What are the duties of a secretary

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In order to clearly define the job responsibilities of a secretary, you need to know who exactly it is. After all, this position can be viewed from several angles. Known, for example, is the secretary-referent as an office employee, the Secretary General as the head (head) of a certain organization, the Secretary of State as a civil servant, the secretary as a diplomatic person, the secretary of the head as an employee and other options. Most often, when referring to this position, they mean an employee who performs the tasks (assignments) of both the director of the enterprise and individual heads of its structural divisions. It turns out that the duties of the secretary in this case are reduced to the execution of one-time assignments to resolve organizational and technical issues.

What a secretary must know and do

Daily the secretary must perform the following functions:

1. Accept information from subordinates to transfer it to the manager.
2. Arranging telephone communication of the head. In his absencereceive information and then bring it to the director's attention.
3. Receive and keep records of telephone messages.
4. Create conditions for the normal work of the head: monitor the need for stationery and office equipment.
5. Assist with the organization of production meetings and meetings. Inform participants of the date, place and time of the event. Collect the necessary materials, ensure the attendance of those present and take minutes of the meeting.
6. Conduct office work at the enterprise. To do this, the secretary must receive, systematize incoming correspondence and submit it to management for consideration. Then, on the basis of the imposed visa, transfer the documents to the performers against signature. The duties of the secretary also include control over the progress, timing and results of their execution.
7. Perform printing and reproduction of documents.
8. Organize the reception of visitors to the head of the company and, if possible, create conditions for the speedy resolution of issues.

In order to perform these seemingly simple job duties of a secretary, an employee must know:

• the entire composition of the management of the enterprise and its structural divisions;
• charter, staff and structure of the enterprise, its profile, development prospects and specialization;
• regulatory documents for proper record keeping;
• rules for using office equipment and communications;
• rules of VTR, OT, fire safety and industrial sanitation;
• rules of labor organization at worklocation;
• normative and legal acts, orders, resolutions, orders for planning, accounting and quality management of work performed.

Clerical specifics

If we are talking about a more specific, narrow specialization, then the situation is somewhat different. Take, for example, the duties of a secretary-clerk. The very title of the position clearly defines the aspect of the work to be performed. Usually, each enterprise already has a job description, which indicates the areas of activity of a record keeping specialist. If there is no such instruction, then it is better to create it. To do this, you should use the qualification guide, which contains approximate samples. After that, the standard version must be finalized in relation to a particular organization, taking into account the specifics and internal features. In general, 3 main directions should be clearly traced in the duties of a secretary-clerk:

1. Work with correspondence. Reception, processing it in modern ways and timely sending.
2. Correct internal documentation.
3. Registration, strict accounting and transfer of documents to the archive for storage.

Features of the work of the referent

At some enterprises, such a position is introduced into the state, which includes a wide range of duties: from the “reference desk” to the “assistant director”. Such a specialistmust have a wide range of knowledge and good command of the situation. The duties of the referent secretary are slightly expanded due to the increase in powers. In general, this is the usual work of a secretary, but the word "referent" makes some additions to the standard list. In particular, the assistant secretary can independently receive visitors on certain issues. Having certain information, he is able to make decisions independently. In addition, the referent performs the responsible instructions of the head regarding the economic activities of the organization (enterprise). Sometimes the assistant secretary is charged with the responsibility of conducting personnel records management. This is done only when the total amount of work allows you to perform additional duties.