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If you’re caught in the belief that to get things done correctly, you must do them yourself, you’re not alone. Many busy professionals find themselves trapped in this mindset, leading to an endless to-do list that leaves little time to switch off.
You may have wondered, “Should I hire a personal assistant?” or “What can a personal assistant do for me?”, but previously thought that hiring a personal assistant is for business owners or the elite. However, it’s increasingly becoming a practical solution for anyone overwhelmed by their daily commitments.
In this guide, we’ll explore the many ways a personal assistant can support you, as well as highlight the tasks that may be out of scope.
The diverse skills of a personal assistant will make hiring a PA a valuable addition to your professional and personal life. Their main goal is to make your life more organised, streamlined, and efficient, helping to minimise your stress levels and increase your free time. They can handle a wide range of administrative and personal support tasks, all tailored to your unique needs.
There are many different types of personal assistants, and their day-to-day will differ depending on your lifestyle. However, here are the most common tasks a PA can manage for you:
Personal assistants are commonly employed to alleviate administrative burdens. They also serve as the initial point of contact among colleagues, which helps reduce the time you spend on administrative tasks. These can vary, but they typically include:
A PA will keep your schedules and calendars in perfect order. They’ll organise all your appointments, meetings, and deadlines to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. This allows you to focus on more important tasks without worrying about the details of your day-to-day schedule.
In the digital world we live in, keeping up with all your emails, calls, text messages, and social media DMs can feel like a full-time job. Plus, it’s easy to get sidetracked by responding to messages instead of focusing on your core responsibilities. Your personal assistant can take this burden off your shoulders by handling a wide range of communication tasks, from organising your inbox to replying to messages on your behalf.
A personal assistant can handle a variety of administrative tasks. Their support ensures that your professional life is productive and your daily routines run smoothly.
Here are a few common administrative tasks handled by a PA:
Preparing, formatting, and editing reports and documents.
Writing up minutes from meetings and preparing agendas for upcoming meetings.
Communicating with clients, colleagues, and others to schedule appointments.
Whether you’re travelling for business or leisure, a personal assistant can handle all aspects of the travel arrangements. These include booking flights, organising your accommodation, and planning your itinerary. Their expertise can make your travel experience more enjoyable and less stressful, ensuring that everything is tailored to your preferences.
If you’re looking to hire a private personal assistant who can manage complex travel arrangements, Tiger Recruitment will find you an outstanding match.
Travel planning can be very time-consuming, especially if you do it often. Personal assistants can handle travel logistics, including researching and booking the best flights and transport options.
Personal assistants can coordinate travel itineraries and schedules that align with the purpose of the trip. This includes ensuring all reservations and activities happen on time.
If you’re looking for more support with hiring administrative professionals with travel logistics experience, explore our business support recruitment services.
A personal assistant also supports day-to-day errands, from picking up shopping to managing household tasks. Their level of involvement in your tasks is up to you, but it should be disclosed during the hiring process.
Personal assistants can support with a variety of errands that can often be time-consuming tasks to travel about for.
If you’re looking to make a last-minute table booking, a personal assistant can utilise their network to make it happen. They are responsible for all the administration that goes with the reservation, such as transport to get there.
If you’re looking for a personal assistant to support with paying bills or managing household-related tasks, you may be looking for a private personal assistant. These types of assistants tend to support more with personal-related tasks.
Our specialised division, Tiger Private, can support with hiring a private personal assistant.
Personal assistants can offer crucial support to business owners and professionals involved in multiple projects. They can assist with project research, coordination, and tracking project progress. This can help you to be prepared and stay organised, ensuring you complete the project.
One key area that personal assistants can support with is carrying out in-depth research. This can be useful whether you’re launching a new product and assessing the market or looking into vendors for an upcoming event. PAs can collect all their findings and present you with the most relevant information.
Personal assistants can bring data together and create reports ready for client presentations.
