Whatís in a name - The changing face of the PA

A snapshot survey of almost 200 PAs and secretaries on behalf of office support recruitment specialist la crme has found that job titles are changing to reflect the increased responsibilities of todayís office support professional.

Almost a third of those questioned who were in what would historically be described as a PA role had the title of Executive Assistant ñ a reflection of the fact that many of these positions are now more akin to a junior management role ñ many of the Executive Assistants questioned had responsibilities ranging from HR to PR!

A quick scan through la crmeís vacancy lists found that ìco-ordinatorî or ìassistantî is now replacing the historical secretary title in many roles. ìTen years ago a secretary may have supported a project manager on a day to day basis ñ today that role would be called a ìProject Co-ordinatorî, said la crmeís UK Director Jo Stuteley. ìTeam Assistant is also now widely used in place of Team Secretaryî.

ìEmployers have really woken up to the fact that office support professionals are the backbone of an organisation and are no longer there to just keep diaries and deal with correspondenceî, adds Stuteley. ìAnd often, the secretaryís role is now much more of a stepping stone to other line positions. Additionally, the office support sector has, through organisations such as the IQPS, worked hard to achieve professional status - a goal which it has now achieved. Office support staff are professionals ñ and are in high demand. In order to attract talent ñ and give the recognition deserved, some employers have developed a range of more modern and, arguably more glamorous titles to reflect the true nature of the roles on offer.î Stuteley warns however, not to judge a book by its cover. ì Thereís a lot of emotion attached to job titles and itís important for those looking for their next move not to make hasty judgements. The job title may not be everything you are looking for but the job might. So explore the responsibilities, the career path and the experience you may gain. Similarly for hiring managers, flexibility has to be the key and employers should not make assumptions based on someoneís title as you may well be missing out on exactly the sort of talent your organisation needs. The demand for skilled office professionals is nothing short of a feeding frenzy so donít be the one who goes hungry because of a lack of imagination.î

The survey which questioned 192 secretaries, PAs and office support staff found that over two thirds (67%) had responsibilities usually associated with other managerial functions. These included office management tasks such as facilities management, project planning and management, event production, hiring staff as well as marketing, HR and presentation planning. Almost half (48%) regularly use presentation software.

Only 4% of respondents used shorthand in their day to day activities and with the increased trend for managers to carry out their own basic typing and e-mails, only 12% cited copy or audio typing as a main part of their role.