Question: "I’m the president of a growing company and I need help with personal stuff. I don't have time to wait on the phone for two hours with the water company. However, I don't mind paying my assistant to do the same. She is getting paid for her time to help me out. I think assistants who won't help out with the personal stuff probably already have attitudes that bosses don't like. I never make my people make me coffee or clean my office. But I do need help with bills and things like that. What is the problem?" - Billy
See Comments Below
Like what you've read? ...Republish it and share great business tips!
Attention: Readers, Publishers, Editors, Bloggers, Media, Webmasters and more...
We believe great content should be read and passed around. After all, knowledge IS power. And good business can become great with the right information at their fingertips. If you'd like to share any of the insightful articles on BusinessManagementDaily.com, you may republish or syndicate it without charge.
The only thing we ask is that you keep the article exactly as it was written and formatted. You also need to include an attribution statement and link to the article.
" This information is proudly provided by Business Management Daily.com: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/15601/exactly-what-is-your-problem "
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
Here is a great article on the topic of “Where Should Executive Assistants Draw the Line?” in Harvard Business Review blog. I agree that as long as there’s mutual respect and a passionate desire to further the productivity of the business and its key personnel –INCLUDING the EA! some personal business is ok and if it gets to be too much, let the EA hire the PA for him!
See what Melba J. Duncan author of The New Executive Assistant writes http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/05/where_should_executive_assista_1.html
I totally agree with you. I wouldn’t mind doing a favor for my boss like grabbing coffee for him if I’m doing it. But, I resent the demands. “You should go to the store every week and buy fruit and milk and bread to always have on hand here in case we need it.” Then when I do, he proceeds to ask that I chop his fruit up in the morning. Then, when I do that, he comments “fruit would be good with yogurt and granola,” hinting i should get some. I manage his and his partner’s office – huge amount of responsibilty; so these little things put me behind on other tasks that have deadlines. On occasion, it’s okay, but not daily and NOT on my time off. I just posted more in detail the things I’ve been through and the boundaries that have had to be set. He doesn’t like the boundaries, so now his attitude towards me has changed.
I have had to put a boundary in place because our boss has abused my flexibility to do things for him. The favors start from making coffee to fixing his home computer. He often will ask to pick up his grandkids from school, pick up and drop off lunch to them, and most recently, drop off $20 to his 17 year old grandson on a weekend when he was out of town. I had to go to the bank, take out $20 and drive over to drop it off to his grandson. My boss did pay the $20 back two weeks later. If we (me and my assistant) say yes to a favor, such as making coffee, then he expects it on a daily basis. And he doesn’t ask nicely, he will say it like this: “May I ask for a cup of coffee today?” while turning his back on you before you respond. Then he wants us to warm up the milk that we put in his coffee before putting it in his coffee and go to the store and buy milk if we don’t have any in the refridgerator. He also wants raw sugar to be used in his coffee. He is extremely needy and demanding and he acts as if what he asks for is nothing out of this world. He also had my assistant go out to his home one morning and wait for the cable person to come to hook up cable. We have huge amount of work and these tasks are a complete wast of our time, it puts us behind and then he complains and doesn’t understand why we don’t get things done.
As long as I am considered for a fair compensation, I would not have any problem with the position as a “personal assistant”. Cannot consider the job while I am working at a company though. This would be a complete different position. There is no small or big job, everything request should be considered as a serious matter.
What you are looking for is called a Personal Assistant, not an Executive Assistant. There is a huge difference between the two. Or, if you really need both professional and personal assistance, than you are looking for what is called an Executive/Personal Assistant.
Personal Assistants handle your personal affairs only.
Administrative Assistants, Executive Assistants, Executive Administrators, and so forth are hired to handle business issues relating to the firm only.
Executive/Personal Assistants handle both.
Its not professional to ask your EA to handle personal issues or vice versa and reflects poorly on you as a manager. It's no different than someone coming to you to handle an IT problem or to fix the air quality in the building. There are people hired to do that.
