Secretaries at work

If one were to walk into the Council Hall at Hotel Blue Diamond somewhere in the middle of the month and see the gathering of women there, o...

If one were to walk into the Council Hall at Hotel Blue Diamond somewhere in the middle of the month and see the gathering of women there, one would be inclined to dismiss them as one of the many assemblages of women where recipes, babies, bais and husbands are discussed. But then they would catch sight of badges that each of these women wear, proclaiming them to be members of the the Pune Chapter of the Institute of Professional Secretaries NIPS.

They gather every month to listen to lectures by various guest speakers so that they can be better secretaries with skills that are constantly being upgraded. The apex body of NIPS is in USA with its Indian headquarters in Mumbai. 8220;The idea is that secretaries must constantly improve themselves so that they can continue to be productive, efficient and motivated. Lack of motivation is problem that we invariably have to deal with,8221; says Hyacinth Arya, vice chairperson of NIPS. The Pune chapter boasts of more than 200 members, all women, who gather to listen to lectures, attend seminars and on the lighter side, go to Boss and Secretary Dinners8217;, which is an annual event, with their bosses. Sorry, no spouses allowed! 8220;We invite guest speakers. Dr B S K S Chopra, honorary director of the Symbiosis Institute of Foreign Trade SIFT, Veronica D8217;Mello, senior manager, Kinetic Engineering, Chetan Shetty, partner, Ruksun Software Technologies Pvt Ltd have been among other speakers. We particularly remember thelecture by Veronica D8217;Mello because she shared her own experience of working her way up from being a secretary to a senior manager who has to take several decisions everyday,8221; says Arya. Computers, time and crisis management, etiquettes, carriage, business communication and personnel management 8211; all form part of their monthly agenda. After every lecture, members can suggest possible themes for the next lecture. 8220;This may be something that is close to their heart such as investing money, dieting, hair care, beauty tips or exercising. The members of the committee go through these suggestions and then decide on a topic for the next lecture,8221; adds she. One of the committee members is then given the responsibility of identifying and contacting a possible speaker.

One of the big events for the members of NIPS is the Secretary of the Year Contest8217; SOTYC where professional secretaries compete with each other, once in two years normally in the month of June, to win the coveted crown for being the most well-informed and efficient secretary. Says Arya, 8220;Personal appearance and vital statistics do not play a part here!

Secretaries are judged on carriage, dress and of course, on the basis of results of the examination, group discussion and interview that all aspirants have to take. It is exactly like the entrance requirements for a business management course. The papers for the exam come sealed from Mumbai and then are judged by professionals from the industry. The questions centre around news in the industry and so the contestants must be knowledgeable about this.8221; The SOTYC takes place at the chapter level, then national and finally the international level. So winners in one level get to go to each successive higher level. The contest is open to all certified working professional secretaries.

One of the big yearly events in the NIPS calendar is the Boss and Secretary Dinner8217; which has been held at Hotel Blue Diamond for the last eight years. This is the culmination of a week-long secretarial week8217;. During this week, lecture series, seminars on topics related to secretarial practices on the topic of the week are held. As part of the secretarial week is the full-day seminar that invites three speakers to speak for three sessions. One of the most important of these is the morale-boosting session, normally taken by a human resource development professional. Members also learn how to prioritise their duties, especially those assigned by their bosses. Says Arya, 8220;These sessions bring secretaries out of their shells.8221; Among the invitees to this dinner are the people who spoke to NIPS members sometime in the past year. Light entertainment forms part of this evening8217;s fare which normally revolves around a theme. This year it was Administrative Professionals 8211; partners in success8217;. Introductoryspeeches, votes of thanks and compering are all the responsibility of the members of NIPS and in this Arya senses that each has grown more confident as the responsibilities have increased. She also feels that confidence in the work place has also been boosted as secretaries realise that their bosses are not perfect. Arya feels that party games where bosses must dictate a piece without making mistakes help in this a great deal.

So what do secretaries think they have gained from membership of NIPS? Says Arya, 8220;Being a part of NIPS means that we have evolved as stronger people. We8217;ve become better managers and so are able to understand our bosses better.8221;