A Day In The Life Of A Department Secretary At Kaiser Permanente
A day for a Kaiser Permanente department secretary is described as "hectic," involving constant multitasking between emails, team support, and compliance tasks like competency tracking and—most notably—manual payroll entry for 150 employees using "a plain black and green screen" system under tight deadlines. The role demands constant prioritization as supervisors and clinicians frequently interrupt with urgent requests, making "minutes and seconds" count in a rapidly changing workday.
Multitasking, Prioritization, Communication, Problem-Solving, Time Management
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Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
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Traits
Ariel Ayala
Department Secretary
Kaiser Permanente
N/A
N/A
General Studies / Not Applicable
Healthcare, Medical & Wellness
Operations and Project Management
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. A Department Secretary must be highly organized and able to prioritize tasks effectively, as responsibilities change frequently throughout the day.
2. The job requires multitasking and quick adaptation to changing demands and interruptions.
3. Payroll processing can be a significant part of the job, requiring manual data entry and attention to detail, especially if the system used is outdated or inefficient, as described by Ariel for Kaiser Permanente's system
Transcript
What does a day in the life of a department secretary look like?
My job starts at 8 o'clock. I sit at my desk and review all my emails, my cortexes, and my teams. I jot down what the priorities are.
Being a department secretary, you have to be very good at multitasking. You might be working on one thing, and then a supervisor or anyone else comes up with a quick request. They might ask for help with something, to send something out immediately, or if you have time for a quick task.
In the mornings, I usually go through competencies, making sure everyone's good to go. I send those over to compliance online for uploading. Then, depending on if it's a payroll week, we start collecting time cards on Wednesday.
We send out a mass text to everyone saying, "Payroll is due. Don't forget to turn in your timecards." Thursday and Friday are blocked off for payroll processing.
Our payroll system for Kaiser is very old school. It has a plain black and green screen, and there are limited coatings you can do for that specific program. We have to enter everything manually.
Imagine manually entering 150 employees' timecards into a system when you're on a tight deadline. Payroll is due Monday at 3 o'clock. If Monday is a holiday, payroll is due the next day, Tuesday at 12 o'clock. Since we're closed on holidays, we only have two days to enter all those timecards.
Sometimes, while entering timecards, you get another mass text with multiple requests. You have to help clinicians or team members with their questions. Even supervisors ask for quick help, like booking a conference room or contacting a clinician.
A supervisor might say, "This clinician says they turned in their BLS, but we see it's expired, and we don't have it." I have to stop what I'm doing to help them because they're right there, and I have to prioritize.
As a department secretary, you just have to prioritize your day because anything can happen. Your day isn't set; it's like minutes and seconds. Anything can happen, and you never know what to expect. Every day is different, honestly.
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