Is there a difference between an executive assistant and a personal assistant?
What is the difference between a PA and an EA? As this is one of the more common questions we hear from candidates during their PA job search, we’re here…
What is a Personal Assistant?
Understanding the personal assistant role is the first step to answering the question of ‘Why hire a personal assistant?’. A personal assistant (PA) is employed by an individual or business to provide day-to-day support. While this will look different depending on the needs of the employer, some form of administrative support will almost always be involved.
Some of the most common responsibilities of a PA include diary management, travel coordination, inbox and call management, document creation, meeting coordination and event planning.
Private assistants can be employed to support a single individual in an organisation such as a CEO, or to support a team within a business. A team PA will generally carry out the same tasks, but for multiple people, often acting as the first point of contact for the team.
If you are considering hiring a personal assistant and looking for guidance, make a hire request and one of our specialist consultants will reach out to you.
Administrative Duties
Most PA roles will include administrative duties such as answering phones, managing inboxes, coordinating meetings, arranging travel, taking meeting minutes, collating documents, creating presentations and managing diaries. Other common administrative responsibilities include managing purchase orders, writing contracts, fixing technical issues, co-ordinating with third party contractors or agencies, and getting quotes for products and services.
Project Management Duties
The role of personal assistant is industry agnostic, meaning a PA can be hired in any type of business. However, a common responsibility includes project management. In a boutique business, a PA may manage operations projects such as introducing new policies and creating manuals and handbooks. By contrast, a PA in the finance sector could be responsible for introducing and maintaining a new CRM system.
C-Suite PAs and EAs
Executive assistants and senior personal assistants support high-level executives such as CEOs or MDs. The key difference at this level is that a personal assistant will start to act more as a business assistant/partner, generally holding a high level of responsibility over multiple projects and teams. This could mean hiring and managing the rest of a company’s business support team or representing their employer’s interests in business negotiations.
Why You Need a Personal Assistant
There are a myriad of reasons why you may need a personal assistant. For entrepreneurs, executives and busy teams, a PA can prove an invaluable team member. Below we have outlined just a few of the biggest advantages of recruiting an exceptional PA. If you have been wondering ‘why hire a personal assistant’, here are just some of the reasons top executives make this decision.
Free Up Your Time
If you’re deciding whether you need a personal assistant, take some time to consider what tasks you complete in a week, and which of these could realistically be done by somebody else. That somebody may need some specialised knowledge or be incredibly trustworthy, but that’s what PAs are for: meeting your highly specific needs.
A reliable PA will free up time in your calendar by taking on tasks, big or small, that allow you to focus on the bigger decisions.
Increase Your Productivity
Administrative tasks can be highly interruptive – ever answered an email or accepted a calendar invite while in a meeting? Research shows that multitasking like this can be costly to productivity. While managing your own inbox and calendar provides valuable control and oversight, it’s also taking your attention away from your most important work.
Entrusting an exceptional PA with these types of tasks will allow you to re-focus your mind, improving your productivity and, in turn, the quality of your decisions.
Reduce Your Stress
Many bosses report personal assistants as being essential in reducing stress and improving wellbeing. It’s incredibly important to take steps to support one’s mental health, particularly for top executives and high-performing teams. Hiring a great PA is an excellent step towards reducing stress in your job.
Utilise Skills and Expertise
Many personal assistants have spent years honing highly specialised skills that can prove invaluable to your business. Those working with high-profile employers may excel in social media management and online branding. A PA who has worked for a long time in the legal sector may excel at preparing legal documents. Whatever the nature of your business’ needs, we can help you find a PA with aligned expertise.
To get started on recruiting a personal assistant, get in touch with us today. A consultant will reach out to discuss your requirements and get you started on the path to finding a perfect PA.
Maintain an Organised Routine
As an entrepreneur or executive, you probably find that each day feels exceptionally hectic, with information and potential opportunities coming from all directions. There are personal assistants there who have mastered the art of turning chaos into order. These PAs can help you create some routine in your working days and keep your calendar as organised as possible. This not only helps streamline your work processes but can ensure that you’re reliably carving out time for your own wellbeing.
Support When You Need It
Personal assistant roles are created to match the needs of employers. This means that if you work unusual hours or travel a lot, you can hire a PA who will match your schedule. This adaptability is one of the main reasons why employers hire a personal assistant.
The hiring of PAs can also be done on an as-needed basis for specific projects or particularly busy times of year. This is where a strong relationship with temporary PA recruitment agencies can prove invaluable.
Tiger’s temporary business support team specialise in placing PAs in contract or last-minute roles as needed by employers. If your business could benefit from a partnership where all payroll and temporary recruitment admin is taken care of for you, get in touch today.
Ready To Hire a Personal Assistant?
If we’ve answered your questions about why to hire a personal assistant, we’d love to hear from you. Still not sure? Our guide to hiring a personal assistant has more information, and our consultants can provide further guidance on whether a hiring a personal assistant is the right decision for your business.
