"PA MATTERS TO U" NEWSLETTER - MAY 2013 WHY PAs ARE NOT GETTING THE PROFESSIONAL TRAINING THEY DESERVE PAs and Productivity The most important aspect of the PA's, EA's, Administrator's and secretary's role is to take care of day-to-day tasks that free up their executives to get on with strategically important tasks. Many senior executives attribute as much as 40% of their productivity to their PA. With this in mind, it’s surprising how many senior managers take the view that PA training and development is not a priority for their business. Like any other professional, PAs need to maintain relevance and effectiveness in their role. This means keeping up with the latest best practice in their profession and finding ways to improve their boss's productivity. Most executives would not hesitate to sign-off regular training for a company Accountant, yet they fail to acknowledge the training needs of the person who packs their parachute on a daily basis. Internal Training PAs often make do with internal, piecemeal training year on year. Internal training is better than nothing when there is little money in the training budget. However, it is important that PAs present their case and fight for regular professional training. A good time to address this issue is at your annual performance appraisal meeting - continuous professional development is the PA's responsibility. Penny-wise and Pound Foolish Most senior PAs earn significantly less than 20% of their boss’s salary; therefore, PAs represent an excellent return on investment for businesses. It is clear that PAs are essential to their boss's productivity, so it's a sad fact that PAs often feel frustrated by the lack of investment in their professional development. Many PAs feel too intimidated to ask for training because of past disappointments. Maximising the Return on Investment Apart from the obvious excuse that there's no money in the budget, bosses often turn down requests for training because they believe their PA is adequately trained. Budget constraints aside, it's not just the boss's lack of foresight, it's organisational culture and even social culture that informs attitudes to PA development. Before approaching your boss with a request for training, Google salary surveys for your region, research training courses and be prepared to show how attending a PA course will benefit the business. TIPS FOR GETTING THINGS DONE The 2-minute Email Rule If you can deal with an email in 2 minutes deal with it immediately. Observing the 2-minute rule allows you to avoid overloading your to-do list and reduces procrastination. Prioritising Non-important Tasks Tasks that can be categorised as 'not important' or 'not urgent' can often be left off your To-Do List altogether. Put these tasks in your pending tray and re-visit them every 2 weeks. You will find that over time some tasks no longer need to be actioned and can be binned - don't you just love it when that happens. The Advanced Executive PA Masterclass London, 16 & 17 May 2013 Learn PA Best Practice Strategies for Raising Your Game The next Executive PA Masterclass is fast approaching. Join us on Thursday 16th and Friday 17th May, 2013 and discover the latest PA best practice and strategies for adding value to your role. This is an excellent course for senior PAs and those wishing to raise their game significantly. What Others Have Said About the Masterclass “….thank you again for running your inspirational and thought provoking course." “An extremely good course for senior PAs, with good practical exercises, which were well delivered." “I am really enthusiastic of the opportunity to have followed this course which gave a lot of inspiration and good and very useful tips to help out in my daily activities." For details visit: https://www.personal-assistant-tips.com/Executive_PA_Masterclass.html We welcome your comments and your suggestions for future PA Matters to U articles. Please send your comments to <>pamatters@personal-assistant-tips.com. Marguerita King, Managing Director, Personal Assistant Tips, Suite 16413, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PW, England, Tel: +44 (0)845 862 2687, Mobile: +44 (0)7771 648521, Fax: +44 (0)207 183 9899, Email: PAMatters@personal-assistant-tips.com, Website: www.personal-assistant-tips.com