Employer Etiquette | FlexibleHelp

By Katherine Johnson

Congratulations! You’ve taken the first step in making your life easier by hiring a personal assistant. Relax and enjoy your free time with family and friends instead of running around town picking up dry cleaning, groceries, the kids from school or rearranging closets and cleaning out the garage. Even business professionals can benefit from hiring their own personal assistant. Need someone to pick up your lunch, wash and detail your car or shine your shoes while you work? Whether it’s for personal or business, now you can hire an assistant to do your errands or minor tasks whenever you want.
While hiring a personal assistant will make your life easier, keep in mind it’s still a business. Here are a few tips to remember when working with your new personal assistant:
1. When a personal assistant contacts you, be sure to return all phone calls and emails immediately. You wouldn’t like to be kept waiting and neither would the assistants.
2. When you find an assistant for your job, schedule a brief consultation over the phone or in person. Describe your expectations for the job and explain in detail what you are looking for. It’s better to be up front and clear and make sure both parties understand.
3. Be ready at least 15 minutes before your personal assistant arrives. This will give you time to jot down any last minute items to tell them and not leave both of you rushed and frazzled.
4. FlexibleHelp.com recommends paying your assistant 50% of the proposed salary up front and the second half when they complete the job. This shows the assistant that you are a serious employer. You can pay by cash, check, credit card, or if you prefer set up an account to have the funds transferred automatically. You can find several payment options on the Internet, like PayPal.
5. When the assistant completes the job, give them an honest critique of their work. Always point out what you liked and didn’t like about their job performance. This helps you know what to look for the next time you hire a personal assistant. The critique also helps the personal assistant focus on areas of improvement so they can do a superior job for you next time. You can even rate an assistant’s work performance under your edit profile page on FlexibleHelp.com.
6. Thank you for your interest in FlexibleHelp.com and be sure to refer your friends, family and colleagues to the site. Let them know how the benefits of hiring a personal assistant can help make their lives easier too!