Specify the correct title when you are searching for an assistant. You wouldn't necessarily apply for a President's position if it included other tasks that were deal breakers for you. It's the same with Assistants.
Please note, compensation for Executive Assistants are already high, especially at the advanced levels. You are looking at anything from $65,000 to $150,000. This does not include bonuses. Add on a Personal Assistant title with that, the correct compensation is minimum of $80,000 and up. Additional perks are added.
Additionally, you are mistaken when you say these individuals who are against doing personal tasks probably already have attitudes. These people have respect for themselves and their positions. You are in the wrong by trying to take advantage of your authority. In my 20+ years experience as an Administrative Professional, I have only been asked to do 3 personal things: 1) update, reformat and edit the resume of an Executive's child – very offensive and subsequently the Executive was let go from the firm, 2) participate on an industry committee, and 3) mail grants to a government agency for a non-profit organization. I did not mind the last 2; however, please note, I have never been asked to handle any personal affairs any other time.
Also, there were several interviews I went on some years ago. When I found out they were actually looking for a Personal Assistant, I ended the interview right than and there. My time was wasted, as well as theirs because they were foolish to believe these 2 positions are the same. Save everyone's time and specify what you are looking for and be prepared to compensate appropriately.
I have been asked to help with personal requests and was happy to help my boss and other executive management. I think it’s a typical occurance and okay for the boss to ask for help. Also, I have a great boss who recognizes this causes more work for me and expresses her gratitude with thank you gifts/meals that are paid from her own pocket. Seeing that she appreciates my help and buying thank you gifts out of her own pocket assures me that I’ve made the right decision. For those assistants who are shocked or think their time is too valuable…executives are paid 3x or more of our wages. So really, you’re helping the company by helping your boss with these small requests.
Sorry Mary Ann, but I wouldn’t do a school paper for my own children, no less the boss’ child. This crosses the ethical line. But I do totally agree with everything Kris said. My boss is brilliant, and his contributions to my company are immense. I don’t have that kind of technical expertise but can make it easier for him to make those huge contributions. And he’s forever grateful. That might be the big difference too, those that respect rather than just expect.
As long as when you hire your assistant this person is informed of what is expected of them I do not see a problem with it. I work for an owner of a company and when I was hired I was very aware that I would be taking care of personal items as well as business and I don’t mind at all. A valuable EA strives to make their boss’ life easier which may require to take care of personal business as well. I know that my boss values me as I am involved in everything he is and I am compensated accordingly.
This is why matching EA style to Executive style is important. If that is what is going to make the boss's life easier and more efficient and if the EA is happy to do that sort of stuff and doesn't want to be challenged and develop other skills… go for it! Your true value is what someone is willing to pay you, and what they're willing to pay you for. Although if this is all there doing, then yes, they are a personal assistant. These days, after many arguments, I just go by assistant, it doesn't pigeon hole me.
There is really no quick answer for this. I have worked as a personal assistant where I not only did things mentioned in your email, but also had to purchase a Christmas gift for his wife.
I now work for two partners and four associates and pretty much split myself most of the day assisting others, and at one time I was asked to prepare a paper for one of their children for school. While that is definitely not in my job description, I am getting paid to work for them, and as long as it does not interfere with my work or deadlines for the day, I don’t see the problem. I have built a great relationship will everyone here and we respect each other. If someone needs additional help, I really don’t see a problem, especially if you have a good rapport with them.
I have read many of the excellent posts here but not all so if I’m repeating something already said, please forgive me. My contribution would be to ask yourself if you took the situation to your company HR and/or Ethics & Compliance group and described it just as you have in your initial post, how would they respond? If you feel comfortable doing that and they said it was okay for the company to pay your assistant to spend several hours a day/week which takes him or her away from doing the company work, I would be a little surprised. Most administrative professionals are faced with ethical challenges on a consistent basis. If their manager doesn’t share the same high standards that they have, then they have a choice to make. It really has nothing to do with their “attitudes.”
