreign language of clients and partners; Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

To develop and concretize the qualification characteristics at enterprises (firms), job descriptions are developed.

Job description - the main organizational and legal document regulating the activities of the secretary, defining his rights, position in the organization, nature of work. The secretary relies on this document in his relationship with employees. What is written in the job description, then it will be asked what rights are given in it, the secretary has.

The job description for the secretary is an individual document, since the position of the secretary has many gradations. In a small organization (or firm), there will be one secretary (assistant secretary). In larger organizations, secretaries may be at the head and his deputies, in each structural unit. There are board secretaries, scientific secretaries of scientific councils, etc. Each secretary always, based on the volume and specifics of the organization's activities, the requirements of the leader and his trust in the secretary, has his own range of responsibilities and rights, various combinations of creative, logical and technical types of work. At the same time, there is a typical set of document and non-document management management operations that are performed by all secretaries. In addition, the peculiarity and complexity of drawing up the job description of the secretary is due to the versatility of his activities. Therefore, it is impossible to talk about any single standard of the job description of the secretary (secretary-assistant).

However, as with any job description, general requirements are imposed on it. First of all, it has an already established unified structure of the text, namely the sections:

1. General Provisions;

2) functions;

3) job duties;

5) responsibility;

6) relationships;

7) connections by position.

A section called “Evaluation of work” could be added, and in recent years a section “Organization of work (daily routine)” appears more and more often.

The section "General Provisions" contains the exact name of the position in accordance with the staffing table, the place in the management system, that is, the name of the structural unit and subordination, the procedure for appointment and dismissal and the procedure for replacement. In large organizations that have a preschool educational institution, the secretary has a double subordination - directly to his head and the head of the preschool educational institution. Secretaries are appointed and dismissed by order of the head (in a large organization - on the proposal of the head of the preschool educational institution).

The same section specifies the requirements for professional training and work experience. Today, the attitude towards the secretary and the requirements for him have changed dramatically. Firms are looking for a secretary with a higher or secondary specialized education, who knows a foreign language, and is fluent in a computer. Increasingly, the secretary, as well as abroad, is required to know not one, but two or more foreign languages, since firms have numerous contacts with foreign partners, and the secretary communicates with them. It also contains instructions on the main legislative and regulatory, regulatory, methodological, organizational, administrative documents, which the secretary is guided by in his work.

The section "Functions" lists the main activities of the secretary (secretary-assistant), for example: information and documentation support for the head, organizational support for the head, participation in the preparation of exhibitions and presentations, etc.

The section "Job responsibilities" lists all types of work, operations and technologies used in their implementation. It lists the work performed by the secretary in a logical sequence. All types of work are divided into operations with an indication of the technology of execution. For example, the function "information and documentation support" is divided into two parts: documentation and work with documents. Documenting, in turn, includes drawing up letters (letters of invitation, letters of reminder, etc.), telegrams, etc., on the instructions of the project manager; printing on the computer of the manager's documents; checking the correctness of the documents when they are submitted for signature to the head (visas, the presence and correctness of the details in accordance with the requirements of the standard, etc.); taking and certifying copies of documents, etc. Working with documents includes receiving incoming documents (hours are indicated, for example: at 09 and 16 hours), receiving faxes and e-mail (during the day); primary processing of the received documents in accordance with the requirements of the instructions for office work; preview of documents (if entrusted to the secretary); registration of documents according to the rules established in the organization; report of documents to the head, etc.

The "Rights" section is perhaps the most important. He emphasizes the place of the secretary in the management system, his importance, position in the organization. It is through the rights that the powers delegated by the head to the secretary and the degree of his independence are visible. This section allows the secretary to free up the manager's time for solving the main strategic and tactical tasks.

It is this section of the job description that gives the secretary (assistant secretary) more or less powers and determines the degree of his capabilities.

The section "Responsibility" is drawn up in strict accordance with the law.

The section "Relationships (connections by position)" is also very important for organizing the work of any managerial staff member, and first of all, this is due to the active implementation of automated systems that require detailed indication of what information, in what form, to whom it is transmitted and from whom it is received. ...

In recent years, the Job Evaluation section has often appeared in the job description. It usually specifies the criteria for the timeliness of the work and its quality, for example: no complaints, claims and complaints; absence of errors in documents; compliance with the deadlines for the execution of instructions from the management, etc.

As a rule, the job description ends with an indication of the procedure for its revision. The conditions for revising the job description may be changes in the structure of the organization, which entailed a redistribution of the duties of employees, a change in the types of work performed by the secretary, the introduction of computer technology. But much more often they indicate the period of mandatory revision or re-approval of the instruction (3 years or 5 years).

An optional section is "Organization of work", but lately it is very popular and more and more common. It provides an approximate daily routine for a secretary. It might look like this.

FIRST HALF OF THE WORKING DAY:

1) come to work 10 minutes before the head, in order to check the state of the workplaces (your own and the head), put yourself in order, draw up or clarify a plan for the upcoming day;

2) select the necessary documents and files in accordance with the plan;

3) receive correspondence, get acquainted with the content, postpone documents requiring a top-priority decision of the head;

4) immediately transfer telegrams, urgent faxes and telephone messages to the head;

5) for the rest of the documents, prepare options for possible answers or resolutions, distribute among the performers;

6) view received reviews, reports, invitations, etc.

etc .; write down the dates and times of all events in your diary-calendar;

7) keep the documents necessary for the current information and reference work;

8) report to the head of the received correspondence;

9) clarify, together with the head, the content of the planned activities for the current day;

10) transmit by phone and personally the instructions of the head to the relevant executors and remind about the expiring deadlines for the execution of documents.

SECOND HALF OF THE DAY:

1) collection and preparation for the signature of executed documents;

2) report to the head about the executed documents, take the documents processed by him from the head;

3) process and send outgoing documents;

4) schedule activities for the next day.

During the whole working day, the following are carried out:

a) work with visitors, telephone conversations;

b) filing of executed documents into files;

c) performing work on a computer;

d) organization of copying documents in accordance with the direction of the head.

END OF WORKING DAY:

1) view your diary and inform the relevant departments about the need to prepare for certain events;

2) if the manager remains to work after the end of the working day, it is necessary to provide him with all the necessary information and materials;

3) tidy up your workplace, remove documents, close the safe and all cabinets with documents, disconnect electronic and technical equipment from the network.

The job description is an integral part of the entire package of documents necessary for organizing the work of the management apparatus.

ADVICE. Organize your working day so that you can do everything and be useful for everyone. Give yourself up to your work, but do not forget that there are questions that are not in your competence. So only do what you have to do.

Summing up: it should be noted once again that the job description for a secretary is an individual document, since the position of a secretary has many gradations. Each secretary, based on the volume and specifics of the organization's activities, the requirements of the head and his trust in the secretary, has his own range of responsibilities and rights, various combinations of creative, logical and technical types of work.

The chief engineer of an enterprise is usually considered the right hand of the director, and the deputy for commerce - the left, but when the secretary is absent, the director has no hands at all.

Secretary concept and varieties
Secretary wide enough. Translated from Latin, the word "secretarius" means "confidant".

Usually, the relationship between the secretary and the manager is quite trusting, and it should be so, because oblige official powers.

The concept of a secretary today is quite complex and has many gradations, I will give an example of some of them:
Technical secretary- works with office equipment (fax, multifunctional device, personal computer), uses the Internet, carries out orders from managers and employees, calls up companies and institutions on behalf of the manager, receives and sends messages by means of communication.
Receptionist- accepts incoming letters and faxes, e-mail messages, answers phone calls, redirects them to departments or specific employees, meets visitors.
Office secretary- accepts and analyzes correspondence, fulfills orders of the head and his deputies, types the texts of documents, maintains documentation.
Secretary-assistant- not only a secretary, but also a specialist who is well acquainted with the activities of the company, which in some cases can make some independent decisions. The secretary-assistant prepares the reports of the head, searches for the necessary documentation for the head, plans the head's working day, solves administrative issues within his competence.
Office Manager- ensures the functioning of the entire office: prepares materials for presentations, ensures uninterrupted transport services, clear communication, ensuring the operation of office equipment and the availability of stationery. The office manager is responsible for the appearance of the office; in a small institution, he can simultaneously perform the functions of a personnel officer.
In small commercial organizations, secretaries, whatever they are called, differ in that they have to do a universal job.
The secretary profession is perhaps the closest to the actor's profession. The specificity and complexity of the secretary's work is due to the fact that he is always in sight, in the center of communication with management, colleagues, clients. A smile, a pleasant voice, a neat appearance, confident gestures and goodwill, whatever the mood, create a special atmosphere in the office.

