The Executive Personal Assistant: The Back Bone of an organisation?
The Executive Personal Assistant: The Back Bone of an Organisation?
From our own interviewing processes, we have discovered that a large majority of Personal Assistants (PA's) and Executive Personal Assistants (EPA's) feel their skills and expertise are not recognised by their bosses. Many of the overseas PA's surveyed stated that their bosses "sometimes" make the most of their skill set, whilst a further percentage stated their job "never" requires that they work to the best of their ability. Not content to sit back and enjoy an easy life however, respondents were clear in their desire to challenge the traditional tea, typing and telephone constraints of the PA/EPA role.
As many as 48% of PA's believe that if their managers had a better understanding of what they are capable of, then the role could be made more interesting with greater responsibilities. Conversely, 36% felt they could better hone and utilise their skills more if only their boss would give them a clearer brief of what was expected!
In today’s workplace where bosses are increasingly computer literate and attached to their mobiles 24/7, traditional diary keeping and phone skills are no longer the key requirements of an EPA.
Instead, other professional skills and expertise are paramount to the EPA who often becomes the backbone of an organisation and oversees critical aspects of the business. The role today may include being the primary contact for procurement to drafting presentations, writing speeches, preparing major pitches, compiling financial data and analysing sales statistics, as well as managing the private share portfolio of their direct boss.
In fact, today's PA's /EPA's are often degree qualified, highly experienced, more time efficient, and present a tangible business value. Multi-tasking, strategic thinking and project management are all identified as new skills required of today's EPA, and it appears that they are more than willing and able to take up the challenge.