As long as my boss knows that the time spent taking the dog to the groomer is keeping me from doing something else at the office, I'm OK with some personal tasks and have long done them. If those tasks mean that my work week and load are increased then I expect due compensation, just as my boss would expect for his or her performance, just as I would expect to be treated as a professional when performing these duties. Perhaps I'm odd, but I also think that it's my pleasure to get my boss coffee, organize his or her office, and make sure that the people that he or she is meeting feel comfortable and welcome in our conference room. Perhaps it's because I'm male, but I'm not constantly worried about being tagged or treated as an "Office Wife," and frankly think the term is already archaic.
The real problem to me is when an Executive Assistant ends up spending quite a bit of his or her time performing the personal duties of the executive. This shows that there is a real problem with time management in that the executive is doing too much of his or her own support work or that it is being neglected. That's a situation when either the executive needs a PA or the assistant needs another assistant.
Assuming that the company is either owned by you or you have ok’d it with the company for your assistant to do these things ~ was any of this mentioned to the assistant when they applied for the job? Perhaps it was not and she doesn’t think that it is ok for her to do these things on “work time” or would not have taken the position if she had known that you wanted such things done. If you don’t want to spend 2 hours on hold what makes you think she does?
This is your personal responsiblity which should be done by you.
Billy – You appear to be the owner or the person with the authority to say your assistant can expand her role to include helping you with personal items. It sounds as if your assistant does not appreicate being asked to do these duties and that is why you are writing, dont forget you are the boss, you can change the scope of her work at almost any time, if these are the items you need her to do then she needs to get them done or look for other work. I would also hope that she is paid hourly so that she is well compensated when she is needed beyond her 40 hours. I am sure as your company grows you will eventually need a personal assistant and an executive assistant and their roles might cross over time to time. Unfortunately ladies and some gentlemen you have to take one for the team so your company can grow and prosper and they can afford to keep you gainfully employed. Please remember you are there to assist not insist. There are two things that I dont do for my boss and he finds that perfectly exceptable – I dont make coffee and I dont clean, otherwise I am game, I get paid the same per hour whether I am grocery shopping or creating spreadsheets. Granted there are days where I am grateful to get outside of my office and unwind and there are times that I think how can i manage to get this done, either way I am paid hourly not salary and I am proud to make my supervisor shine. He says I am his Ace in the hole – at the end of the day I fell good about myself and the work I put out and the assistance I have given him. Just as they say Happy Wife Happy Life, Happy Boss Happy Life!
Your “life” is your life, and business is business. Do not expect someone you hire in a company to handle your household needs, unless they are compensated monetarily for that, and that it is as transparent as can be upon hiring and asking.
Do your personal requests interfer with your assistant getting his/her actual job done? If so, then the request is unreasonable. If your assistant has to stay an hour or two late just to meet thier own deadline because they were on hold taking care of your water bill, you are taking time away from their family and their personal priorities. Also, is this an occasional request or a daily task? My boss is very busy and although my title has changed and I have my own team to manage, I don’t mind helping her out with personal business because I know the requests are infrequent and the help is always apprecaited. If you assistant has attitude, there might be a legitimate reason behind it, especially if this is a new developement. Treating an assistant as a secondary, subservant person won’t win you any points, but if you treat them like they’ve just saved the day (which is pretty much what they did), you’ll probably see the attitude improve.
I think I just hate the attitude that it is expected. Being president of a company (not owning it) certainly does not entitle you to a personal assistant. If the “owner” asked and is willing to add personal bill paying to your list of responsibilities during your work shift, that’s fine.
I wouldn’t mind helping with personal requests.
Where are you located because I wouldn’t mind serving in this capacity.
Here is what the problem is:
1) “Bosses”, not necessarily “you”, but “bosses” in general, pass on the additional work they don’t have time to do or don’t know how to do to their assistants. I say “additional” because I am referring to the work we do “above and beyond” what our job description actually states what we are paid to do. Many “bosses” do not keep track of “all” the little assignments they give to us on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Some of these little tasks become a regular part of our jobs, and once we pick them up, we are stuck with them, as it appears “petty” not to keep doing them.
