Task Typing Service Officers

I read an interesting and very revealing example of a "task typing" (associating a category of resources based on past experience) job description for a "VP/GM Administration" of a regional television network recently that said that they needed someone who had:

"an MBA with work experience in a corporate setup with relevant years of experience (12-15 years for VP or 8-10 years for GM)"

OR

"served the armed service for a minimum of 5 years".

From the advertisment, I could not decipher whether the company considered the service officer with 5 years of experience as qualified for both VP and GM posts, but that definitely appeared to be what the description implied.

More significantly, the opportunity for service officers was only for "Administration", and not for the other functions of "Human Resource", "Marketing" or "Production" that the same advertisment carried.

Why?

It is because service officers routinely tout their "administrative" capabilities without understanding that in civvy street, "administration" is about (and I quote verbatim from the job description) "maintenance of head office as well as regional offices, employee travel/stay arrangements, hiring of office boys, intercity travel, maintenance of office resources and vendor management". What is missing in that description is "etc...". Any guesses what "maintenance" entails? Yes indeed, it is the broom and mop routine. "Travel/Stay" arrangements? That makes you a go-between for an employee-travel agent transaction. "Office boys?" This is an India-specific feature. Office boys are a more dignified version of the ubiquitous "peon" in government offices. "Intercity travel?" Thats train/cab reservations for you. "Office resources?" That covers all expenses under "Printing and Stationery" as well as all cleaning material used in the offices to the toilets. And vendor management here refers not not to the esoteric practice of the procurement experts, but only to "handling" vendors providing the services referred to here.

The fallout has been that most companies in the private sector have task typed service officers into the "security" or "administration" streams, both of which, in the civvy street context, are more often than not, relevant only to PBORs. Yet, you will be surprised as to how many officers apply for these jobs just because the term "administration" appears to resonate with familiarity. What is probably worse, is that a lot of officers consider this as an easy entry point into the private sector. The intention is to facilitate a move into some other function within the organization while considering this initial assignment as some sort of acclimatization period to figure things out.

But that brings us back to the concept of "task typing", a term that has negative connotations in the management context, and ingrained into the management mindset for no greater reason than the inability or unwillingness to evaluate alternative capabilities. So now you have two hurdles to cross - one, the common perception of service officers as most suitable to certain preconceived categories of jobs, and the second, of the "tag" you picked up with your recent foray into an "administrative" function.

Another common misconception is of attempting to equate HR with "Personnel Management". It is not. The "personnel management" as practiced in service correlates to "leadership" as it applies to the line ("command") function (read "business managers"), and has nothing to do with the staff function of managing the acquisition-development-maintenance-transition cycle of employees.

It does not mean that innovative new approaches cannot be adopted for these "cost centres". If you take an informed decision, by all means, go for it. But do remember, that in the larger context, "administration" is a distraction that is of cursory relevance to the organization. And, god forbid, if your suggestions entail an increased outlay (and even if you manage to find a tenuous link from administration to the company's topline), you will probably be viewed with skepticism and disdain and people will wonder what all the fuss is about. It can get inordinately frustrating very quickly and as you find your preconceived avenues of career progression being blocked more often than not by a closed mindset, you will find yourself seeking the exit door. And now, you are not a newly retired service officer. You have a background in "administration", you have been task-typed for life! For those who reconcile to this state of oblivion, you may well find your desk in the basement, next to that of the security supervisor!