Secretary's job description

APPROVED
General manager
Surname I.O. ________________
"________"_____________ ____ G.

1. General Provisions

1.1. The secretary belongs to the category of technical executors.
1.2. The secretary is appointed and dismissed by the order of the general director of the company.
1.3. The secretary reports directly to the general director / head of the company's structural unit.
1.4. During the absence of the secretary, his rights and obligations are transferred to another official, which is announced in the order for the organization.
1.5. A person who meets the following requirements is appointed to the post of secretary: education - higher, incomplete higher or secondary specialized, experience of similar work from six months, knowledge of office equipment (fax, copier, scanner, printer), Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel).
1.6. The secretary is guided in his activities by:
- legislative acts of the Russian Federation;
- Company Charter, Internal Labor Regulations, other company regulations;
- orders and orders of the management;
- this job description.

2. Official duties of the secretary

The secretary performs the following job duties:
2.1. Carries out work on the organizational and technical support of the administrative and administrative activities of the head.
2.2. Accepts the correspondence arriving for consideration by the head, transfers it in accordance with the decision made to the structural divisions or a specific performer for use in the process of work or preparation of responses.
2.3. Accepts documents and personal applications for signature of the head.
2.4. Answers phone calls, records and transfers service information to the head, organizes telephone conversations of the head.
2.5. On behalf of the head, draws up letters, inquiries, and other documents.
2.6. Carries out work on the preparation of meetings and meetings held by the head (collecting the necessary materials, notifying participants about the time and place of the event, agenda, their registration), keeps and draws up minutes of meetings and meetings.
2.7. Carries out control over the execution of the issued orders and orders by the employees of the enterprise, as well as over the observance of the deadlines for the execution of the instructions and instructions of the head, taken under control.
2.8. Provides the manager's workplace with the necessary organizational equipment, stationery, creates conditions conducive to the effective work of the manager.
2.9. Organizes the reception of visitors, promotes the efficiency of consideration of requests and proposals of employees.
2.10. Forms cases in accordance with the approved nomenclature, ensures their safety and submits them to the archive in due time.
2.11. Organizes business trips for the head: orders air and railway tickets, reservations hotels.
2.12.

Carries out individual service assignments of his immediate supervisor.

3. Secretary's rights

The secretary has the right:
3.1. Receive information, including confidential information, to the extent necessary to solve the assigned tasks.
3.2. Submit proposals to the management to improve their work and the work of the company.
3.3. Request information and documents necessary for the performance of his official duties personally or on behalf of the head from the divisions of the enterprise and other specialists.
3.4. Require management to create normal conditions for the performance of official duties and the safety of all documents generated as a result of the company's activities.
3.5. Make decisions within their competence.

4. Responsibility of the secretary

The secretary is responsible for:
4.1. For non-fulfillment and / or untimely, negligent fulfillment of their duties.
4.2. For non-compliance with the current instructions, orders and orders for the preservation of commercial secrets and confidential information.
4.3. For violation of the rules of internal labor regulations, labor discipline, safety regulations and fire safety.

If after reading this article you do not receive a definite answer, ask for quick help.

Secretarial Affairs, Brief Historical Background

Let's forget for a while about the UN Secretary General, numerous scientific secretaries of highly respected academies, other inhabitants of the upper echelons of power, called secretaries. This is from a different area. It will be about the "secretary rank" established in 1720 by Peter the Great. According to the General Regulations adopted by the reformer tsar, which laid the foundation for Russian office work, this was the name of an official who was entrusted with a wide range of responsibilities in the field, to use modern terminology, of documentary management support. Endowed with considerable confidence, he had to carry out his duty without "delays and vagueness in business." Today the "secretary rank" in our country is experiencing a rebirth. This is dictated by the entry of the Russian economy into market relations and the widespread use of high technologies in business. The share of responsibility of the secretary's employee in the new conditions has increased significantly, the bar of its importance in the daily activities of the company has risen. The success of the company and the state of the psychological climate in the team largely depend on his professional training, experience, attitude to business. Unfortunately, the de facto official status of a secretary in many Russian firms does not correspond to the increased volume of work performed. Its role, legal and financial situation are unjustifiably belittled. Quite often, there is an inadequate attitude towards the secretary worker on the part of managers who view this position through the prism of outdated stereotypes. The underestimation of the importance of the secretary and his place in the general production process in the conditions of the market and free competition affects. In contrast to the developed capitalist countries, the duties and rights of a secretary worker, who is sometimes referred to as an assistant secretary or an office manager, are essentially not clearly defined to this day. The secretarial department itself remains fragmented. Secretaries are not professionally united. They do not have national organizations that would be reckoned with by those in power and employers and who would be ready to protect their interests, take care of their professional education and career growth.

Americans believe that consolidation of an official position and its successful work are based on a synthesis of two qualities: diligence and initiative. The path begins to achieve the heights of career growth and receive a basic education at a decent level. In the modern era of electronics, this necessarily includes the development of the basics of information technology, management and economics, law, business ethics, foreign languages. But you can become a full-fledged secretary only if you have accumulated a certain experience and length of service.

As for the position of a secretary in our country at the present stage, in the Qualification Handbook of the positions of managers, specialists and other employees, approved by the decree of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation on August 21, 1998 No. 37 (with further additions and changes), it is given from additions: secretary-stenographer, secretary-typist, secretary of a blind specialist, secretary of the head, scientific secretary. The listing of the positions of the secretary given in the Qualification Handbook shows that the concept of “secretary” is quite complex, and it really has many gradations - from the scientific secretary to the secretary-typist. Hence, there is a wide variety of functions performed by secretaries, a set of responsibilities and rights, various requirements for education, work experience and skills.

The position of the manager's secretary requires higher professional education, and the position of the secretary-typist - "primary vocational education or secondary general education and special training according to the established program."

In dictionaries, the word "secretary" is defined as "a person conducting business correspondence of an individual or some institution, as well as in charge of office work", and in the dictionary of S. I. Ozhegov - "an employee in charge of business correspondence, current affairs of an individual or institution ". Thus, the definitions emphasize that the secretary can serve both an individual (manager) and an institution.

The word "secretary" comes from the medieval French word "secretaire" and originally meant a confidant (secret in French). A good secretary essentially remains so today. In Russia, the post of secretary appears in the 18th century, at first precisely as the post of personal secretary of the emperor, and in the Explanatory Dictionary V. Dahl defines: "the state secretary, the sovereign's trusted letter clerk." In the first quarter of the 18th century. the secretary becomes an official of the institution and in the legislative acts of this period, the scope of his activities and official duties are outlined. Thus, in the definitions, work with documents is highlighted. In addition, they emphasize that the secretary can serve both an individual (manager) and an institution. The secretary should always be in "uniform": carefully and thoughtfully dressed, neat, ready to quickly and efficiently carry out the instructions given to him, be able to calmly, without confusion, harshness, fuss and with dignity to resolve issues within his competence. He needs the gift of feeling the "nuances" of the case, which allows him to freely get out of difficult situations, in particular, not to see or hear what should not be seen or heard. The secretary is always in sight and in the know about many things: he works with documents, participates in business meetings and negotiations, answers a phone call and makes an order himself on behalf of the management, makes an appointment with visitors. But sometimes you have to do one-time assignments, for example, transferring money, long-distance telephone conversation, visiting a sick colleague, and so on.