2) When “Bosses” start giving us personal jobs, that is a part of their personal life–this is a “double standard”. Many “bosses” do not want us in their personal business, nor do they want in our personal business–Not to mention we are suppose to keep our personal lives out of the office, and many times are reprimanded if our personal lives effect our jobs. Double standards cause problems, eventually causing hard feelings. Sometimes we know we are upset at our bosses, but many times people misdirect their harsh feelings towards co-workers, as this is a safer way to vent their angers. We all know what can happen when you have turmoil in your office.
3) Many “bosses” do not keep track of all of these “little trivial” jobs they give to us. Next thing you know they are giving us a poor proformance reviews because we no longer have time to do the “job” we were hired to do. Not to mention, we may very well have attitudes by then because we are tired of having to make your coffee or pick up your laundry.
If bosses do not want their employees to be affected at work by personal issues, then “ALL” personal business should be kept “out of the office”. That means your personal errands should be done by your wife, your mother, your daughter, your personal assistant, or you should at least put it in the job description and consider the time and value of what you are asking your assistant to do.
Most Administratiive Assistants are well educated. If they are going to be used as a servant, they should be allowed to decide whether this is the job for them before they take on the position.
Some Admins could care-a-less, but it would bother other Admins. I would think that if you knew you were going to want your Admin to do personal errands, you would want to hire someone that is not offended by it.
I could go on-and-on, but I hope this helps explain “what our problem is”.
If the job description includes these tasks, then the person who is applying knows these are part of the expectations that go with the position. Since you are the president of the company, you can pretty much write the job description. If a person is already in the position and this is new, they should be asked if they are comfortable with adding these services (clearly specified) with a pay increase to cover the new responsibilities. If not, then a part time personal assistant not related to the company might be the way to go.
Having been on both sides of the paycheck (employee *and* employer), I see absolutely nothing amiss with having an assistant assist you with “personal stuff” – provided you #1: Let your assistant know that it will be expected of him/her to do so as part of the job and #2: Keep your requests to “impersonal personal” stuff. (For example: Dealing with a utility company on the phone is okay, shopping for your underwear is not.) However, the primary duties of an office assistant should pertain to the office and the needs of the business. Should your need for personal assistance grow to the point of the assistant not being able to complete job-related duties because his/her time is being spent on your personal requirements, it would be best to consider hiring a non-business Personal Assistant.
I agree with hallgirl. The way you ask is important. More important is that you should not just expect your assistant to do personal favors as part of her job. I don’t mind helping my boss with personal things occasionally. He doesn’t ask often and he expresses his appreciation as if I were not being paid while I was helping him. An administrative assistant is NOT a personal assistant, any more than a chef is a landscaper. These are two completely different jobs.
As long as it does not interfere with work, I don’t mind doing it.
I think as long as your assistant knows up front what types of tasks you will expect her to do, then there is no problem, as long as it doesn’t become too personal or uncomfortable for her.
The problem is that your request has nothing to do with the company business. Don’t you want her to take care of her personal tasks outside the office? You should live up to the same requirements you expect of your employees. What comes next? Are you going to ask her to babysit your kids in the office, or take your dog to the Veterinarian?
A lot of the response you will get from your administrative person is dictated by the way you ask. One of the very first jobs I had I noticed that the owner of the company was not too good to carry out the trash when it needed to be done so I didn’t mind doing those kinds of things for him. There are other people that I’ve worked with and for that are “too good” to do the meanial tasks which brings out the resentment when I’m expected to do it.
So my answer is that there probably isn’t a “problem” if you ask for assistance on your personal things with the right attitude.
While I don’t mind helping my boss out with a personal item here or there I do not think it should be a rule. The company is not paying for me to be his personal assistant. I have goals to meet within the organization that do not include personal items and my performance review and potential bonus at the end of the year would not be based on the addition of these items. If the assistant is paid directly out of the bosses pocket than the boss can set the parameters of his/her job description to include certain personal items. However, I think then these items should be items that carry weight going into a performance review with her/him. While my job responsibilities are going to be different from the next Admin, it is more about being respectful to consider if what you are asking has been discussed and agreed upon with your assistant rather than labeling something right or wrong. I organize my bosses office once a week and I offer to grab him coffee when I am already going to the kitchen. But, he will also grab me a coffee and he always asks for, not demands, any “extra” help he may need that falls into the gray area between personal and professional requests. Assistants now have many more middle management responsibilities and projects that require time. Be respectful of your admins time and it is likely they will help you out in return.
