You’re applying for a job and think that your main competitor is in the waiting room—but watch out; your direct competitor may not be whom you think. In fact, it may be sitting quietly on a desk, purring with pleasure at the idea of taking your place. Could the computer —able to perform recurrent, off-putting tasks tirelessly—be tolling the bell to the era of human assistants?
With the trend towards resource optimization, companies have gotten into the habit of combining several jobs into one, or outsourcing part of their activities. The administrative sector has not escaped from this tend—far from it. It is central to the budget cuts imposed by companies. The main consequence of this policy for the sector is the computerization, sometimes to excess, of daily tasks.
While computers and software can eliminate tasks, they can also lead to economic lay-offs. Last year, a French secretary/accountant was replaced by software purchased by her boss as part of a cost efficiency and technology updating measure. Although the courts finally found in favour of the secretary, who was asking for a reclassification, the case reveals the turbulence the administrative sector is currently experiencing.
The most striking example of this modernization is the replacement of the traditional operator/receptionist with a synthesized voice. Nowadays, the person you are trying to reach no longer has a name, but an extension number, which you will have to remember if you do not want to spend 10 minutes the next time you call navigating the employee phone directory. All it takes is reading a few blogs to confirm how widespread this nuisance is.
According to Sharlene Massie, president of Edmonton administrative personnel staffing firm About Staffing, the era of computerized telephone switchboards could be coming to an end. “Personally, I prefer talking to a person rather than voice mail, especially when I need something to be done or I need a specific answer to a question.” Since receptionists are the company’s “voice” to its customers, it is important for them to be available and able to answer questions that have not necessarily been pre-determined.
Karin Skirten, vice-president of Mark Staffing Solutions Inc. in Calgary, thinks that many companies are currently in the middle of changing their business policy by once again hiring receptionists. If this strategy pays off, competition helping, it could be the start of something big. “Computers are not yet able to promote a company’s products and services as well as a human, or to take decisions that are not based solely on lines of code.”