Personal assistant

Written by Lucia on 25 November 2022. Posted in News allure eng

Personal assistant for family, private commitments and business.

Characteristics, duties, soft skills and roles.

A Personal Assistant for families and individuals

The Personal Assistant in the family is a key figure with a wide range of responsabilities in the household. As we will see in this article, the personal assistant is part of the domestic staff and can have roles in the management of children, house, car park, private commitments, holidays, guests for one or more family members. Discover also the figure of the House Manager.

It is difficult to define the tasks of the family assistant precisely because each family can decide to delegate only some or many responsabilities up to the management of the family money and the monthly budget. We can imagine him as an evolved butler of the modern era. It can be both a man and a woman, the important thing is that he has the characteristics of empathy, organization, ability to respect privacy although being present and available.

Here are some tasks required of a Personal Assistant

He takes care of various errands from shopping to travel arrangements (buy tickets, book hotels, rent a car).
He collaborates and works closely with other staff on different domestic projects.
Maintains an organized and up-to-date list of home suppliers and builds good relationships with suppliers.
Coordinates household staff and assists if needed with monthly schedules.
Supervise many different home projects according to specific needs.
He maintains an inventory of personal items and makes a statement if needed.
He keeps an inventory of all household supplies (appliances, spares, light bulbs, batteries, hygiene products).
Maintains a list of household products and personal items, including information about where they were taken and where to get them back.
Purchase household items when needed.
Submit monthly purchase orders and get family approval, plus place orders and track deliveries.
He takes care of the security of the house at the end of the day: all doors closed, anti-theft and anti-intrusion systems active.
Answers incoming calls and welcomes guests in case of invitations.
Prepare the house for events and parties. Coordinates with suppliers for holiday decor (Easter, Christmas, Summer Vacation, Birthdays).
Manage private family calendars (separate from professional calendars).
Make personal appointments.
Makes sure appointments are synchronized to smartphones.
Keeps under control the domestic deadlines (e.g. car registrations, maintenance contracts, warranties, etc.).
Purchase and manage the gift list.
Keep track of birthdays and other important dates.
Random wardrobe maintenance e.g. cobbler, tailor, etc.
Plan and coordinate family commitments and events.
Assists with personal storage projects.

Duties of the Personal Assistant related to driving:

Safe and secure transfer of family members.
He takes care of the cleaning of the cars: inside and outside.
Keeps the vehicle ready and in top condition: coupons, fuel, tire pressure, Telepass, etc.
He takes care of the equipment on board the cars: tissues, water, umbrellas, car radio, sunglasses.

Personal Assistant Vs Babysitter

One of the key roles of the personal assistant in the family environment is certainly the managing children. But what are the differences between a personal assistant and a babysitter?

The personal assistant, also called family assistant, assumes roles and responsabilities that go beyond simply looking after children. The main difference between a personal assistant and a nanny or babysitter is that personal assistants not only help children but also parents in their role. The personal assistant in childcare will have a variety of tasks making it a perfect fit for a busy families. let's therefore imagine a personal assistant like the one that managers and entrepreneurs have and a babysitter united in a single figure. Furthermore, it is not easy to understand that if a parent is very busy and has more free time thanks to his personal assistant this will translate into more time with his children. Another difference between a babysitter and a personal assistant is that while the babysitter looks after the children at home and performs a few other tasks, a personal assistant can take care of taking the children to school, taking them to the doctor as well as take the child to classes he is enrolled in such as swimming or karate.

Personal assistant for private commitments

Some people who are particularly busy in society and with critical time management may benefit from being assisted by a personal assistant for private commitments. Some of the duties of a personal assistant in the private sector are:

book the hairdresser by crossing the commitments of the agenda
act as a coach or as a support for choices and decisions
party management, organization of personal events
help cooking and for purchasing the necessary for dinners and weekends
managing invitations and writing reports
booking hotels, experiences, sports equipment (windsurfing, sailing, boat rental, booking exhibitions and fairs)

The soft skills of the Personal assistant

As it is now clear, the family personal assistant works closely with the family and its members. Very special qualities and personal characteristics are required of him.

The Personal Assistant has the ability to maintain confidentiality and be ultra discreet. Family members must be able to trust blindly and this accomplishment is built over time with suitable attitudes.

He maintains strict confidentiality and never discloses information relating to his employers. He demonstrates excellent email etiquette, precise and elegant communications. And here are still more personality and temperament characteristics of the Personal Assistant:

Strong work ethic, reliable, punctual and honest.
He is a practical and efficient person.
He is available to work weekends and evenings.
He knows how to use technology, he is curious.
He is highly organized, meticulous, detail oriented.
He is multitasking and knows how to move by priority.
He has a positive attitude, he knows how to play as a team.
Obviously, he knows well English language.
He has problem solving skills, knows how to work independently, he knows how to receive orders and respect the choices of employers.
He is available to travel with the family to provide assistance even during transfers.

Personal assistant in the business field

Until now we have talked about the family personal assistant but this figure can also have a supportive role in the professional activity of a manager. An example is the personal assistant CEO who is a specific support figure of the companies CEOs.

A personal assistant in the professional field deals with:

Management of complex professional agenda (as well as personal)
Editing of documents and presentations for meetings and conventions
Organization of appointments, meetings, conference calls, business lunches and dinners, interviews, participation in events
Planning meetings, briefings
Contact list management
360° secretarial support
Coordination of the professional agenda with other key figures (collaborators)
Booking travel and business trips in Italy and abroad
Management of expense reports and reimbursements

In the business environment, a personal assistant must have multitasking skills, with strong relational characteristics, precision and organization.

Also in this case, maximum privacy and confidentiality are always required, as well as the willingness to travel and to assist the manager in difficult transfers.

Knowledge of the office package, the use of technology in general and a predisposition to the solution of bureaucratic and administrative issues are required.

VIP Personal Assistant

VIPs and celebrities are another type of person who often makes use of a personal assistant. In this case, the role of the personal assistant for celebrities is to manage appointments, personal commitments, diaries and contacts. A personal assistant for VIPs can also have strong management skills and become a real manager and advisor capable of managing contracts; he can give advice ranging from choosing an outfit for a party to deciding whether or not to participate in events or television programs. Even in fashion some famous people make use of a personal assistant.