From Eight to Five (1963)

[music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> The best secretary we've ever had. And now our letter of resignation. It's no wonder I had that nightmare. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> She's quite a contrast [music] to that bad dream. In fact, she's just about everything a university secretary should be. Her appearance speaks for itself. More than that, it speaks for me, our department, and the university. [music] She realizes the importance of looking her best at all times, >> [music] >> and this is noticed by everyone who walks into the office. Visitors as well as those within the department. Her appearance makes a good first impression, and she follows up with a gracious manner. Regardless [music] of her workload, she finds time to be pleasant, cordial, and helpful. A good university [music] secretary realizes that not everyone on the outside understands many of the things [music] we of the academic world take as routine. Things like setting up an appointment with a professor [music] whose schedule of classes and labs may seem out of the ordinary. >> [music] [bell] [music] >> Chemistry Department, Jim Beasley speaking. Yes. Dr. Saunders [music] is in conference now. May I take a message? Yes. Contact [music] Professor Fredericks concerning the petition of James A. Kunwald. C U N W A L T for readmission. >> [music] >> Yes. Thank you for calling. Her telephone [music] manner is friendly, warm, yet always businesslike. She expresses her regrets that [music] a professor can't be reached, offers to take the message, then rereads it to check for accuracy. Little things like this make for efficiency [music] in any office. Make this particular university office a pleasure to reach [music] by phone. Daily contact with students is another part of her job. She has made it her business to know departmental [music] and university regulations. By interpreting them, she is able to save valuable time for both faculty and students. Professors' time can be given to more essential tasks, and students [music] are spared the long wait for an appointment with a faculty member. >> [music] [music] >> Filing is another one of her responsibilities, >> [music] >> and varies according to departmental practices. Consistency should be the watchword. Before filing anything other than routine papers, our [music] secretary makes certain that the material has been reviewed, necessary action taken, and is now ready to be filed. A university secretary is usually a departmental secretary. In other words, she is an actual practice secretary to many. This calls [music] for large amounts of tact and diplomacy. Every person in the department justifiably feels that his work [music] is most important, but she must be the judge of priorities in her work. She generally completes [music] first those tasks which have a direct bearing on the operation of the department as a whole. After that, her consideration is directed by the order in which the work is submitted to her. Regardless of what decision is [music] made, it must be understood by all members of the department. In this respect, her job may differ from the role of a secretary in other fields. When shorthand has been properly taken, the secretary [music] has little difficulty transcribing it into typed copy. A good secretary carefully [music] edits each item of dictation. This can usually be done while the person dictating pauses to collect his thoughts, or is interrupted by a telephone call. Our secretary [music] has found that she has three indispensable friends at her disposal for finding just [music] the right word properly spelled. The desk dictionary, a thesaurus, or a dictionary of synonyms. A good secretary like ours knows that the final [music] typed letter speaks only too clearly for our department and for the university as a whole. As the textbooks say, a secretary spends [music] 1/3 of her time at a typewriter. >> [music] >> And our secretary is no exception. Her typewriter is her almost constant [music] office companion. And like any other machine, it works best when given proper [music] care and maintenance. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> The university secretary has every opportunity to reveal her initiative at work, perhaps more so than others in like positions in business and industry, [music] because frequently her work is less regimented. Spare time in the office can and should be put to practical use. [music] She resists that urge to >> [music] >> read the who done it tucked away at the back of her desk drawer. A mental hazard for many university secretaries is the realization that their jobs [music] are really temporary expedients, lasting only until their husbands earn that coveted degree. It's easy [music] for their work to reflect an attitude of marking time. The secretary who is not marking time starts [music] the day attending to housekeeping duties. Taken by themselves, none of these details is important, but regular attention to such details >> [music] >> marks the difference between an adequate secretary and a competent one in a university. Things like or or even And this can lead [music] to a bit of housekeeping, too. Thoughtful things that in themselves [music] don't take long, but add immeasurably to the department's opinion of a good secretary. >> [music] >> For example, pens go dry. Calendars [music] need changing. Or even an ashtray emptied may catch an approving [music] eye. There's always need for practice, shorthand, or typing, [music] too. Yes, a moment of thought will find plenty for her to do. Attention to these details of the job makes [music] good sense. And may [music] even pay off with an offer from the boss to help her carry those heavy supplies. While she's [music] at this business of thinking, it's a good idea to check herself in relation to her job, for certainly other people will. I know that I've subconsciously checked every secretary [music] we've had against these top 10 traits. How do you stack up? First, accuracy. Exactness [music] in each detail of the job. It requires only time, patience, and concentration on the work at hand. Next is good judgment. For the university secretary, this means to think, to see the need for action, and then to act accordingly. Then comes follow-through. Following through to completion of tasks both specified and implied. For example, the notation [music] which says enclosed is always an implied instruction in a dictated letter. Or follow-through may mean filling out a slip for every call that comes for a professor when he's away from a telephone. A good secretary isn't satisfied [music] to merely tell him of the calls when he comes in. Another checkpoint [music] is resourcefulness. To a university secretary, this means trying different solutions, thinking of new ways to expedite work. An example, one that cuts down office expense, running [music] ditto copies through on both sides of the paper with the professor's approval. Initiative is another mark of the superior secretary. I mean doing something [music] helpful without being told, like attaching previous correspondence to an incoming letter. Or stapling pages [music] of mimeographed copy. Posting an article of interest on the office bulletin board. Initiative [music] can be applied to all areas of secretarial work, assigned routine or tasks above the call of duty. Some of the top 10 traits of the good secretary have to do with her [music] handling of human relations, and in most any office on campus, one comes in contact with [music] many people. Consideration for others is a basic ingredient. Thinking of others first, their ease and comfort. >> [music] >> Tact is indispensable. A tactful secretary can be instrumental in helping to establish and maintain good working relations within the department. And in so doing, she gains others' thanks for her use of tact. She always talks and acts in ways that keep embarrassment and annoyance to a minimum. Discretion has been called the better part of valor. A secretary on campus has access to confidential material about which she must be discreet. Such things as budgets, salaries, letters of recommendation, examination papers. If for any reason she must leave such material in her typewriter, she takes care to cover it up before [music] leaving. Any office would rate loyalty near the top of the list of secretarial qualifications. Interdepartmental relations can [music] be strained by a casual remark, even when it isn't intended to do harm. Loyalty is allegiance expressed [music] verbally or just implied. The last of the [music] top 10 traits of the superior university secretary is objectivity. This means analyzing a situation impersonally before reacting. Sometimes her work is criticized or rejected as [music] unsuitable, which means she will have to type it again. She could show hurt, annoyance, [music] or hostility, but a good secretary will react not personally, not emotionally, but with complete objectivity. No doubt about it. Replacing that secretary is going to be tough. I'd rather not think about it, but here's her letter of resignation, beautifully typed like [music] all her work. It's enough to bring back that nightmare. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Bob, my husband, has been offered a promotion if we stay on here. So, that means we won't be leaving after all. And since we won't, I was wondering Yes. Uh well, I was wondering if Well, if you haven't found a replacement for me yet, maybe we could just forget about that little matter of my resignation. I'd love to [music] stay on here. That is, if it's agreeable with everyone in the department. Does that answer your question? >> [music] >> Welcome back. We're glad to have you stay.