The role of the assistant secretary in the structure of management documentation. Secretary categories.

Secretary is one of the most common professions in the modern labor market. Not a single organization can do without a secretary. A secretary is the right hand of a manager, an employee who owns operational information and is aware of the current affairs of a company, firm, organization, enterprise or institution.

In recent years, the secretary profession has undergone significant changes. If recently it was customary to call the secretary "the face of the company", then today he can already be compared with the right hand of a leader, regulating various production processes. In our country, the demand for qualified secretaries has increased dramatically. This is primarily due to the emergence of a large number of structures.

The International Professional Secretaries International gave the following definition to the modern secretary: "He is an enterprising and prudent assistant to the chief, possessing all the professional skills necessary for the office, making decisions within his competence and, if necessary, taking control over himself."

Today, in organizations and enterprises of various organizational and legal forms, there are many varieties of the secretarial profession. The responsibilities of the various secretarial staff are very diverse.

The operator on the phone in large organizations accepts all phone calls and connects with the necessary subscribers. The secretary on the phone accepts telephone orders and messages, gives by phone the necessary information about the range of goods or services provided by the company, on behalf of the head, contacts his own employees and representatives of third-party organizations by phone. The technical secretary works with office equipment. The receptionist accepts letters, faxes, e-mails, answers phone calls and forwards them to their destination, receives visitors. The secretary of the office receives and analyzes correspondence, prepares draft documents, organizes work with documents, fulfills orders of the head and his deputies, is the coordinator and dispatcher of the office.

In the Qualification Handbook of the positions of managers, specialists and other employees (approved by the Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation of August 21, 1998 No. 37), the position of the secretary is given with the additions: secretary-typist, secretary of a blind specialist, secretary of the head, secretary-stenographer, academic secretary. All of them are distinguished by a wide variety of functions, a set of responsibilities and rights, various requirements for education, work experience and skills. The qualification characteristics of these specialists are presented in Appendix A.

The development of new socio-economic relations in Russia has caused the rapid growth of various kinds of non-state enterprises and firms. The head of each such organization has a secretary. Secretaries also work for representatives of the liberal professions - lawyers, notaries, as well as for small private enterprises.

The managerial staff of non-governmental commercial organizations, as a rule, is very small. The leaders of these firms are mainly engaged in solving the main production issues, strategic problems of the development of their enterprises, and entrust a significant part of the management (primarily administrative) work to their secretaries. The secretary of the head of a modern company must not only quickly print and correctly draw up documents, but also compose the texts of various documents, edit projects, not only rationally organize the reception of visitors and telephone service, but also independently resolve many issues in accordance with the instructions from the head.

This new kind of secretarial profession is called the assistant secretary.

As you know, a secretary and an assistant are quite different varieties of the secretarial profession. The secretary of the head of the organization is an assistant who organizes the activities of the first head, prepares documents for him, organizes meetings, negotiations, business trips, and provides telephone services. An assistant is a specialist not only in the field of secretarial affairs, but also in the field of the main activity of the firm; he prepares decisions, reports, reports, speeches of the head, analytical documents; analyzes the situation and takes part in the development of the strategy and tactics of the firm.

The word "secretary" comes from the Latin word secret ("secret, secret"), and the word "referent" means "a person who communicates something." The origin of the name "secretary-assistant" partly explains the role and importance of the secretary in the management structure.

A secretary-assistant is a confidant of a manager who owns certain information and frees his boss from current work in order to enable him to focus on solving the main issues of the enterprise. Thanks to the work of the secretary-assistant, the manager can concentrate as much as possible on the fulfillment of his professional tasks.

Assistant secretary is a profession that includes many functions. The numerous and varied duties of a modern secretary-assistant can (with a sufficient degree of convention) be subdivided into two large groups:

Management documentation functions;

Functions for the so-called paperless management service.

Fulfilling the functions of documentary support of management, the secretary-assistant is engaged in the preparation and execution of official documents, the organization of document flow, storage and use of documents in the current activities of the organization. It should be noted that in non-state structures where secretaries-assistants work, a dedicated clerical unit, as a rule, is not created, functions for clerical services are concentrated in the secretariat. At the same time, the workplace of the secretary-assistant is usually equipped with modern technical means and supported by software. This allows you to optimally, with the least expenditure of working time, organize office work, combining it with the implementation of other numerous duties.

The functions of the secretary-assistant for non-documentary service include: organizing the reception of visitors, telephone service, ensuring the head's working rest, contacts with the company's staff and taking care of the company's guests, organizing meetings and negotiations for the head, preparing business trips for the head, organizing and participating in meetings, monitoring execution of instructions of the management, organization of the manager's working day, time reservation, organization of the manager's workplace, control over the serviceability and correct operation of office equipment.

Often the secretarial functions for documentless management services are defined as functions for the organizational support of the manager's activities. This is not entirely accurate. Indeed, the secretary-assistant is a reliable assistant to the manager. At the same time, all (or most of them) internal and external relations of the organization are closed on it, it is the link between the manager and employees, as well as business partners. Thus, a significant place in the functions of the secretary-assistant for non-documentary services is occupied by communication functions. Today, the executive's secretary-assistant is not only often called the “right hand” of a manager, but is also compared to the “central nervous system” of a company, which once again emphasizes the importance of the communication component in paperless services.

A special group of functions of the secretary-assistant consists of referent functions, which are difficult to unambiguously define as documentary or non-documentary. With some degree of convention, these functions are sometimes defined as functions for information support of the manager's activities. The reference component primarily includes:

Viewing special literature and periodicals by the profile of the company,

Search and processing of the information necessary for the head,

Knowledge of books, reference books and other sources, which contain information necessary in the daily activities of a manager.

The scope of referent functions in different organizations is very different, but every secretary-referent should be able to competently organize work with information. The secretary-assistant must have comprehensive information about the employees of the company (phone numbers, addresses, etc.), be able to find the employee necessary for the manager not only during work, but also in his free time, know about the most important events in the personal life of employees (anniversaries, other celebrations).

In addition to the traditional duties of a manager's assistant and assistant, today the assistant secretary is delegated various functions that have never been part of the secretarial activity before. The scope of these responsibilities is quite wide and varied in different firms.

Certain administrative functions and minor accounting operations are often transferred to the secretary-assistant. The duties of the secretary-assistant include receiving clients and guests of the company, activities in the framework of public relations (public relations), the formation of archives, etc. The secretary-assistant looks through the correspondence of the head, sending part of the documents directly to specialists and managers; he records and controls the execution of all orders of the head, both written and oral. His diary records all the facts, documents, instructions related to the activities of the head.

In small commercial organizations, the secretary-assistant, as a rule, interacts with the security service, personnel and economic services. In the absence of the positions of heads of these services, he sometimes directly coordinates the activities of these units. Often, secretaries-referees are transferred to certain functions of employees involved in work with personnel (for example, documenting labor relations). In some small firms, the duties of a secretary-assistant are closer to those of a deputy head for general issues.

Often an employee who performs the duties of a junior secretary is subordinate to the assistant secretary.

Any executive secretary should be able to make decisions, give directions and represent their manager in business situations.

The importance of assistant secretaries in the management structure is steadily increasing. According to the magazine "Profile", today the secretary-assistant is one of the twenty most popular professions. Moreover, in terms of the degree of prestige and prospects for the next five years, this profession received the maximum assessment. Lively and interesting work, good wages (especially in large cities) make this profession quite attractive. The demand for professional secretaries-assistants is maintained regardless of crises, political fluctuations and exchange rates.

The formation of a new secretarial profession is equally based on domestic and foreign experience in organizing secretarial services.

It should be noted that in the United States and Western Europe, the work of a certified secretary has long been considered quite respected and paid accordingly. Secretaries are trained in specialized educational institutions with a high level of teaching. Many countries have introduced a special examination for the title of professional secretary, without which it is impossible to count on a high secretary position.