I’m currently an Executive Assistant for the owner of our company. I have a number of responsibilities to our company but my main responsibility, and what an Executive Assistant is hired to do, is to make my boss’ job easier. In the past (with this boss and previous bosses) I have picked up drycleaning, watched kids at the office in a pinch, taken my boss to the airport, helped with wedding preparations, take vehicles to the shop for repairs, and I have even **GASP** made coffee, and cleaned up his/her office. I figure, if my boss’ office is clean, it makes MY job easier because he/she is more organized and both of us can find things easier (yes, I vacuum and dust if I think it needs to be done too) and I’m already in the break room getting myself some coffee…why not bring my boss back a cup too? I don’t mind at all, it’s what is needed and by helping free up my boss’ time to grow the business, more opportunites arise. My efforts have never gone unnoticed by my boss either. I have advanced in my position through the years and when layoffs happened in the past, my name was not on the list. Why? Because I just do what needed to be done. I make my boss’ job and life easier. I have always had partnerships with my bosses and I feel very valued by both my former bosses and my current boss (Still keep in contact with all my former bosses). My compensation is well above the salary range for my position and that is because I have a ‘can do’ attitude and I am an excellent Executive Assistant. When interviewing for this position Billy, I would suggest letting the candidate know that it is part of the position. You could weed out any potential issues prior to hiring by clearly stating what is expected in the position. Best of luck to you.
You should hire a personal assistant. The company that hired you did not intend to pay your assistant to do personal chores.
Dear Billy,
Executive Assistants do not want to be your “work wife.” We are experienced administrative professionals, not personal assistants, and that distinction should be noted and respected.
Unless you make it very clear in the job description that you are looking for an assistant who is expected to handle your corporate and personal responsibilities, don’t be surprised if he/she appears frustrated when asked to pick up your dry cleaning. It’s demeaning.
Sincerely,
Amanda
Are you the owner of the company, or just the president? Does the owner know you want your assistant to do personal stuff on company time? Did you specifically spell out that the job will include personal as well as business duties? I know almost all jobs have a clause that says, “and other duties as assigned” but they do not usually refer to personal duties. That’s the business side of my response.
Now for the personal response: I see nothing wrong with asking for help for personal items. I think I’m here to assist my boss and make his life easier and if that includes getting coffee, picking up the dry cleaning and going food shopping, then I do it. But, my boss appreciates me doing it and thanks me each and every time. I am also compensated pretty well, and my boss is flexible when it comes to me taking some personal time off. Plus, it frees him up to focus on the business, which in the long run, is what we are all here for.
If you can find someone with the ‘Old School of Thinking’, you would probably be better off. Just remember to appreciate your assistant, it makes work life a lot better for all.
Unless your assistant is also your life partner who lives with you, it is not appropriate to ask a professional to do your home bills/errands. If you want a professional to work for you, you need to treat them as such. They also do not want to sit on the phone for hours to talk to a water company when they have more important things to do. As far as the attitude comment, an employer who asks a professional to do their personal errands doesn’t have the right attitude to be an successful boss. What comes around, goes around…in this case, it’s disrespect.
I worked for an executive for 5 years that had me involved daily in his personal matters: planned vacations for his family around his work-related trips, keeping track of expenses for his (side) consultant work for IRS records and making sure he received reimbursement payments via his private bank account. The more efficient I was, the more he trusted me, and the more he gave me access to. I didn’t mind helping, I understand his need of having someone to do these things for him, but I also expected a large bonus each year after he received his (which I did and I never had to ask). I was saving him time and money. From an objective point of view on this relationship, I had way too much information. I understand how celebrities get swindled by their financial consultants who run out of the country with their millions of dollars.
