Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Great Business... Pity About the Boss

Great Business... Pity About the Boss

Hi,

Many small business owners and managers will often say their personal assistant is invaluable to them yet they often treat them as if they're not.

Day after day, week after week the P.A. is in the office, slogging away making sure the work gets done. In many instances it is the P.A. that holds the business / department together.

Many of them are so conscientious they won't take time out and will stay at their desk until the work is done. Not only are they integral to the running of any business, their income and the way they are treated may not always reflect the importance of their role.

JENNY'S STORY

Jenny worked for her current employer for three years and thoroughly enjoyed her role as Personal Assistant to the General Manager. They had a great working relationship.

If she required the occasional afternoon or morning off to deal with
personal matters, all she had to do was ask. Her boss praised her
regularly for her contribution and rewarded her ... sometimes monetarily and other times with a dinner out for her and her partner or movie tickets when they achieved their sales targets.

Because of this attitude with her employer, she did her utmost best in her work and never thought twice about working overtime on the odd occasion. In fact she worked twice as hard because she was appreciated and had some flexibility in her working hours.

This is a totally different situation to Jenny's previous employer. Jenny had been working for another small business owner where her boss was a workaholic. Although he had a wife and family, his behaviour didn't reflect this. He was extremely disorganised, worked all hours of the day and night and couldn't understand why everyone else went home at 5.00 p.m.

Although she did her utmost best to organise him and get the work done on time, he would always ask for tasks to be done just when she was getting ready to leave for the day.

On the many occasions when she worked back or took work home so that her boss would have what he wanted for the next morning, he never thanked her.
He just assumed that's what she should do. He never considered her needs.
She was a single parent and therefore had major responsibilities. She had a life too. Her boss on the other hand was fortunate to have a wife who didn't work and took care of their personal life...not that he noticed as he was always working.

Prior to Jenny being in this role, there had been three other people who had worked in her position, and each one had lasted less than 3 months.

Jenny had enough, she left after 6 months and found her current position. It wasn't the money that was her main issue. It was the flexibility and appreciation. Although her boss was pleasant enough, he just didn't understand that there is more to working with someone than just paying their wages.

LEARN HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR PEOPLE

As soon as you have people to manage, the most important skill you need to learn is how to look after them.

Every business owner or manager I have coached say their biggest challenge is the people that work for them.

There are many reasons for this including hiring the wrong people to begin with and the most common being the owner/manager themselves... they haven't developed the skills on being a masterful manager.

WHAT THE BOSS WANTS

1. Someone who can use their initiative, make decisions in their absence and carry out tasks without supervision.

2. A person they can trust and take many of the basic administrative duties from them so the boss can spend his/her time on more important tasks.

3. A person who can organise them (and in some cases be a mind-reader).

4. An assistant who is their right-hand person and can keep everything running smoothly.

WHAT THE P.A. WANTS

1. A boss who they can communicate with.

2. A boss who understands that when they are given tasks to do, although they may have taken 2 minutes to discuss, could take the P.A. 2 days to complete with all the interruptions they have from others.

3. A boss who realises that the P.A. is a person who has to do many tasks as well as answering all the phone calls and often has many interruptions in their day which can cause them to get very behind with their work.

4. A boss who is appreciative of them and realises that the P.A. does have a life outside of work and needs to have time-out just like they do.

5. To be recognised on a regular basis that they are important. They also need to be remunerated for their valuable contribution and should have regular performance appraisals and be offered incentives.

THE FINAL WORD

When employing a personal assistant make sure they are the right fit. If you're looking for someone who can be extremely flexible in their hours and can come in early and stay late, then make sure that person is in the right personal situation to do that. Using our invaluable tool Hiring the Right People can save you time, money and stress before you go through the process.

Employing people is a skill in itself. Keeping them happy so that they will be an important part of your business is another story. That's why knowing how to plan and use your time effectively is a high priority. If you're too busy being busy, you will completely overlook the areas of your business which need your attention and will continue creating headaches for you as well as your people. This will affect productivity and your profits. Your people will do minimal work and may eventually leave and the time and energy it takes to replace and train new people will profoundly affect everyone.

Have a great week,

Lorraine Pirihi





Great Business Pity About the Boss - To learn more about this author, visit Lorraine Pirihi's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website

David Barr
David Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website

Casey Gollan
Casey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website

Kim Castle
With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

Jeff Foster
WebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas.  We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing
- Visit Jeff Foster's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Lorraine Pirihi
(Visit Lorraine's Website) Lorraine Pirihi is the founder of productivityqueen.com and creator of “The Productivity and Profit System” the complete one-on-one training program for solopreneurs and small businesses. Lorraine is also the celebrated author of “The Productivity and Profit Home Study System” the proven 6 step system guaranteed to help you free up your time, organise your systems and master your marketing so you are much more profitable and have time to enjoy life. This is available at http://www.productivityqueen.com/pr ofit.html She's a productivity expert, leading business coach, author and speaker with straight-shooter, no-fluff strategies that really work. Get your COMPLIMENTARY audio CD “How to Boost Your Productivity and Profits and Enjoy More Time Off” VALUED AT $47 for a limited time only. *** Go to www.productivityqueen.com

Lorraine Pirihi is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
The Office Organiser - The Organised Times by Lorraine Pirihi, Aust's No. 1 Productivity Coach. Lorraine is a dynamic presenter and a leading business and life coach.
The Office Organiser
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Lorraine Pirihi's

Complete
List Of
Business-Coach
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Lorraine Pirihi's Complete List of Business-Coach Articles For FREE!

More Lorraine Pirihi
10 Costly Mistakes To Avoid In Running Your Own Business
Why 75 of Women Struggle to Succeed in Business
Skyrocket Your Success Work Harder On Yourself Than Anything Else
Clutter Creates Chaos
7 Secrets to Getting the Perfect Employee
The Price You Can Pay For Being a Workaholic
You Cannot Afford to Take Your Eye Off the Ball When Managing People
How to Let Business Slip Through Your Fingers
How To Beat Work Addiction
Stop Procrastination and Take Action
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Dianne Crampton  
Linda Richardson  
Stephanie Robey  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Establish Self-Beliefs Icon Establish Self-Beliefs
5 Step Action Plan Icon 5 Step Action Plan
Your Marketing Mindset Icon Your Marketing Mindset
How To Win New Business  Icon How To Win New Business
Get Working Capital Icon Get Working Capital
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Fortune Hunters - CBC Entrepreneur TV
Fortune Hunters
CBC Entrepreneur TV
 
Email The Reporters
Email The Reporters
Press Release Builder
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Kate Omoregie Benin City, Nigeria,
Kate Omoregie
Benin City, Nigeria
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Erez Zevulunov, $150k to $504k in 2 years
Erez Zevulunov
$150k to $504k in 2 years
Lee Segal, >1,800% Growth in 5 Years
Lee Segal
>1,800% Growth in 5 Years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Ray Kroc, McDonald's
Ray Kroc
McDonald's
Wolfgang Puck, Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Brad Feld, Venture Capitalist
Brad Feld
Venture Capitalist
Timothy Ferriss, 4 Hour Work Week
Timothy Ferriss
4 Hour Work Week
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Life is Like Coffee
By Jane Straus
     5 Keys to Abundance
By Jane Straus
     ReKindling Your Passion for Your Work and Your Life
By Jane Straus

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information