The work of an assistant secretary of a modern Russian company has its own specifics:

A wide variety of tasks with significant differences in their degree of complexity, importance, etc .;

A very busy working day;

The need to perform several works in parallel;

Constant overtime, unplanned tasks, the need to stay late after the end of the working day in case of urgent work;

Special working conditions: phone calls, calls, etc.

The specificity and complexity of secretarial work is also associated with the fact that the secretary is always in sight, in the center of communication with management, colleagues, clients. It is no coincidence that they say that "the secretary is the face of the company." Assistant secretary is a service profession. In domestic practice, the post of assistant secretary is predominantly occupied by women, who are more likely to realize themselves as an assistant.

In connection with the change in the position of the secretary in the management structure of a modern company, higher requirements have appeared for the level of education of the secretary-assistant, his professional erudition, communication skills, and the ability to solve various business problems.

Today, the profession of a secretary-assistant requires a person to be highly prepared, a whole range of personal and business qualities, due to the specifics of secretarial work.

Let us turn to the numerous advertisements inviting secretaries-assistants to work. The following requirements are imposed on applicants for this position: knowledge of office work (this implies knowledge of the rules for the preparation and execution of the main types of management documents and the basic rules for organizing work with documents); PC skills (meaning knowledge of the Microsoft World text editor, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet system and general familiarity with the Windows operating system); knowledge within certain limits of a foreign language, more often English, less often German or French.

In fact, the qualifications and other requirements for modern secretaries are much broader. Unfortunately, when hiring a secretary, the manager is not always able to clearly formulate these requirements. And the job description, where it is available, does not give a complete picture of the duties of an assistant secretary.

A professional secretary-assistant must have certain knowledge and skills, possess certain business and personal qualities.

Professional knowledge and skills necessary for a modern secretary-assistant can be roughly divided into three groups:

1. Knowledge necessary for the documentation and information support of the management and the company as a whole.

The assistant secretary should know:

Regulatory and methodological documents on documentation support of management,

Basic principles of document management,

Fundamentals of archiving,

Basic application programs,

Russian language,

One or several foreign languages ​​(depending on the profile of the company).

Draw up and execute the main types and varieties of management documents;

Rationally organize work with management documents, keep an archive;

Find, organize and store information;

Use a typewriter, personal computer, printer, and other means of drawing up, making, copying documents.

2. Knowledge necessary for communicative support of the firm and its administration:

Business Conversation Rules;

The principles of organizing the reception of visitors, meetings, business trips;

Modern means of communication;

Fundamentals of Professional Ethics.

Based on this knowledge, the secretary should be able to:

Conduct business conversations and telephone conversations;

Organize meetings, presentations, business trips;

Use modern means of communication;

Organize the reception of visitors;

Plan your work, plan and save the manager's time.

3. Knowledge related to the main activities of the company, its internal structure and external relations:

Principles of the organization of managerial work, legal foundations of management;

Fundamentals of administrative, labor and business law;

Legal acts and regulations governing the activities of the company and its employees.

Based on this knowledge, the secretary should be able to ensure the effective work of the leader.

In addition, we can say about those special knowledge that a scientific secretary should have, who usually has not only a higher education, but also an academic degree.

The scientific secretary needs to know:

Scientific problems of the relevant field of knowledge, science and technology;

Directions of economic development in a specific field of activity of the institution;

Domestic and foreign achievements in a similar field of knowledge;

The established procedure for organizing, planning, financing, conducting and implementing scientific research and development, as well as their patenting;

Applicable legislation governing copyright and patent protection;

Methods for organizing the work of scientists and management of scientific research and development, etc.

Thus, the secretary-assistant must be able to perform all types of work: from the simplest technical to creative. But his work differs from the work of other secretaries primarily by the highest professionalism, the presence of reference types of work related to the collection, analysis, submission of materials and the preparation of documents, fluent knowledge of foreign languages ​​and impeccable knowledge of computer technology. A secretary-assistant is a highly educated, creatively gifted, highly professional assistant to the manager, whom he always trusts and on whom he can fully rely when carrying out assignments of any complexity.

Professional requirements for various categories of secretaries

Qualification directory of positions of employees about the categories of secretaries. Secretary-typist. Secretary-stenographer. The secretary of the blind specialist. Head Secretary. General requirements for various categories of secretaries. Career stages of a modern secretary. Secretary-assistant. Office Manager. Secretary-assistant to the head. Secretary categories. The activities of the secretary in the structure of the management apparatus. Qualification requirements for the work of a secretary, educational level, work experience, practical skills. Regulation of the secretary's job responsibilities in organizational and legal documents. Appointment, content, procedure for the development of job descriptions and training instructions for a secretary of a certain category. The dependence of the functions of the secretary on the level of the head, the direction of the organization, the volume of workflow, the system of documentation support. Interaction of the secretary with the personnel of the organization.

Business and personal qualities of the assistant secretary.

Modern psychology understands a personality as a more or less autonomous, stable system of socially significant individual psychological characteristics of a person, making him exactly the same, and not determining his identity, behavior, abilities, creative abilities, attitude towards himself and other people, in a word - his whole appearance , the level of aspirations and real behavior. These characteristics are due to the natural characteristics of people, for example, age, sex, temperament, etc., their current needs, interests, value orientations and social roles in society, but at the same time, past life experience acquired through the acquired knowledge, skills, habits. , the culture of previous generations, family traditions, etc.

Based on the data obtained from nature (and, if necessary, slightly correcting them) you can form yourself as a person capable of mastering the desired profession, benefit society and yourself and get satisfaction from the work performed. V fully all that has been said belongs to the profession secretary.

We are talking about the secretary of an enterprise, institution, organization of any form of business. This profession is very widespread throughout the world, especially among girls and young women, but men are also employed in secretarial work. Abroad, the position of the secretary of a company for a young man is considered prestigious and quite highly paid. The popularity of this profession in modern Russia is increasing in connection with the transition to a market economy and the emergence of a mass of new business and other structures. But at the same time, the level of professional and other requirements for the personality of the secretary is also increasing.

The secretary is the face of the institution. A firm is judged by his work and behavior. The secretary must adhere to the "business corporate identity". Accuracy, competence, correctness, efficiency, laconicism, politeness and benevolence - these are its main principles and they must be observed in work.

The average salesperson focuses on any activity other than the one that makes him most of his money. At trainings, I am rarely asked: “What is the best way to start a conversation? What words should I say? " - but whenever the conversation about cold calls comes up, I hear: "What if we are told" no "?" It is the skill of competently starting a conversation and establishing contact that brings 80% of the results, and the skill of responding to rejection - only 20%. Putting your main energy and focus on working with refusals is like shouting "Save!" Instead of swimming training. Therefore, we will analyze in detail how to go through the secretary.

All methods of passing through the secretary can be divided into three types.

1. Honest receptions are based on our confidence and attitude, knowledge of business processes and other features of the work of both the secretary himself and the company as a whole.

2. Techniques with elements of deception or manipulation are based on a certain misleading of the secretary. I am not a supporter of these techniques, but they exist and work, so they are worth mentioning.

3. Techniques with elements of intrigue and breaking the template- techniques in which our words do not fit into the secretary's thinking model, his "program" fails, and he lets us through.

The first honest reception through the secretary is to find out the name of the decision maker in advance. It's so easy that many don't! Knowing the name is one of the main keys to contacting a decision maker!

There are several easy ways to find out the name.

Method number 1. Preparation. While preparing for the call, you can find out the name of the decision maker on the company's website, in its news or in the media.

Method number 2. A call from a colleague, or the method of two calls. Your colleague calls your contact first, learns the decision maker's name, gives it to you, and you make your call using the decision maker's name. By the way, your colleague should make the call as efficiently as possible and be ready to bring it to completion if he is unexpectedly connected to the decision maker ☺. A colleague's call looks standard:

– Good day! Igor Stalevarov, Unicstream company. Please connect with the director.

- And on what question?

– On the issue of cooperation. We would like to supply our products to you.

- Send information to email.

– Yes, ok, I'm ready to record!(Writes down the email.)

