Worked in England for 11 years working for 3 companies. Left England in 1986. All three companies have since gone Bankrupt.
Started working at Prudential Insurance Company (Johannesburg, South Africa) in 1986 as a Copy Typist in the Word Processing department, promoted up to Word Processor doing copy typing, typing of reports, spreadsheets, general typing etc.
Liberty Life Insurance Company bought out Prudential in 1988, all staff transferred up to Liberty, moved from the Word Processing department into the Secretarial Field as a Junior Secretary, working for an AGM, 3 Team Managers in total 63 staff in the team. Responsibilities included, general office duties etc. Over the years stayed as a Secretary but quickly made promotions to finally Senior Secretary. I have an excellent reputation of being able to handle working for a large group of people using Time Management, Prioritisation and People Management Skills.
Over the years I was given the opportunity to type lots of different types of documents and learn lots of different software, from Flow Diagrams to Desk Top Publishing and various Word Processing packages e.g. MultiMate, Wang, Word Perfect, MS Office etc. I have experience in:
Office Management
Document Management
Function Organisation
Office Administration
Telephone Management
People Liaison
Secretarial Support
Database Management
Project Administration comprising of:
Maintaining schedules for management.
Writing and preparing correspondence for signature by management.
Manage supply inventory.
Provide management with current schedules.
Prepare news articles/current event summary sheet.
Distribute mail for management.
Perform facsimile and copying as needed.
Schedule travel for management.
Complete and manage expense reports upon return from travel
Manage travel accommodations.
Plan and schedule meetings and conferences.
Answer phones and forward to appropriate party.
Maintain filing system.
Manage time and attendance for management.
In January 2000 I transferred to Systems/IT Human Resources department as a Senior Secretary/HR Support Co-Ordinator. I was given the opportunity to grow and learn many new tasks, I helped design, create and maintain a Web Site for the Secretaries of the Liberty Life Group. I initiated that all the secretaries within GIS join the Professional Secretaries Association of SA. I initiated that the secretaries within GIS try to obtain CPS certification (Certified Professional Secretarial Certification in SA). Over the years I have coached many secretaries in their positions and some have gone into becoming Executive Secretaries within the Liberty Life Group. I have often worked for other departments within Liberty Life apart from GIS because of my reputation of being able to give excellent Secretarial Support and my people management skills.
My responsibilities were:
Creating/maintaining databases, Data Entry
Recruiting/Staff Management
Compiling Stats
Internet Research
Proof Reading
Maintaining Staff/Contractor Database
Creating/Documenting/Publishing Policies for HR procedures
Prepare Database for Salaries; assisting with compiling/formulating salary increases via Excel.
Budget management/forecasting
Performance Management
Web Design: creating/maintaining HR Department and Liberty Life Secretarial web sites
Project Administration
Liaise with Staff etc.
Taking Minutes at Meetings.
Stand in for Executive Secretary working for CEO while she took leave or was absence from the office.
I left Liberty Life Group after 14½years (March 2001).
Spent 4 months working in the offices of a Medical Aid Broker learning about the different Medical Aid Schemes, for experience.
Currently self-employed.
Awards received during my career at Liberty Life:
November 1996 - While working at Liberty Life Group I received a very prestigious award for providing Quality Customer Services in November 1996.
Won numerous Quality Customer Services Awards (Individual and Team) for various quality secretarial tasks.
Myself and a co-worker Judy van der Merwe won the ‘In Pursuit of Excellence' award, for 1999 in February 2000. The award is presented annually to an organization that demonstrates quality and support for secretaries, admin/executive assistants and related office professionals. This award was presented by the PSASA (Professional Secretarial Association of South Africa).
Skills:
Excellent communication and listening skills
Excellent office skills
Professional and confidant
Committed to establishing long-term partnerships
Pro-active
Time Management
Open-minded
Willingness to learn and aptitude to learn quickly
Focused
Multi-tasks capable
Organized
Committed to providing a Quality Customer Service
Team player
Respect Privacy and Confidentiality for each Client
