As business needs grow increasingly complex, many entrepreneurs are turning to personal assistants to help manage their workloads.
Personal assistants are economical, efficient, and can be an invaluable asset to a small business. But before you can reap the benefits of having a PA, you need to know how to find and hire the right one for your company.
In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of hiring a personal assistant for your small business, as well as provide tips on how to find and hire one that fits your needs. Let’s get started!
The Benefits of Hiring a Personal Assistant
Before we delve into how to hire a personal assistant, let’s talk about their benefits.
There are, of course, numerous benefits to hiring a personal assistant for your small business. We’ll outline a few below, but note that this list is not exhaustive; a PA can provide a wide range of benefits to your company.
1. A personal assistant can help you manage your time and workload.
A personal assistant can be an invaluable asset when it comes to managing your time and workload. They can take care of tasks that would otherwise take up your valuable time, such as scheduling appointments, responding to emails, and managing your calendar.
2. Personal assistants can help you stay organized.
A personal assistant can also help you stay organized, which is crucial for any small business owner. They can keep track of your to-do list and ensure that all important tasks are completed on time.
3. They can help you boost your productivity.
Hiring a personal assistant can also help boost your productivity. By taking care of tasks that would otherwise take up your time, they can allow you to focus on more important work-related tasks.
4. A personal assistant can be highly affordable, and do work that you would have otherwise done for less money.
Hiring a personal assistant can be highly affordable, and in many cases, it can actually save you money. PAs often work for less than minimum wage, and they can do tasks that you would have otherwise done for less money, allowing you to broaden your business capabilities and do it at an affordable rate.
How to hire a personal assistant
Hiring a personal assistant is a matter of time, dedication, and attention to detail.
1. Decide whether you want a local or overseas assistant.
There are pros and cons to both local and overseas personal assistants. The main benefit of hiring a local PA is that they can be easily reached and have an understanding of your business culture and the way things work in your area. They may also have contacts you can draw on for assistance.
The main benefit of hiring an overseas PA – commonly referred to as a VA – is that they are often more affordable. They may also have specific skills or knowledge that would be beneficial to your business.
It’s also usually easier to pay them, since all they need to do is make an invoice with their local address, and you can easily claim it as a business expense without having to worry about red tape.
However, there can be some drawbacks to hiring an overseas assistant. For example, communication can be difficult and cultural differences may cause misunderstandings. If your business is reliant on mutual cultural understanding, this may not be the best option.
Think hard about this step, since it’ll dictate a large portion of what follows.
2. Peruse popular PA job boards
The ‘personal assistant’ is a job title like any other. Naturally, this means there are a number of online job boards catering to this profession.
If you’re looking for a local PA, start by searching for ‘personal assistant’ + your location (e.g. ‘personal assistant London’). If you’re happy to consider overseas candidates, try searching with keywords like ‘online personal assistant’. A few popular job boards for this purpose are onlinejobs.ph, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist.
3. Once you’ve found a candidate, screen them thoroughly
Before you hire a personal assistant, it’s important to screen them thoroughly. This will help ensure that they are a good fit for your business and have the skills necessary to do the job.
Some things you may want to consider screening for include:
• The ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• A good knowledge of Google Docs, Microsoft Office and other common software programs
• The ability to work independently
If you’re not sure what to look for, consider asking the candidate to complete a task or take a test to assess their skills.
4. Enforce daily check-ins to ensure they’re meeting your expectations
One of the benefits of hiring a personal assistant is that they can take care of tasks you don’t have time for. However, this doesn’t mean you should simply hand over a list of to-dos and forget about them.
It’s important to enforce daily check-ins to ensure your assistant is meeting your expectations and doing the job you hired them to do. This will help avoid any misunderstandings and ensure that both you and your assistant are on the same page.