– What is the director's name? I will mark that information for him. (Or "Whose name should I send the letter to?")

- Andrey Ivanovich Ipatov. (Writes down the name).

– Thanks a lot! When should I call back based on the results?

- Call on Friday after two.

– Yes OK! All the best!

So, your colleague found out the director's name, now in a couple of hours you can make your call. Of course, it is advisable for your colleague to come up with a different name for the company, so that when you call, the secretary will not be in doubt. Sometimes an experienced assistant to the question: “What is the name of the director? Whose name should the letter be sent to? " will answer: “Write to the name of the company. He will come to me anyway. " In this case, your attempt failed.

Method number 3. A call to the district police officer. In this case, it is, of course, manipulation. You look at the website for the legal address of the company, call on behalf of the district police officer and find out the name of the decision maker. It so happened that in our country, most people treat law enforcement agencies with some fear and first answer their questions, and only then think why. The secretary is most often no exception. The main thing is that you need to know the position of the decision maker and come up with any name and surname of the director in advance. The call is short, made in an absolutely serious, but indifferent tone, without unnecessary words, emotions and respectful words that ordinary people use:

– A district militia officer for such a district Gordeev! Specify the name and surname of your director (pause), Sergey Leshchinsky? (Pause.)

- No. Ipatov Andrey Ivanovich. (Wary.)

– Uh-huh, Ipatov Andrey Ivanovich. thanks... (Hangs up the phone.)

In most cases, the secretary, without hesitation, dictates the name of the decision maker. Moreover, in the same way, you can also ask for a direct number, since you "turned" for help to the district police officer.

Method number 4. Tax inspector call. Reception completely repeats the previous one, but is done on behalf of the tax inspector.

– Inspector tax number of such and such district Gordeev. This is Unicstream LLC, right?

- Yes, why?..

– Checking details: you are LLC "Unicstream", legal address 5-ya Stolbovaya street, 7, and currently the director of the company Leshchinsky Sergey Ivanovich?(We say any name and surname.)

No, no. (Or she immediately says the correct name and surname herself.)

– So, you need to fix it ... And who?

- Andrey Ipatov. (Wary.)

– So, I-pa-tov And-rei Iva-no-vich. Did his phone stay the same?

– Dictate, I'll check.

- Seven hundred twenty three ... (The secretary dictates the number.)

– Yes. Everything is correct. Thanks!

Method number 5. Call your secretary. It is more convenient to do this technique with the help of a partner. Your colleague should call the company you are interested in on behalf of your personal secretary. Thus, your status becomes one step with her boss, and it is much easier for "your secretary" to negotiate with a colleague. He can both find out the name of the decision maker, and arrange your meeting or, if you need, about the time of your call to her boss, then the contact will be expected and will not be cold!

How it might look like:

- Good afternoon, the company "Unicstream", assistant director Ivanova Svetlana. I would like to arrange a meeting (contact) between my director and yours. When is it convenient to do it?

- Hello! .. And specify who you are and on what issue?

- I am an assistant to Sergey Vladimirovich Nikiforov, director of Unicstream, we are planning certain projects together with you, and my director instructed me to make an appointment with your director, when would it be convenient to do it? Sergei Vladimirovich has time, for example, tomorrow afternoon. What do you have?

- So-ak. Let me see. Well, at 16:00 you can. How to enroll you?

- "Unicstream", Sergey Nikiforov. By the way, what's the correct name of your director?

- Ipatov Andrey Ivanovich.

- So, Ipatov Andrey Ivanovich. Good. This means that tomorrow Sergey will be at your place at 16:00. All the best.

Of course, you need to talk absolutely confidently, as if you (or your colleague) were in fact an assistant and were not “steaming” with any connection issues.

It is important to note how the phrase “we are planning certain projects with you” works. This is just the case when we are not in time, but the secretary decides for himself that we are already cooperating. At least he can decide that, because the phrase is said in the present tense - "planning" and vague - "certain projects." At the same time, it looks very impressive.

Method number 6. Call a third party directly. This method is based on "Preparation". When you study a potential client's website, you sometimes find names, surnames, and phone numbers of some employees on it. You can call one of them, chat and get the director's name, a recommendation from a "third party", or maybe immediately go to the decision maker:

- Sergey Ivanovich?

- Sergey Ivanovich, good afternoon, my name is Sergey Nikiforov, the company "Unicstream". I'm looking for a person who deals with purchases from you, looked at your information on your website and decided that it might be you (pause).

- No, no. Probably some mistake ...

- Sergei Ivanovich, please, help me, and who is engaged in purchases from you? We plan to work with you, and it is important for me to clarify some questions now.

Let me remind you that a third party is not burdened with the burden of responsibility, and if we sound favorable, then nothing prevents us from receiving information.

- This is Andrei Nikolaevich, commercial director, he makes a decision, and then the managers deal with technical issues.

- Kharlamov.

- Har-la-mov. How can it be easier for me to contact him?

- So. Now I will tell you ... 975 31 10, you will be taken to the secretary Andrey Nikolaevich.

- I see, thank you, Sergei Ivanovich! Can I say that you recommended me to contact him?

- For God's sake.

- By the way, what is the name of the secretary?

- Albina.

- Thank you very much, Sergey Ivanovich!

Thus, we learned the name of the decision maker, the name of the secretary, and also received pseudo-recommendations that will help communicate with Albina. Sometimes the third party itself can connect with the decision maker directly. Then it makes sense to say one phrase differently:

- I see: Andrei Nikolaevich. What is his last name?

- Kharlamov.

- Har-la-mov. Sergey Ivanovich, can you connect me with Andrey Nikolaevich?

Of course, there is never a 100% guarantee that a third party will be able to connect, but remember that with cold calls, as with active sales, it is important to just use all the possibilities! The rule of statistics has not been canceled!

conclusions

1. All methods of passing through the secretary can be divided into three types.

- Honest.

- With elements of deception or manipulation.

- With elements of intrigue and breaking the pattern.

2. The first way to get through to the decision maker is to find out the name in advance. We now have at least six ways to find out the name.

An office can work without a boss, but not without a secretary

Jane Fonda

The secretary profession is one of the most demanded today. Just a few years ago, a firm typically needed only one single secretary. One person took care of everything, including taking calls, distributing work, for example, a whole fleet of cars, printing documents, tea and coffee for visitors, and drawing up the boss's working day.

Today, it is simply impossible to cope with so many responsibilities in large and medium-sized companies alone. There are many companies where one employee performs all secretarial duties, and in other organizations there is a whole department of secretaries, which are managed by the head of the secretariat, it all depends on the size of the company, as well as on the specifics of its activities.

We have tried to identify and classify all existing secretarial positions depending on the functions performed and the place of the employee in the structure of the organization.

If we assume that the company employs the maximum number of secretaries, then the work of the secretariat department may look like this.

The staff of operators on the phone calls potential customers with an offer of goods or services. At the same time, there is a flood of calls from customers because the firm advertises in the media. These calls are answered by the secretary on the phone and will appoint the callers the time of the visit. When visitors arrive at the office, they are greeted by a receptionist who will escort clients to a special room. There, the attentive office administrator will offer tea or coffee while the visitor is waiting for the reception. And if at some point the flow of customers has stopped, then the administrator puts things in order in the visitor's room, puts out magazines, watering flowers. At the same time, there is an economic office manager, he sends out couriers and drivers and monitors the availability of stationery, controls the functioning of the office. Each manager has a personal secretary, and senior managers also have secretaries-assistants and personal assistants. To complete the picture, you can add PC operators who fill in databases, print all documentation, price lists, brochures, booklets with constantly updated information, as well as clerks who maintain records, record and archive. All secretarial services are headed by the head of the secretariat department.

And this is not a complete list of secretarial positions, so we will try to combine the closest specializations into certain basic groups that are most often encountered in practice, namely:

phone operator;
receptionist / administrator / receptionist;
department secretary;
secretary-assistant;
office manager / head of the secretariat;
personal assistant / personal assistant.

