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Clerical work has changed since the days of paper filing and typewriters. In addition to having organization and time-management skills, support staff in today's offices must be comfortable with technology and able to communicate using multiple media.
The radiology department provides critical imaging information for hospitals around the world. Radiologists take important diagnostic tests such as MRIs, X-rays and CT scans. The staff interacts with radiologists, technologists, physicians, nurses and clerical workers in every department. Accurate records must be kept track of, and sent to, several departments daily. Clerical staff provide vital tracking, patient transporting duties and filing duties.
Office support personnel fulfill important roles at companies around the country. Within this field, administrative assistants in the US earn, as of July 2010, between $25,344 and $37,001 per year. Office managers, who serve a supervisory role within the clerical landscape, earn between $29,915 and $47,175 as of July 2010, according to the website PayScale.
Every business office requires the completion of clerical duties or general office work. These tasks are usually assigned to someone who will be solely responsible for the clerical support functions in the office such as answering phones, filing, typing and taking dictation. The individuals that provide clerical support help to keep the office organized and running smoothly.
Clerical work describes various office support functions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, clerical positions are found in every sector of the economy and in 2008 there were more than 3 million people working in office clerical positions. Job duties vary from company to company and can change on a daily basis, especially in small businesses.
Clerical support workers have office duties such as answering phones, serving as a front-desk receptionist, filing, data entry and photocopying. Clerical support positions are available in both the public and private sectors of the economy, although in government employment the definition of the position tends to include a broader range of duties than in the private sector, which would have separate classifications as secretarial or administrative support work rather than solely as clerical support work.
Clerical support workers, also called secretaries and administrative assistants, provide a range of duties to support the operations of an organization or office or to provide direct support to one or more employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 4.3 million secretaries and administrative assistants in 2008, making the profession one of the largest. Secretaries work in every type of business and organization and they sometimes perform duties specific to the workplace. Clerical work includes typing or word processing, answering telephones, file and document management, composing and mailing correspondence, managing appointment calendars and using office equipment such as copiers, computers…
Paraprofessionals will assist professionals in a variety of fields. They may work in education, healthcare, engineering or law. Paraprofessionals will assist professionals by providing instructional and clerical support. They will receive training in order to assist professionals, although they don't have the licensing to work professionally. For example, paraprofessionals who assist teachers cannot instruct students in a classroom. That is the teacher's responsibility.
A clerical or administrative support position has the main duties of maintaining the office, such as filing, faxing, copying, answering phones, taking messages, typing correspondence, scheduling meetings, writing memos and even watering plants. These skills are considered standard, and each clerical or administrative applicant should be able to perform the standard tasks without further training.
