What is a Professional Office Assistant? 

The role of the traditional Secretary has changed dramatically over the years from the days of Secretaries typing volumes of documents, taking telephone messages to making copies. These days PA’s do a lot more than that. In most organisations, the secretary does so many more.  You will find most of the secretaries working hand-in-hand with their managers in Assistant roles, and most actually do make some decisions in their organisations on behalf of their managers. Hence the role of the traditional Secretary has evolved over years. Many secretaries have assumed new titles ranging from Personal Assistant, EA's, Executive Secretaries, Office Managers. I personally prefer the title of Professional Office Assistant (POA), as the title suggest, you are an assistant to the professional in your area, so why then can you not be known as a Professional Assistant? While you still need to be well-versed in basic administrative skills such as telephone communications and business correspondence, taking messages, a good personal assistant does so much more.  These days POAs contribute as much as 40% to their boss's productivity, suggesting that a good POA could be worth around ten times what they are actually being paid. Unfortunately when it comes to training and being adequately compensated, POAs have a battle on their hands to convince the boss that they are worth the investment in training, which makes it even more difficult to negotiate their own pay. without a doubt, keeping abreast with best practice and industry standards is every POAs responsibility. 

How do you then claim  the title of POA and how do you stay ahead and be at the top of your game?

• YOU WILL NEED TO UNDERSTAND YOUR BOSS'S OBJECTIVES:

Learn what your boss expects. The better you know him/her, the better you'll be able to anticipate what needs to be done and how best to structure your time. Talk your boss directly to ensure that you know how he/she wants you to organize his/her schedule and handle correspondence. Find out whether they prefers hard copy or electronic memos, for example, if they prefer morning or afternoon meetings. the sooner you pick up on her quirks or pet peeves, the better. What are the likes and dislikes? Does he/she like meetings in general, if not, what can you do to make meetings a much easier activity for him, talk to him to find out how you can make life easier in the office, which activities can you take off his/her hand?

Prevent unnecessary meetings – remember your job is to make his life easier by also minimising time spent on unnecessary meetings. learn to take accurate and useful messages, use questions effectively to get down to the gist of the matter; asking questions that your manager  can act on without needing clarification. Use what I will call the 5W’s - "who", "what", "why", "where" and "when" questions as the basis for your questions. Effective message taking can help clear unnecessary meetings on the diary. Seek comprehensive answers the first time round. Asking the right questions will prevent time-wasting and unnecessary meetings. 

• GAIN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE COMPANY

It's essential that you understand the wider issues within your organisation, such as the company's goals and that of its main customers and competitors. Understanding these issues will help you to make decisions. You could ask your boss to mentor you. Most managers would be happy to do this as it encourages better teamwork and help the boss to understand the pressures and challenges that you are faced with. The boss is also more likely to explain why he/she has made a particular decision, which will give you an insight into his/her thinking and priorities.

Speak to colleagues who have been with the company longer, and those you admire and respect.

Your manager’s subordinates can provide a lot of information also. Information about your organisation doesn’t stop with product information, people are also part of the equation. Knowing about your manager’s subordinates will help you understand what their expectations are from your office and that of your manager. Ask questions – lots of question

• INVEST IN YOUR SKILLS

Interpersonal Skills-good PA’s don’t buttle under pressure, they are stay calm at all times. In these days it is common to find PA’s working for more than one manager and that can be very stressful as you will be dealing with different personalities at the same time. Find ways to manage stress levels.

Communications skills – apart from verbal and telephone communications, you will need to be a good writer and editor.  Invest in a business writing course.  You will need to be able to edit documents and reports, you will need a very good command of English.

Develop Good Internet Skills - PA's should also be internet savvy, as they may be required to do research or perform tasks which require a good knowledge of the internet environment. A good knowledge of e-commerce is a definite plus. An understanding of internet marketing and search engine behaviour will allow PA's to add value to their role and provide the best possible assistance to their boss.

Develop an Interest in Office Technology -  it is essential that PA's have a good understanding of new technology. PA's should keep abreast of the latest office gadgets and technology as they are expected to know how to fix the office photocopier and understand the features on the latest cell phone gadgets.  

Provide solutions for problems – each time you have to approach your manager with a problem, always provide a possible solution to the problem. Make sure you have thought it through and can explain the pros and cons of the solution. 

Develop the Necessary Skills to: monitor the boss’s email and respond on their behalf; delegate work on the boss's behalf; manage the boss’s electronic diary; take dictation; prepare papers for meetings, book, manage, and minute meetings; organize and manage events; make complicated travel arrangements; prepare complex itineraries; manage a budget; convince our manager that you can attend events/meetings as the representative; prepare presentations; write correspondence, reports, maintain effective office filing systems; quickly and accurately type documents; source office equipment and stationery; manage projects; and supervise staff. A good POA researches everyone who will be at every meeting, it helps to better prepare your manager.  Get on to the internet, use your own personal resource bank to get information, especially about clients.  Give your boss a profile on a day or hours before the meeting time.

• PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Discretion - Show that you are trustworthy and discrete. You're likely to be entrusted with important private or confidential information, and your boss needs to feel confident that you won't reveal any of this information to others. Don't get caught up in office gossip or let yourself share titbits of information with friends just because you have an inside line to what's going on.

Own up to mistakes take responsibility for your actions – good or bad.  If you make a mistake be the first to own up and come with an action plan on how you will remedy situation and way forward, and make sure you do not repeat same mistake

Be the boss's ‘memory bank’; a mind of useful information. A sharp memory is guaranteed to get you in your boss good books.  Get clued up on personal things like the names of the wives of the boss's main customers (and their birthdays if you can manage it). Try and memorise useful and regular numbers if you can.  Some might think this is sucking up, but this is guaranteed to put you in the boss’ good books, after all that is the main goal. You are the support structure and the backbone of his office.  Don’t be scared to be called a suck up.  It will make your life and your job much easier.

Presentation: carry yourself in a respectful and professional manner both on and off the clock, as a good personal assistant recognizes that his language, dress and behaviour can effect in a positive or adverse way his boss and company. Additionally, smile and show enthusiasm, as your boss will have many stresses and will look to provide a source of relief and motivation.

Make friends: You’ll need to be someone who can build good relationships with all sorts of people so that you can get the job done. The image of the ‘don’t mess with me’ gatekeeper POA no longer holds true. Successful POA’s know that to get ahead you need to make friends. Good POA’s know that if they are helpful to people, they’ll be helpful back when it’s needed. Become genuinely interested in other people. • Smile. • Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. • Be a good listener

Be in charge of your developmental goals. Don't allow yourself to be overlooked for training and development or promotion, which unfortunately is a problem for the majority of POA’s. Set goals for your development and identify training courses you would like to attend. Be an active part of succession planning for your own role - you also need to prepare your boss to accept that you will move onwards and upwards by making the necessary preparation, if you don’t do this he/she will imagine that all horrible things that might occur if you move on, and this could cause your boss to block your progress.  If your manager is aware of your developmental needs and understand how it would benefit you and the organisation ultimately, he/she will most likely support your development.