Operator on the phone

This is perhaps the lowest paid, but the most sought after position of all office services. There are many other names for this position, for example, employee, more often an employee, for working on the phone, manager for negotiations, dispatcher on the phone, etc.

The main responsibility of such an employee is to work with incoming or outgoing calls. As a rule, the work is not connected with the direct service of visitors or the execution of tasks of the management.

, the ability to have to yourself during a telephone conversation
aptitude for telephone sales techniques

Typical functions:

Calls from clients and customers of the organization;
- calls to employees of the organization with further forwarding;
- calls from employees of the organization involved in production cycles.

2. Implementation of sales by phone with outgoing calls, or with incoming calls from customers.

3. Transfer of reference information by phone.

4. Display in specialized programs for organizing the results of receiving phone calls:

Recording customer information;
- Sales results;
- Advertising sources of call requests;
- etc.

Such a position usually exists in large companies or in companies focused on a large flow of customers (service, help and other services). The list of requirements for this employee is not long and is usually limited to having a pleasant voice and a desire to work.

Receptionist / Administrator / Receptionist

This name comes from the name of the reception, behind which the secretary's workplace is located. Hence, a variety of spelling and pronunciation options: reception, reception, as well as the name of the profession of receptionist. Initially, such positions, like the reception desks themselves, existed only in hotels and beauty salons. Now, in many offices where they are actively working with visitors, such a person is needed. Similar responsibilities for the dispatcher, the secretary on duty, the secretary on the phone, etc.

The vacancy of the receptionist is opened by companies whose offices receive a large number of phone calls and many visitors. Therefore, girls with good external data are usually invited to the post of receptionist.

Basic requirements:

confident use of computers and office equipment
knowledge of foreign languages ​​is optional
good communication skills

Typical functions:

1. Receiving calls in Russian and / or foreign languages:

From clients and customers of the organization
- calls to employees of the organization with further forwarding

2. Meeting and registration of visitors at the reception

3. Receiving letters, faxes, electronic documentation
4. Carries out some other minor assignments of the management. In some cases, he keeps statistics, accepts cash, fills out forms of documents, prints letters (without compiling himself).
Most often, this position is found in foreign companies and Russian firms focused on foreign clients. As a rule, one of the main requirements for candidates for this vacancy is knowledge of a foreign language at least at a good conversational level.

Department Secretary

A secretary working as part of any structural division of the company (department, department, sector, etc.), often possessing special knowledge regarding the specifics of the work of the corresponding structural division.

Basic requirements:

confident use of computers and office equipment

higher education is desirable or special knowledge related to the specifics of the work of the corresponding structural unit
knowledge of foreign languages ​​for foreign companies
good communication skills

Typical functions:

1. Receiving calls, answering standard inquiries within the framework of the work of this structural unit, forwarding calls to specific employees.
2. Meeting visitors.
3. Buying office supplies.
4. Conducting office work of the structural unit.
5. Viewing mail, selecting and structuring the necessary correspondence.

This position is found only in large companies with structural divisions or many departments.

Secretary-assistant

The secretary-assistant is more focused on working outside the company, that is, he fulfills the orders of the chief regarding communication with clients and partners, therefore, he is required to know foreign languages. The competence of the manager's secretary includes issues related to the processes occurring within the company, that is, he performs tasks related to the company itself and its employees.
This secretary, as well as a personal assistant, works with one person, but these are most often the second persons of the company (deputy directors, vice presidents, heads of departments and divisions, etc.). Also, the assistant secretary can work with the first person, without performing representative and some other functions of a personal assistant.

Basic requirements:

higher education
work experience in a similar position from a year
diligence, responsibility, learning
confident use of computers and office equipment

Typical functions:

1. Self-composing letters.
2. Control over the execution of documents and assignments subordinate to the immediate head of the structural unit / s.
3. Drawing up a manager's work schedule.
4. Review and preparation of information for the head.
5. Drawing up analytical notes and references for the chief.
6. Preparation and support of negotiations.

Office Manager / Head of Secretariat

An office manager is a kind of office administrator. In addition to the usual secretarial duties, he may be entrusted with coordinating the activities of a number of company services (for example, automobile), executing orders of employees, both management and rank-and-file. This position requires more independence than just being a secretary or receptionist. The office manager has the right to carry out certain projects within his competence (study of new products and services, improvement of the company's work systems). And also often it is this secretary who is responsible for organizing corporate events, conferences, delivering lunches to the office, etc.

Basic requirements:
higher education
confident use of computers and office equipment
responsibility, energy

Typical functions:

1. Ensuring the life of the office (organizing the purchase of stationery, water delivery, control over the availability of paper in printers, copiers and much more).

2. Resolving administrative issues (renting a building, cleaners, drivers, secretaries and much more).
3. Introduction of new forms of work organization.
4. Representative powers (in government agencies, etc.).
5. Selection, management and training of subordinate personnel.
The position is more typical for companies with large office space.
The head of the secretariat meets only in large companies, with a staff of secretaries in the office of at least 58.

Personal assistant / personal assistant

One of the most responsible secretarial positions, requiring aerobatics and professionalism. A good helper, in addition to his professional knowledge and skills, must have very developed abilities for analytical activity, be independent in making decisions, and most importantly, be a very good psychologist and know the characteristic habits of his boss no worse than his close relatives. All documents passed through the assistant and going to the manager's desk must be flawless. Knowledge of business etiquette is highly demanded in this position. The ability of the personal assistant to behave at business meetings determines how the participants in this meeting will perceive the leader.
In other words, it is an irreplaceable assistant who is aware of all the working moments and problems of his manager. It is assumed that this secretary works exclusively with the first person. The main task of such a specialist is to become the "right hand" of his boss, to save his very expensive working time, freeing him to the maximum of those routine questions and problems that a professional, qualified secretary can easily cope with.

Basic requirements:

psychological compatibility with the leader
higher education
work experience in a similar position at least two years
diligence, responsibility, learning ability, exceptional courtesy
confident use of computers and office equipment

Typical functions:

1. Coordinates the actions of the leader.
2. Draws up documents independently.
3. Prepares materials for meetings and negotiations.
4. Prepares analytical notes and references.
5. Keeps minutes of meetings, negotiations, meetings of shareholders and the board of directors.
6. Translates from a foreign language as needed.
7. Carries out the preparation of business trips for the head (selection, ordering a hotel, tickets for transport, taxis, etc.).
8. Submits only to his immediate supervisor. In rare cases, his work can be coordinated by an office manager.

The level of salaries of secretaries depends on the requirements of the secretary for knowledge, experience, skills and qualifications. It is also impossible not to take into account the financial position of a particular company and the policy pursued by it in relation to the salaries of its employees.
The following factors usually affect the level of salaries of secretaries:

• knowledge of one or more foreign languages;
• work experience in a similar position;
• availability of higher education;
• special skills necessary for a specific position, as well as knowledge of special computer programs;
• requirements for the appearance of candidates.

Below is the average salary in Moscow for secretaries, depending on the position and the above factors that affect the level of salaries.

We have mentioned more than once that it is very difficult to define the typical responsibilities of a secretary or assistant manager. Much depends on the scope of the company, its size, the imagination of the head and is practically not regulated by anything. In addition, there is a division within the profession itself, which, as practice shows, is understood differently by workers and employers.

The secretaries themselves feel the difference, sometimes intuitively, that is why disputes about who is "more important", what hierarchy exists within the profession, which is the highest step in the career of an administrative worker, do not subside on the forums. There is still no consensus among my colleagues on this matter.

Nevertheless, if these numerous names exist, then the phenomena that they describe must also exist.

Let's understand all the intricacies of the classification of administrative positions.

Understanding the concepts

Let's list the main administrative positions: "secretary", "assistant", "secretary-assistant", "assistant manager", "secretary at the reception", "office manager". Before we look at them in more detail, let's understand what is meant by each of these positions.