Billy,
I have always had the attitude that I get paid the same no matter what you ask me to do – as long as it is not immoral or illegal. That said, could it be an issue with your approach? Are you appreciative? Do you make sure to give your assistant the tools he/she needs to transact the personal business on your behalf? It is frustrating to be on hold for a personal matter only to find out you don’t have all the information you need to complete the task.
Most important, were these types of tasks discussed as part of the job role? You should have discussed clear expectations with your assistant prior to making the requests.
Are you the president of the company or do you own it? If you’re not the owner or if you have stockholders, asking your Admin to do personal business for you is not ethical. The company is paying for her time.
What is your attitude when you ask for help with personal business? Do you make it seem that it’s something that you are “dumping” on her because you or your wife can’t be bothered with it? How is this helping meet the mission and goals of the company? Does the Admin have the freedom to refuse if she is uncomfortable with what you’re asking her to do?
On the other hand, if you own the company outright, and you have explained your expectations before hiring, then the Admin should not have a problem with doing these things within reason.
The problem could be that unless you are the owner of the company, your employees are “supposed” to be paid to do business-related work, not personal work. A lot has to do with the person’s job title. A personal assistant does indeed often help with personal issues since, after all, it’s in their job title. But if someone is an Administrative Assistant, Secretary, Office Assistant, or whatever, that doesn’t automatically mean that it is assumed they do your personal duties. To me, it’s as simple as this – if the owner(s) of the company or the board of directors (your bosses) do not mind that an employee is being paid company money to do your personal tasks, then the person assigned to do this shouldn’t mind since it’s apparently part of his or her job. But if you wouldn’t want your bosses to know that company money is being spent on personal activities, then it shouldn’t be permitted. Of course if you ARE the owner, then you have the right to make the job requirements almost whatever you want it to be. However, anyone being hired into that position should be made aware that they will be doing personal tasks, not just business tasks.
It’s wonderful to hear your company is prospering. As for the help with personal items, this is how I see it. I was interviewed and hired by the company to do work for the company. Part of my responsibility as an administrative assistant is helping company employees achieve company goals through responsibilities that tie in directly with the company. Does sitting on the phone to figure out my boss’s personal water bill for two hours help the company achieve its goals? Not really. For things like this, maybe a personal assistant would be a better fit for you. That’s why they call them personal assistants. They help you with personal things.
I would be mortified if my boss asked me to take care of anything personal. My job as his assistant is related to the day to day functions of the business, not his personal life. Anything personal relating to outside of business hours should be handled as such, on personal time and by him alone. If he is married, then this is something that maybe he should be asking his wife to do.
It’s ok to help your boss out with a few personal favors – however, if it interferes with productive work that you may get called on because it’s late – then I would say no. I know, because it happened to me. I was told I was “filling up” his calendar with too many meetings and I had to point out that several were dentist, doctor, guitar lessons, etc.
There is a job for what you are describing as a need for you. It’s a personal assistant. A personal assistant’s job is to help you manage your personal life. An assistant paid by your company is to help you manage your business life.
Where these two roles blur you generally see a highly compensated assistant as the manager’s life will frequently interfere with the assistant’s ability to have a life. Highly compensated assistants to top executives generally fall into this category. This individuals are generally so prized as to merit stock options, etc.
Where the compensation doesn’t justify the extra workload (two hours on hold with your home water company is two hours not answering the company phone or getting a copy job done — all of which still needs to be done once the call is completed) I have found that most admins would rather go to another position.
Dear President – unless your assistant is being paid out of your own pocket, I think you are being very unrealistic to ask her/him to do those kinds of personal things for you.
I have been in the administrative field for close to 40 years and, except for one boss, I have never been asked to do personal requests of that type. I’ve been asked to cancel a doctor appointment perhaps, or change a dentist appointment, but nothing like what you describe above. Sitting on the phone for your personal business is a gross waste of time and money on the company’s payroll.
By the way, I have never minded getting coffee for the boss.
Does the term ‘work wife’ come into play here? Sounds like it.