10 Great Reasons to Hire A PA
As a company executive or owner you may find yourself buried under a whole host of business minutiae when you should be focussing on the health and growth of your company. If you find yourself so stretched that all of your work is suffering and you are heading for burnout, it is probably time to delegate.
Equally many larger businesses rely on a few key individuals to bring in clients, devise innovative marketing strategies or optimise processes and these are expensive, highly specialised people. Hiring a PA will free up your “earners” productivity by removing distractions and enabling them to focus on whatever drives profitability.
10 ways that hiring a PA will transform you, your business and your life
- ADMINISTRATION
The majority of us may find administration mundane, but it is the lynchpin that holds everything together. Good administration processes can be the difference between success and failure. A well trained and organised PA will take over all those time consuming tasks that have to be completed on a daily basis. This could be anything from checking and responding to email through to filing and typing. The list is simply endless and can be tailored to your own personal or business requirements.
- FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE
A PA can field those endless phone calls which take up precious time. The majority of people who call simply need to be directed to some information or have a yes/no reply to their question. A PA can make the tough decisions about who you actually need to speak with. Equally your email and letters can take up endless hours and these can usually be dealt with simply and effectively. Once integrated into your working techniques, your PA could also take on other roles on your behalf, such as chair meetings, or handle conference calls and site visits.
- LOGISTICS
Your PA can manage your Diary and Calendar more efficiently. Logistics can be a nightmare when you have numerous meetings to schedule. Often, three individual meetings that involve travel to another city may have happened separately, but with some simple calendar management, those meetings can all occur on the same day; saving time and money.
- TRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT
Your PA can build relationships with hotels, airlines and restaurants which may lead to preferential bookings and better rates. Equally travel gets booked earlier resulting in huge savings (particularly with rail). If your PA books travel for all of your company executives and managers then nobody can abuse the travel guidelines. Many smaller companies find that they can recoup a PA’s salary, simply by centralising travel and entertainment costs through a single person.
- VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
When you spend a lot of time out of the office, whether travelling overseas or to more localised events, your PA will become your VA, handing all the essential details in your absence. Additionally, if your PA handled all your travel arrangements and meeting schedules they will know exactly where you are at any given moment. They will be able to slot in additional meetings which could save future travel and can cancel bookings should the need arise.
- FOLLOW UP
It will be the job of your PA to take minutes during your meetings; they will then be able to follow up afterwards to ensure that any actions are completed by the relevant people and organise further arrangements or meetings. Only the most relevant information will be brought to your desk.
- KEEPING OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAPPY
Many PA’s will perform tasks which require organising and dealing with other departments. Expenses being filed late can seem of minor importance to a manager who is juggling several key strategic objectives and a board of directors he has to answer to. However, to the finance team that delay can hold up key reports or even risk non-compliance. Likewise, delegating holiday sign off means that staff are likely to be happier as approval happens more quickly.
- COMMUNICATION
It is not uncommon to find that company updates, to all employees, fall down the list of priorities. Having someone to draft communications can make it much easier to send those oft-forgotten updates that keep junior employees informed and invested.
- WORK/HOME ENVIRONMENT
Many PA’s take unofficial office management duties and will liaise with building management and ensure all services run smoothly leading to a more pleasant working environment for everyone. Equally, your PA may remove some of your household tasks from your shoulders; anything from organising your personal calendar or booking Rover’s vet appointment, through to collecting your dry cleaning.
- HOME LIFE
Hiring a PA to relieve you of mundane and time zapping tasks and support you in the workplace will leave you with more free time to enjoy life. You will have more space in your life to enjoy your family and your hobbies and take greater care of yourself.
Many people may still assume that hiring a Personal Assistant is for the super-rich or the celebrity lifestyle but this should certainly not be the case. Many busy professionals find that hiring a PA is the smartest decision they ever made and he/she often turns out to play a key role in their success. An excellent PA could be the one single individual who can transform your business, and private life, from chaos and stress into a smooth running machine.