Wikipedia does not define the position of "secretary". It contains only the article "Secretary-Assistant", which contains the following definition: secretary-assistant- an office worker with a wide range of responsibilities from receiving phone calls (receptionist) to a manager's assistant (personal secretary).

Here is the list of duties performed by the secretary-assistant:

• receiving phone calls to the manager;
• work with documents: determination of importance, preparation, registration, distribution, receipt, storage, systematization;
• planning and preparation of the reception of visitors;
• assistance in planning the work schedule of the chief, sometimes - booking hotels and air tickets;
• participation in the preparation of business negotiations;
• ordering stationery and other things necessary for the life of the office, sometimes - providing the manager with products.

There was no particular clarity after reading this article. We all already know that the range of responsibilities is wide, and the above can be performed by both the secretary and the assistant manager. In addition, this is far from half the responsibilities that typical representatives of our profession have to fulfill. Or maybe this is a general name for the whole group of professions? It is unlikely that the majority of people hear about the "secretary", without any prefixes.

The word "secretary", as you know, comes from lat. secret("Secret, secret"). And in ancient Rome proxies were called secretaries. Conclusion: the secretary has access to certain information that is not subject to public disclosure, and in order to carry out his duties, he must earn the trust of the manager.

As for the origin of the word "referent", the name is also Latin - "reproducing, communicating." Therefore, this person is working with information. In general, the origin of words is undoubtedly related to the modern profession, but does not fully explain what this employee does in the organization.

To summarize: most of us are all the same secretaries-referents. However, this is very rarely reflected in the staffing table and work book: many of my colleagues are "called" differently.

To avoid confusion

Secretary onreception- a position that in the mass consciousness is associated with the reception and distribution of calls and correspondence. Sometimes such employees can also carry out the initial reception of visitors. Among the secretarial positions, this is the only one, from the name of which it is immediately clear what will have to be done. Although, of course, there are exceptions.
Office Manager is a tracing paper from English. office manager, i.e. office manager. His main responsibilities are to manage administrative, financial and other resources to ensure the smooth functioning of a single office and its employees. Office manager is one of the junior management positions.
The subordination of such an employee may be drivers, cleaners, and often secretaries. Due to the fact that the office manager is responsible for the life support of the office and its employees, many people think that this position is akin to the position of a manager. They have quite a lot of similar responsibilities, but God forbid you to confuse and call the office manager a caretaker! There is nothing shameful in the latter, but the degree of responsibility of an office manager is much higher and presupposes higher qualifications.
Assistant to the head- a position that many consider the highest step in the career of an administrative employee. In Western companies, the position often sounds like "personal assistant" (literal translation from English. personal assistant). I like the traditional version more, because the title of the position contains the whole essence of it. Assistant - from the word "help". A supervisor's assistant helps his supervisor fulfill his or her responsibilities. What exactly will be included in the helper functions depends on many factors.

Thus, the responsibilities of two professionals who formally occupy the same position can be radically different: one of them works with documentation, distributes phone calls and receives visitors, while the other participates in management meetings and is empowered to make important decisions. This, by the way, does not at all exclude the fact that both the one and the other are sewing on the torn off buttons and are looking for a nanny for the children of their leader. Again, there is no order: the name in this case only clarifies your purpose, but how exactly you will perform it is unknown.

We study regulatory documents

There is a document describing all positions represented on the territory of our country - "All-Russian classifier of workers' professions, positions of employees and wage grades"(OKPDTR, OK 016-94). If you have any difficulties with the definition of any position in the company, then you can refer to this document and choose the most suitable one.

This classifier can be found on the sites: http://professions.org.ru/, http://www.etks.info/. On the latter, in addition to OK 016-94, there is the "Unified Tariff and Qualification Reference Book" (ETKS) and the "All-Russian Classifier of Occupations" (OKZ 010-93, OKZ). These are two sections of OK 016-94. The first includes the professions of workers, the second - the positions of employees.

The professions of workers (and they are in the classifier 5491) are not of interest to us in this case, let us turn to the positions of employees. There are 2598 of them, and for sure everything we need can be found here.

Let's start with the position of secretary. As a result of an alphabetical search, we get the following table (see Table 1).

Table 1

Positions in OK 016-94 containing the name "secretary"

Each position has its own code... In addition, different positions have one OKZ code, which means that they are combined into one group. The name “secretary to the manager” refers to group 4115 (group “Secretaries”). This group consists of the following positions:

• clerk;
• secretary of a blind specialist;
• head Secretary;
• court clerk;
• secretary of the educational unit;
• secretary-typist;
• secretary-stenographer.

Here is what is said about the secretaries in the said group: Secretaries perform technical functions to ensure and maintain the work of the head of the institution of an organization or enterprise, using a computer, office equipment and other technical means.

Their responsibilities include:

On this site there is a convenient division of positions into groups, from which it can be seen that group 4115 is included in the senior group 411 "Secretaries, operators of calculating (computing) machines and related professions." The latter, in addition to secretaries, includes computer operators, stenographers, typists, etc.

In general, the above responsibilities do not run counter to reality, except that the mention of a teletypewriter and a typewriter will make someone smile (and some flinch). However, any - even a beginner - secretary, looking at the proposed list of responsibilities, will ask: “How? And it's all? Where is the visa support, organization of business trips, meeting minutes? " After all, we have said more than once that a secretary is a profession that assumes that at least half of your working time you devote to the paperless service of the manager and employees. The line "receiving visitors" does not convey the whole variety of duties that the secretary has to perform. The rest of the duties are purely technical and relate to working with documents. Looking at the available description, you might think that the secretary is sitting in a separate room and is just typing on the computer and writing something in the register. But we know that this is far from the case. Therefore, such a definition is unlikely to suit specialists.

Let us return to the classifier: the position of "office manager", as well as "office manager" and "assistant manager", is absent in it. But there is a position "referent" (code 26088), included in group 3431 - "Administrative and management personnel".

This group, in addition to various names of administrators, managers, is made up of the positions of an inspector for monitoring the execution of orders, an assistant, an assistant for the main activity.

Funny neighborhood, isn't it? In the same group with the assistant there is an inspector for control over the execution of orders. Many secretaries know about this control firsthand, since they themselves carry out it.

The site http://www.etks.info/ says that administrative and managerial personnel and personnel of related professions solve administrative and coordination issues in the activities of organizations and their structural divisions, maintain documentation and information support.

Their responsibilities include:

• conducting business correspondence, minutes and other administrative documentation;
• planning and organizing meetings meetings, business meetings and travel;
• agreeing on the timing of various events, monitoring their observance;
• assistance to managers and employees in resolving issues of an administrative and organizational nature;
• preparation of draft contracts, agreements, negotiation, organization of reception of visitors and employees;
• fulfillment of related responsibilities;
• supervising other workers.

How many responsibilities from this list do you perform? What is your title called? "Secretary"? "Office Manager"? "Assistant Manager"?

If we recall that traditionally the work of a secretary is divided into documentary and non-documentary services, and most of us perform duties from the lists for both groups considered (“Secretaries” and “Administrative and management personnel”), then we can conclude that based on responsibilities, most of us are executive assistants.

What does it mean? Why does the classifier not reflect such positions as "assistant manager" or "office manager"? Why, in practice, there are positions, but they are not in the classifier? Maybe it is outdated or the compilers did not bother to understand the situation in the modern labor market?

Of course, this classifier is somewhat conservative. But spelling dictionaries are also conservative. People speak and write in different ways, but there are certain rules, a norm accepted by specialists, and literate people are guided by it. All instructions, classifiers and other official documents developed by specialists imply the existence of an ideal organization where the secretary deals with documents, inspectors control their execution, and visa support and work with delegations are the responsibility of the protocol service.

Do not think that this does not happen. This is how the work of many large government agencies and corporations, administrations, and factories is structured. Firstly, because they have existed for more than a dozen years and in their activities they are guided by job descriptions and regulations developed back in the USSR, when it was difficult to imagine the situation “who is in the forest, who is for firewood”. Secondly, such a division of duties has a lot to do with secrecy. For example, in factories that carry out military orders, executive secretaries do not have access to the Internet, and they leave their mobile phones in a safe at the entrance. In such a situation, it is difficult to search for information or order tickets. This is done by individual specialists who have access to the Web.

