HUMAN RESOURCE – JOB DESIGN
For as long as I can remember creative writing has always fascinated and interested me. I have always adored novelists for their creativity, imagination and ability to put their thoughts into words. I have always thought that coming up with more than a hundred pages of fictional characters, situations and settings is such a rewarding accomplishment. At a young age, I decided I would study writing and I would become a writer someday. However, that dream took on a different direction due to some unavoidable circumstances. In college, I studied another course and after graduation, I immediately landed a job as a secretary for a private firm. I stayed there for almost three years until the urge to pursue career advancement came. The company was a non-governmental organization which focused on community organization, people empowerment and livelihood provision. The primary aim of the organization was to economically, socially and spiritually empower its clients in order to enable them to become self-reliant, sustainable, problem solver and morally upright. I was the forty-first employee and belonged to the Executive Staff.
My major job responsibilities as a secretary to the president and Board of Directors of the organization were to assist in meetings, document organizational and community affairs, prepare the monthly organizational reports, daily business correspondence and minutes of meetings, ensure that documents were disseminated to the proper personnel or offices, act as custodian of confidential and important organizational documents, and assist in the activities of the Executive Staff. I participated in researches conducted by outside consultants and the company’s researcher to obtain intelligence for the management. I was basically a confidant of the top management of the company. The job required skills in writing, research, computer and Internet, and data analysis. I actually took the job because I could still practice my writing skills in it. However, working for the top management added challenge and fulfillment to the job. I had exactly nine bosses – the President, her Executive Secretary and the seven members of the Board of Directors. I had to attend to all their requirements and demands. Nevertheless, the job was rewarding. I was exposed to the different activities of the higher authorities such as policy formulation and public relations. They entrusted me with all the details of their discussions and my participation was always required in the most important endeavors of the organization. The job was physically and mentally demanding. I was required to prepare documentations, reports, resolutions and memoranda on the set deadlines while at the same time traveling with the top officials to public relations engagements and community affairs. Hence, I learned time management and setting priorities. I knew that without my documentations and reports, the management had no record and basis of formulated and approved policies, plans and programs. Without the written records that were entrusted to me, the staff would not be able to know the new policies and the new programs would not be actualized for the clients’ benefit. I also learned the sense of urgency and meticulousness. Knowing that nine important people of the organization were watching all my moves and scrutinizing my work was a scary reality. Although the executive secretary and president were the ones who facilitated my official performance assessment, all my nine bosses became my advisers and guides. They treated me as an integral part of their team. I was advised to work closely with the secretary of the Board so that I would be guided on the things that should be done regarding minutes of meetings, resolutions and policies. Though I was sworn to confidentiality, the top management consulted me on the issues at the employee level that I was aware of. I was basically the “secret” source of the management on what the employees feel and think about organizational policies and outcomes. I was also given sufficient tools for taking minutes and discussions such as tape recorder and laptop as well as ample time to transcribe the notes in the tapes. All these responsibilities made me fell needed and important. I was motivated to effectively and enjoyably perform my responsibilities with the thought that I was contributing to the success of the whole organization. The three years stay at that organization was a learning and fulfilling experience in its entirety.
The importance of my tasks to the top management, staff and clients of the organization was sufficient enough to make me feel motivated and needed. There was pressure but the consistent guidance given by my bosses eased the pressure and stress. However, actual trainings in contemporary practice of secretarial and administrative tasks could have augmented my knowledge. Participation in trainings about secretarial assistance to top management and effective preparation of board resolutions could have given me a chance to gauge my skills, fill the gaps in my knowledge of the job, and practice more autonomy in performing my responsibilities. I would have been given more independence and could have relied less on the decisions of the board secretary. Training would have also provided me with avenues to gain feedbacks on the things that I was doing right and those that needed improvement. Furthermore, the job mostly emphasized skills in writing and data analysis. I was not given a chance to perform oral presentations except for reading the minutes of the meetings. All my reports and documentations were used by my bosses in their presentations. Enhancement of presentation skills would have given a different dimension to the job. It could have given me an opportunity to organize and present my reports and documentations in a way that I considered more effective. This way, I would not have been trained only in writing but in my oral communication skills as well. The entire experience as a secretary for the top management of a private company was satisfying and very informative. However, I would have welcomed more training in my oral communication skills as much as I did in writing.
APPENDIX I – JOB DESCRIPTION
The Secretary is responsible for providing physical and technical assistance to the Board of Directors, President, Executive Secretary and members of the Executive Staff in operational activities such as meetings, community affairs, and public relations programs.
APPENDIX II – JOB SPECIFICATIONS
The Secretary will perform the following specific responsibilities:
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