Not only is a personal assistant in charge of helping you with time and daily management but this person can be useful in administration or event planning depending on your needs. Mind that you don’t have to be a great successful businessman to need a personal aide to help you perform a wide range of tasks.
If you have many tasks to complete that keep your business ticking over, it's high time you found a part-time or full-time personal assistant. Many companies such as SammyBingo, William Hill and Party Bingo are using this approach as it's impossible to cope with all tasks inside the organization. As this job can be done remotely, finding the right one is a challenging process. How to hire a personal assistant? Here are the essential steps that you should consider for hiring a personal assistant.
Self-analysis - What are you looking for?
Before hiring a PA you should understand what is your goal and what exactly this person stays focused on your top priorities. Underestimating the step of the hiring process is the biggest mistake ever because the competent assistant is expected to be a solution to any busy task but this can often lead to a great disappointment. You don't need to employ an experienced executive assistant to work with you.
This assistant should, actually, be able to adapt to your work style and priorities. Before looking to hire an assistant, it is important you make some self-assessment. In this self-evaluation, you have to examine what tasks make you busy and what you expect from your executive assistant in your business. Once you have answered these questions, you will have a better idea of the skills and abilities of the perfect candidate.
Use of initiative is key in your ideal candidate
It is undeniable that every assistant has a unique skill set based on their previous experiences. Nonetheless, the one that you have to find is a versatile and highly-organized personal assistant to fill the gaps of your needs. This person shouldn't, therefore, be considered as automation as he or she can be able to adapt to your operational way of acting. In addition, this assistant will be an extension of your daily operations.
As a personal assistant is to free time from your administrative and organising tasks, the right candidate should be able to spend time on strategic tasks. In this position, no formal academic degrees and qualifications are required as standard but you should consider the applicants who have a degree in related fields including communications, business, administration, technology, and many others.
Organize your appropriate delegation structure
Let's consider that you've found the right PA that can carry out many duties. Your next step is now to explain to this person how you prefer to transfer tasks to meet your expectations. Depending on your choice if the meeting will be at the beginning or end of the day. It is also a good idea if you communicate with your assistant through email communication throughout the day.
However, if you hire a virtual personal assistant, you can also schedule meetings using Skype or other social networks. You can also opt for another option if you don't want to organize a meeting. For example, you can communicate via audio messages and screen recordings. This means that your delegation structure should be based on your preference and organisation. Nevertheless, you should also have a project list to supervise the work progress.
Create and enhance the system to have a great PA
Imagine you have an excellent assistant that can manage your business. The best PA is able to work seamlessly to smooth your schedules. That is the reason why you should refine your system to have a good assistant. For example, you can make sure that you are documenting in order to achieve a successful result. Good documentation means knowledge and skills.
Not only does this strategy enable your assistant to become a competent one but you will successfully scale a business. As the company's success depends on the employees' performance, your assistant is one of the key factors to running your business. This system depends on your needs and preferences. You can check and give feedback to improve your assistant's work.