In addition, it is one thing if a secretary in a company where a hundred people work is “a Swiss, and a reaper, and a gamer,” and quite another thing when the company employs several thousand. In this case, most of the work processes are strictly regulated and centralized. One specialist cannot be responsible for them, there are entire departments.

by the way

As for the presence of at first glance outdated names (for example, "secretary-typist"), in our country to this day there are organizations in which some documents are printed only on a typewriter (due to secrecy). In addition, the presence of the word "typist" in this definition most often indicates a large amount of work associated specifically with the preparation of documents. In Soviet times, it was typists who performed this work, and in large companies with centralized office work, this has been preserved to this day.
Can this position be called, say, "PC operator"? Of course, many companies do this. But why, if in the mass consciousness a certain list of responsibilities has already been assigned to this concept? The language does not like any artificial innovations. When this term loses its relevance, it will disappear.

Why, in practice, are there secretaries who perform the duties of both referents and inspectors to control the execution of documents, and even translators? Because theory is always different from practice. Companies, especially small ones, seek primarily to save money by assigning a lot of diverse responsibilities to one employee. One of my colleagues gave the following definition of the secretary position: “a person who does what other employees do not want to do”. Well, it also happens. In addition, as we have already said, the discrepancy in responsibilities is often associated with the impossibility of entering a certain unit into the staffing table, as well as a lack of understanding by employers of the gradations that exist within the profession.

Compare responsibilities

Let's see what the employer means by this or that name. To do this, turn to sites for job search. Let's select several announcements with the names: "secretary", "secretary-assistant", "assistant manager", "office manager", select three for each group and compare the lists of duties performed (we will not duplicate duties that are repeated in different vacancies).

Office Manager

1. Execution of orders of the head.
2. Office life support.
3. Assistance in planning the manager's working time.
4. Preparation and execution of correspondence and internal documentation.
5. Reception of guests and visitors of the head, organization of meetings and negotiations.
6. Communication with clients in the office, creating a friendly and cozy atmosphere for them. Author's note: this employer decided to save money on the account manager.
7. Receiving calls to the advertising line and transferring them to the required department.
8. Control of order and cleanliness in the office.
9. Systematization and classification of documents and information, bringing them to the immediate performers. Author's note: like this is the office work? But no, in this vacancy it is indicated on a separate line.
10. Bringing information from clients to the attention of managers.
11. Fulfillment of instructions of the office staff for the execution and transmission of the necessary instructions and information.
12. Checking the correctness of paperwork in accordance with the established requirements when hiring new employees. Note: I knew there was no HR officer in the company!
13. Carrying out copying and duplicating works.
14. Issue of powers of attorney.
15. Maintaining a timesheet. Author's note: Definitely no HR officer!
16. Execution of documents and preparation of reports on the expenditure of funds for economic needs.

Secretary

1. Organization of document flow, business correspondence.
2. Execution of orders of the head.
3. Preparation of the necessary documentation and reporting.
4. Organization and coordination of meetings, negotiations, meetings.
5. Organization of business trips (ordering air and railway tickets, transfers, booking hotels, etc.).
6. Arranging the arrival of partners (hotel reservations, transfers, etc.).
7. Reception and distribution of incoming calls.
8. Maintenance of the life of the office.
9. Execution of orders from the management (search for information, preparation of reports, communication with suppliers of raw materials, often in English).
10. Provision of postal and courier dispatch.
11. Provision of intracorporate document flow.
12. Mail.
13. Administrative support for the head.
14. Control over the execution of instructions from the management.
15. Working with office equipment.
16. Preparation of organizational and administrative documents.

Secretary-assistant

1. Organization of office life.
2. Reception and distribution of calls.
3. Reception of visitors.
4. Organization of meetings and negotiations.
5. Organization of business trips (booking and booking tickets, hotels, taxis, visa support).
6. Business correspondence.
7. Sending and receiving mail, issuing powers of attorney.
8. Office work.
9. Execution of instructions from the management.
10. Working with a courier service.
11. Interaction with divisions of the company.
12. Maintaining order in the office, a friendly atmosphere.
13. Providing administrative support for the director's day schedule.
14. Control over the execution of orders and approval of documentation initiated by the director.
15. Preparation of organizational and administrative documentation.

Assistant to the head

1. Receiving incoming / outgoing calls.
2. Work with mail / correspondence, business correspondence.
3. Information analysis, data collection, reporting.
4. Communication with heads of departments.
5. Execution of orders of the head in a given time frame.
6. Monitoring the timely execution of orders / service assignments.
7. Accompanying business trips (visa processing, booking railway and air tickets, transfers, hotels, events, excursions).
8. Organization and support of reception by the management of the enterprise of delegations, visitors, organization of meetings, negotiations, presentations.
9. Control over the expenditure of stationery, if necessary, order.
10. Registration, storage of originals of information and organizational and administrative documents.
11. Office life support.
12. Office work, document flow.
13. Registration of incoming, outgoing, internal documentation.
14. Assistance in planning the manager's working day.

As you can see, the professionals in these positions have a lot of similar responsibilities. All of them are engaged (or take part) in the life support of the office, receiving and distributing calls, organizing the workflow and carrying out orders from the head.

Look at the lists of responsibilities of the secretary, executive secretary and assistant manager. They are almost identical. Unless one of the companies also expects analytical work from the assistant. The position of an office manager is somewhat out of the ordinary, from whom employers expect to perform the functions of a personnel and work inspector. And, perhaps, he is the only one who is not expected to help the leader (or is it simply not indicated in the ad?). We can say with confidence that the manager's assistant will have to help the manager, which does not relieve him of the need to "support" the office.

Before drawing conclusions, let's turn to one more parameter: what are the requirements of employers to the specialists of these positions (Table 2).

table 2

Requirements for an office manager, secretary, executive secretary, assistant manager

Well, employers randomly selected by us do not require good looks and higher education from an office manager. In our opinion, they do not see much difference between a secretary and an office manager. The requirements for the other three positions, as well as the duties performed, are almost identical. Only from the assistant manager they want the experience of working as a personal assistant, while not forgetting about the ability to work in a team (it's no secret that many assistants tend to break away from the team - the specifics of the work require that).

Of course, at the interview it turns out that half of the responsibilities were simply "forgotten" to write, and from somewhere else two dozen requirements for the candidate will appear. But in general, the trend is clear: the employer sees the office manager as a person who will take care of the office, all employees, and even about clients. But there is not much difference between the secretary, the assistant secretary and the assistant manager.

That is, theory and this time diverged from practice. It is clear to us that the secretary must carry out, let's say, technical functionality (work with documents, etc.), and the manager's assistant or assistant must perform more complex functions (write business letters, compose analytical reviews, etc.). I know of only one company in which responsibilities are distributed in this way. But she is from the category of ideal. In practice, such a division is the exception rather than the rule.

I suspect that in most cases employers simply want to save money by hiring a specialist who combines several functions. In addition, introducing additional units into the staffing table is still a hassle.

Why is the most common name for this group of administrative positions precisely “secretary”? First, because everyone has heard of it for a long time. Secondly, theoretically, the manager's assistant can refuse to help the employees of the department, and the secretary has nowhere to go. Thirdly, not everyone knows who this mysterious "referent" is, so it is better not to create unnecessary complications with terminology.

Obviously, the tacitly accepted division, which puts executive assistants higher than secretaries or executive secretaries, is, in fact, a formality. Without a doubt, “assistant director” sounds more solid than “secretary of the director”. This, perhaps, is the whole difference. The employer is more interested in your personal qualities and work experience than what entry is in your work book. Of course, we never finished with the confusion in the positions. However, for those who are worried about the fact that, with all the variety of duties performed, his position is called "secretary", we advise you to drop all complexes and to the question of who you work, proudly answer: "Secretary".