Why small business owners need personal assistants?

The Importance of Personal Assistants For Small Businesses

Small business owners end up spending an incredible amount of time dealing with the administration of everything from company accounts to human resources. 

It can be difficult for a small business owner to let go of anything to do with their business. They've built it up from nothing, and handing over responsibility for even the smallest of things can often prove challenging.

However, to grow their business to its full potential, small business owners need to entrust someone to take on the burden of administrative tasks, freeing the owner to concentrate on operations and growth. Personal Assistants are an excellent resource. They will provide a small business with an employee with a broad range of skills and qualities and adapt to the needs of any business.

Here is why personal assistants are essential to small business owners:

  1. Delegation of Tasks and Responsibilities

Small business owners know their businesses inside-out. For this reason, it is often easier and quicker for them to do small tasks themselves. However, the amount of jobs they feel they have to do often becomes overwhelming, even when the business is in the start-up stages.

The sheer amount of tasks can lead to the owner running out of steam, and the growth of the business grinding to a halt. A personal assistant gives the owner someone that they can delegate straightforward, albeit still necessary, tasks. This delegation will free up the owner's time, allowing them to concentrate on the business aspects that require the owner's personal touch.

Delegating to a personal assistant is a more efficient way to manage a business, and it will leave the owner more energetic.

  1. Efficiency of Work

Personal assistants possess qualities that allow them to deal with a wide range of business tasks. Handling emails, scheduling, taking phone calls, running errands, etc., are all things personal assistants can do to make your business more efficient.

  1. Specialised Skills

Many PAs come with specialised skills that they have picked up from working in other businesses or organisations. Social media management or audio/video editing are some of the specialised skills a personal assistant can bring to your business. These skills will not only save you time, and they can add incredible value to your business.

Of course, a personal assistant with such specialised skills is unlikely to want to work somewhere that does not offer plenty of opportunities. So, business owners should ensure that the rewards and opportunities match the expertise the personal assistant has.

  1. Competitor and Market Research

Another reason that personal assistants are essential to small businesses is that they can conduct extensive market research. This critical aspect of a business is often overlooked simply because the owner does not have the time or capacity to do it. A personal assistant can concentrate on this task and deliver a detailed and well-researched report. 

Conclusion

Small business owners are the best people to perform any task within their business. However, the energy required for this is not sustainable, nor is the time available. A personal assistant will free up the owner's time, giving them more energy to concentrate on their business's success and growth.

5 Essential Qualities For A Telephone Personal Assistant To Have

The role of a Personal Assistant (PA) is entirely subjective, as every person that they serve is different and will have a different set of needs and expectations. Telephone PAs work closely with senior management and executives, whose priorities will vary.

So, rather than possessing a defined set of qualifications and skills, a PA should have certain qualities that they can use in various roles and situations.

Here are a few of the essential attributes a PA must possess:

Proactive

The executives and senior management that PAs work for are busy people. They do not want to have to hand-hold a Telephone PA or cover every nitty-gritty detail of the role. A good Telephone PA should have a proactive approach and anticipate the needs of their boss. Telephone PAs should be aware of their boss' priorities and take pre-emptive action to facilitate positive outcomes and situations.

A Telephone PA needs to have outstanding judgment when making decisions so that their boss has the confidence to rely on them while the boss is otherwise engaged. When a PA has been with their boss for some time, this confidence develops and becomes mutual, in good working relationships.

Effective Communicator

The position of the Telephone PA means that they have to be great communicators and be able to engage with people at all levels of the organisation. A PA will be able to converse with workers from the shop floor and members of the board. Their personalities should be outgoing, friendly, and likable. They should be expert communicators on the phone, and in writing.

Organised

A PA will be responsible for organising almost every aspect of their boss' work life, and may even some parts of their activities. To stay on top of these busy schedules, the Telephone PA must be highly organised.

Flexible

The pace of change at the top of an organisation can often be hectic. Full diaries, last-minute rescheduling, and unforeseen cancellations are aspects of everyday life for executives and their PAs. So, flexibility is another essential quality that the Telephone PA must possess.

Continually juggling a whole range of tasks, with ever-altering priorities, might not be everyone's ideal job. However, a good Telephone PA will take this in their stride, and consider it the norm.

Reliable

The last thing an executive wants is to have any doubts about their Telephone PA. Ideally, they want their PA to be their right-hand-person, someone they have absolute confidence in. Reliability in all aspects of their job is a quality that a PA must-have. This reliability will eventually place a Telephone PA in a position of trust and reliance upon by their boss.

Conclusion

The role of the Telephone PA is unique in every organisation and to every executive. The qualities outlined here will place a PA in a position of being more than just another employee, but an asset to the organisation.