Efficient Working with A Virtual Personal Assistant
Since outsourcing and virtual assistance might be new to some people, many may wonder how best to interact with their virtual assistants and how they can establish good rapport with them. Well, there are a lot of different types of virtual assistants just as there are a lot of different types of bosses and employees. Working in a “virtual office” just made it a lot easier and a lot more straight-to-the-point.
The basics? When getting a virtual personal assistant of your own, be mindful of a couple of things to get work done more efficiently and smoothly.
Be specific.
You have a virtual assistant and you have specifically chosen him/her for the task you want. Now it is best to be specific what he or she ought to do in working it. Expect the questions that will be asked beforehand and get ready to answer them. When orienting your virtual assistant, you can either talk to him/ her by phone or write down your instructions. Either way, a clear definition of the purpose and the work will help your assistant tremendously.
Establish good communication.
Checking up with your assistant daily is not really that difficult. All it takes is just an email away. Some clients and their virtual assistants require a progress report, but it ultimately depends on your management style. A good thing to establish early on is rapport and good communication. Have an effort to know your virtual assistant and what times are convenient for him or her. Again, you can do this through phone call or through a chain of emails, your choice.
Define and expect a goal.
Set goals and standards that your assistant should follow. It is actually helping your assistant into creating or developing the kind of work you have in mind, the output that meets your expectations. Voice out these goals and lead your virtual assistant in your headed direction. Eventually, often soon, your assistant will be able to know what you want and present the work that you like ahead without you even telling them. This is what good rapport does for you.
Be open for suggestions.
As a good plus, your virtual personal assistant has probably had previous experience working for other clients and accounts, making him or her a seasoned and skilled person at his or her work. Keep your mind open for suggestions and techniques you may not have heard before. These ideas only serve to produce better work. Its quite alright if you do not like them anyway, you have the final say what goes.
Provide feedback.
It is quite helpful when you provide feedback every now and then. Your evaluation points out what needs to be done and how your assistant is doing. Just be constructive and all will fall into place. Praises and a pat in the back are also good in boosting up morale.
About the author:
Agents of Value Virtual Personal Assistant is a webmaster staffing company based in the Philippines that provides direct access to motivated agents for cost-effective web services.
Article Source: http://www.Free-Articles-Zone.com
The Job Description of a Personal Assistant
A lot of people employ a personal assistant. But what does a personal assistant really do? What is his or her job description?
The personal assistant is called by many names. They can also be referred to as executive secretary or executive assistant. He or she works closely with the manager then coordinates with the various departments.
But most of the time, this person deals with administrative and secretarial tasks like answer the phone, enter, welcome the visitors, make appointments, deal with deliveries and faxes, make schedules, take dictation and minutes, produce presentations, do background research, organize meetings, liaise both internally and externally, arrange travel accommodations, organize paperwork and make decisions in the absence of others.
In order to be an effective personal assistant, you should be able to know the company and the business inside and out. This will allow you to get in touch with the right people when you are instructed to. Given that you handle matters that are important to the company, you should be trustworthy and exercise confidentiality and discretion at all times.
The personal assistant may sometimes be instructed to do other duties. This may involve handling accounts and budgets, carrying out a specific project and take some of the manager’s load which means being given the opportunity to be involved in the decision making process. Some companies do that while others don’t and just stick to the basics as mentioned.
Celebrities, professional assistants and politicians are just some of the few examples of people who need a personal assistant. Small businesses also do and the average salary of a personal assistant these days is $37,000.
If you think about it, there is no specific educational degree that lands you the job of a personal assistant. It just happens which is why a company who feels the need for one will probably hire someone internally before posting a job posting.
In order for the two to work together, both the manager and the personal assistant should have good rapport otherwise nothing gets done.
Should you consider being a personal assistant, keep in mind there are some drawbacks. For one, you will have to work 40 to 80 hours or more especially when your boss has a late night meeting or tells you to accompany him or her to a business out of town. You may be on call 24/7 so you may have to rush from one place to another even late at night or the in early hours of the morning.
