No nation exists without a government, and no government survives without an administrator. In the same vein, no organisation, private or public, survives without a secretary, a good one I posit. The secretary is more or less the soul of any organization. Who then is a secretary? According to a renowned economist – Robinson, a secretary is a secret keeper; “an assistant to the executive, possessing the mastery of office skills and ability to assume responsibility without direct supervision, who displays initiative with good command of English language.”
The secretary is also seen as an organiser and memory of an organisation. The word secretary is derived from two Latin words, ‘secretum’ or ‘secretarius’ being the term for someone entrusted with secrets. There is no segment of any organisation that can function efficiently and effectively without the inputs of the secretary.
The art of creativity by those who perform secretarial duties is more pronounced through the invention of shorthand and typewriting in London by Sir Isaac Pitman in 1837. This marked the beginning of secretaryship in the labour market when men and women were trained to write shorthand as well as manipulate the manual typewriters with their fingers. This stenographic input, as at then, became an indispensable tool to facilitate productivity in every establishment. As a result, professional examination bodies such as Pitmans Institute London (PIT), Royal Society of Arts (RSA) etc, were established to examine candidates for credibility in their area of specialization.
This trend continued until the advent of science and technology which brought about Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the present dispensation.
Actually, the manipulation of manual machines to aid secretarial duties has become a mundane activity as every secretarial practitioner has now converted to the use of electronic devices, especially computer. Sadly, the people that operate these devices are not being treated with respect. Most times, people take the secretarial duties as those meant for drop-outs with little or no skill and intelligence.
It is necessary to say that the secretary is more or less the live-wire of an organisation. He comes to the office early enough to synchronise things before the arrival of his boss and other officials. He is the unseen hand behind the progress and development of his organisation. He is the liaison officer who ensures the effective coordination of various departments and he uses his discretion to decide what is most suitable to be done at a particular time. Above all, the secretary is the secret keeper of an organisaton.
Without mincing words, the holistic characteristic and dignity of any management is depicted by the noble role of the secretary as the first image maker i.e. public/human relations officer. But it is quite disheartening that secretaries in most organisations are being treated as if they are irrelevant to the organization. The way and manner many of them are being treated in offices and the economic deprivation they suffer call for review.
Apart from being looked down upon by their colleagues in other departments, they are denied certain allowances such as hazard allowances, special allowances, overtime allowances, among others. Worst, many of them are being denied regular promotion. This, I must say, is demoralising, and does not in any way give impetus to the secretariat profession.
The secretary, we must appreciate, is like other workers in the workforce and no doubt deserves the respect and benefits enjoyed by other workers. In other words, the secretary must be well respected as the secret keeper; he must have a sense of belonging where he works and must be made to enjoy all the benefits due his office. Only when the secretary is given his dues and accorded necessary regards can he function effectively and efficiently.
Ominyanwa writes from Port Harcourt.