Coordinating with other team members and colleagues can be a time-consuming task; however, it is usually vital for project success. PAs can handle this task for you when it comes to planning meetings and ensuring alignment between teams.
A PA is an asset to any business owner or busy family by providing a wide range of professional and personal support. However, there are a few tasks that you shouldn’t ask your PA to do. It’s important to recognise these boundaries to maintain a productive and respectful working relationship.
PAs can’t provide specialised services or advice that require professional qualifications. While PAs are highly skilled, they cannot replace the expertise of professionals in fields like law, accounting, or healthcare. Your PA can help you by managing your appointments with an accountant or scheduling your medical check-ups, but they won’t be able to prepare your taxes or offer medical opinions.
A PA can be helpful with your financial management, but it’s important to establish clear boundaries around financial transactions. Make sure your personal assistant knows they should not make large payments or financial decisions without getting your approval first. While this approach may mean you have a few extra items to check off your list, you are preventing any expensive errors or security issues. These boundaries will safeguard your finances and maintain your working relationship with your PA.
The personal tasks that fall outside of scope will depend on the responsibilities you laid out in the PA job description and their contract. It’s essential to avoid asking your PA to handle any tasks outside of their set duties to avoid discomfort or misunderstandings that could impact your working relationship.
Here are a few personal tasks that may not be appropriate for a PA to handle:
While your PA may assist with a quick tidy, it’s not expected that they scrub the floors or any other labour-intensive cleaning tasks. These tasks should be handled by housekeeping professionals who have the necessary skills and tools.
Your PA can assist you with meal planning and grocery shopping, but cooking for you or your family generally falls outside of their scope. Meal preparation and the cleanup take significant time, which could take them away from their core duties.
It’s not a good idea to depend on your assistant for regular childcare. Looking after kids requires constant focus and sometimes special skills, particularly for little ones or children with special requirements.
If you’re wondering how to hire a personal assistant, our experts are ready to support and help you find someone who aligns with your values.
What does a celebrity personal assistant do?
A celebrity personal assistant will have responsibilities similar to those of a traditional personal assistant, including meeting scheduling, diary management and travel arrangements. They may also be responsible for coordinating public appearances or interviews, and they may even be a lifestyle manager. However, a celebrity PA must be extremely discreet and trustworthy when working closely with someone of high status.
What is the role of a PA?
The main role of a PA is to make your daily routine more organised and efficient by handling a wide range of professional and, occasionally, personal tasks. These will be tailored to your unique needs but can include organising schedules, handling correspondence, organising events, and running personal errands.
What is the role of a private PA?
A private PA focuses on supporting HNWI and their families with personal and household tasks. They manage personal appointments, oversee household projects, organise events, manage diaries and handle personal finances. Their role is to ensure the smooth and efficient running of your personal life.
Can a PA do personal care?
A private PA focuses on supporting HNWI and their families with personal and household tasks. They manage personal appointments, oversee household projects, organise events, manage diaries and handle personal finances. Their role is to ensure the smooth and efficient running of your personal life.
What are the duties of a personal assistant?
The duties of a personal assistant can vary depending on the needs of an executive. Generally, PAs are responsible for scheduling meetings, correspondence and note-taking. They work to relieve the administrative burden of an individual.
What skills does a PA need?
There are many skills needed to be a great PA. Being organised, having good time management and resilience are core skills that will enable a PA to be successful in their role.
How much do personal assistants make per hour UK?
How much a personal assistant makes per hour in the UK is dependent on a variety of factors including location, experience and level of responsibilities. You could expect to make between £14-£35+ per hour. Read more information here on how much does it cost to hire a personal assistant.
What's the difference between a PA and a secretary?
Although there is some overlap between a personal assistant and a secretary, a PA generally provides support to one individual, whereas a secretary is more focused on supporting a department. Secretaries are also responsible for tasks, including answering calls and filing, anything that is more task-based.
If you’re asking, ‘What is a personal assistant?‘, our guide has the answers.
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