But there are benefits for being a personal assistant. You get to meet other celebrities and high level executives that could lead to better job opportunities. You get to attend business dinners or even parties. Those who travel get to work and go on vacation at the same time which often includes free travel and an expense account.
Working any job even that of a personal assistant has its ups and downs. Those who can take it will be able to stay in this position for a very long time while others who have tried but could not stomach it will look for a better job role. For you to succeed here, you have to be trust worthy, hard working, can work under pressure and have a strong work ethic.
Why a Personal Assistant May Be Right for You
If you are busy professional that never seems to have enough hours in a day, hiring a Personal Assistant (PA) can be a step in the right direction. With a PA you can be more productive, reduce your stress level, and most of all spend your time on what matters.
Celebrities and famous people have learned to leverage their assistants to get more done in a day. If your disposable income does not allow for a full time employee you could hire an assistant by the hour from a concierge and errand service company. In the last few years these companies are flourishing in every major metropolitan area. Check the International Concierge and Errand association at www.iceaweb.org for a provider in your area.
When it comes to the tasks that you need to delegate, the important questions to ask yourself are
- Do I have the time to do it myself?
- Do I want to complete the task?
- Am I going to complete the task on time?
If your answer is “no” to any of these questions than you should consider delegating the task. Before hiring the assistant decide what tasks you would like to delegate and your budget.
Take the following sample list of tasks that a PA can perform and think how much time you can save by having a PA complete them.
Travel arrangements;
Buying gifts for special occasion;
Car maintenance;
Caring for pets;
Dry cleaning pick up;
Grocery shopping;
Maintaining household, business, and social calendar;
Scheduling all appointments;
Organizing special events;
Handling all email and written correspondence;
Managing bill-paying;
Maintaining all personal and business files;
Maintaining address book;
Writing personal thank-you notes, invitations and greeting cards;
Completing all personal errands;
A good Personal Assistant makes an enormous contribution to the employer's effectiveness and posses numerous professional skills. Once you hire a Personal Assistant you will realize that it is well worth the investment.
Check out http://www.errandmanager.com for more information. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Louisa_Kamau |
The Duties of a Personal Assistant
But with the modern and complex office and business setting today, the roles and duties of personal assistants have been also redefined. Before, personal assistants—Girl or Boy Friday—only attend to very specific tasks. But now, their job description can be compared to what the secretary does, or even more. This is because the personal assistant has to be there always no matter where the boss or the employer goes. He or she has to be there to attend to all the things that the employer needs to make the workplace and the job easier and more efficient.
All in all, a personal assistant is person who is trusted by the high-ranking person in the corporate world. He or she is a junior employee who—with the directive and instructions of the boss—assumes the duties and role of the chief-of-staff in any executive office or of any executive personnel.
Preparing for the PA's duties
The major qualification for becoming a personal assistant is reliability. Since a high-ranking person will rely on almost everything when it comes to work on the personal assistant, he or she must be skilled enough to do the tasks ahead.
If you want to be a personal assistant, the first thing that you should do is to determine which type of working environment you would want to be. With the complex work setting now, everyone—at least those that have high ranking positions and popular figures in the society such politicians, celebrities, communications executives, entertainment moguls, business tycoons, and the like—needs a personal assistant.
If you want to be effective in becoming a personal assistant, it is a must that you know before hand whom would you want to and what type of tasks would you want to perform. Consider this, if you are a personal assistant for a politician, you will be involved in various political affairs such as dealing with people from all walks of life.
If you will become a personal assistant for a celebrity, you will be living a glamorous life by attending various functions or social events and even dealing with the fans. In a corporate or business world, you will be involved in everything that has to do with the business or the company of your employer.
After finally deciding whom would you want to work for, it is now time for you to do a research on the duties of a personal assistant so you would have an idea what it is like to be in their shoes.
Before finally deciding if you are fit for the position, you must know that a personal assistant is: good in appointment and schedule keeping; fast in running errands; reliable in scheduling for travels locally and internationally; knowledgeable in book keeping and managing accounts; computer literate for correspondence through email, scheduling tasks, typing documents, and preparing presentations; a master of language skills; excellent in managing a small office or even the household; and keen in planning and organizing meetings and other events such parties.