How to Retain Your Perfect Personal Assistant

Once you hire a personal assistant, you’re probably ready to sit back, relax, and let them work their magic. We don’t blame you! Your personal assistant should be ready to reduce your mental load and clear your plate so that you can find more time for yourself and your family. 

However, like any relationship working or otherwise, it’s important to do your part to maintain a good working environment so that your new personal assistant will feel appreciated and want to stay and grow with you in your employment.

Here are just some ways you can keep that successful relationship going and retain your perfect personal assistant.

[Related: The Best Interview Questions for Personal Assistants]

Respect and Trust Your Assistant

We know it can be hard to let someone “take over the reins” and start doing things for you. Especially if you’re used to doing it all yourself.

A little trust goes a long way. Let go a little and have faith in your assistant to do quality work and keep your best interests at heart. 

Schedule Regular Check-ins

Regular check-ins are crucial in retaining your personal assistant. This allows both you and your assistant time to ask and answer questions that can help your assistant better do their job. 

Check-ins should be scheduled consistently so that they are expected and normal. We recommend weekly 30 minute check-ins for the first month to make sure your assistant is feeling supported. 

After a month, 10-15 minutes a week depending on current projects might work just fine. Conduct more formal check-ins at the 30, 60, and 90 day mark, and after that every 6 months should suffice.

One way to structure these one-on-ones is to ask your assistant to come with a win, a challenge, and at least one question to start off. 

[Related: Do Successful People Outsource? The Answer Is Yes.]

Give and Receive Feedback

Both parties should be continuously sharing their honest feedback — not just during scheduled check-ins. To build a culture of feedback as a gift rather than a punishment, give both positive and constructive feedback and be open to listening and taking action on any feedback from your personal assistant as well.

Set Up a Permanent Schedule and Establish Business Hours

Having your PA come on the same day and time each week will create consistency in your routine, which is the best way to add balance to your busy life. 

Additionally, boundaries are important for a work-life balance. Respect that your assistant has a life outside of work, and establish strict business hours for communication. Let them know that they’re not required to ever respond to any messages outside of those hours unless it’s a true emergency.

Be Transparent and Over Communicate

No relationship will work out in the long-run without communication, so clear communication and transparency from day one is important. Have conversations about your preferences and expectations in order to set up a long and happy partnership with your PA.

Moreover, let them know when they’re doing great, as well as what they can improve on. For example, if you’d prefer they store clean, folded linens in the laundry room cabinets instead of in the bathroom, or if you like each meal prep container labeled in a specific way, don’t hesitate to let them know! If you aren’t sure whether they’re comfortable doing a particular task — such as taking your dog to the dog park — just ask. 

Your PA is on your team and wants to do everything possible to make your life easier (even the small stuff).

[Related: Our Advice for Getting Started With Your Personal Assistant]

Set Goals to Maintain Focus

To respect the time of both yourself and your personal assistant, it’s crucial to set goals and work off of lists of things you’d like to see done.

Start a “bucket list” of things you’d like to get off of your plate. You and your PA can prioritize these tasks so that there is always something they can work on each week, and they’ll feel guided and supported.

Going on a vacation? Ask your assistant to come up with some remote projects, organizing tasks, or home improvement projects that they can work on while you’re gone. This way you can enjoy your time away without stress, and they’ll have some direction while you’re out of town.

Use Tech Tools to Your Advantage

Use tech tools to communicate and be productive. One such tool that has been a life-changer for Pepper’s Personal Assistants is Slack, which offers both a desktop and a mobile version. Slack allows clients and PAs to keep track of all communication in one accessible interface. It also features an easy-to-use search function to find past conversations.

Other project management, organization, and communication-oriented apps that we recommend include AnyList, To Do, Trello, and Voxer.

[Related: Personal Assistant Apps — Do They Really Help?]

Show Appreciation

The biggest and perhaps simplest tip on our list for retaining your personal assistant is showing basic appreciation. Genuine recognition of hard work goes a long way — you never know how much a “thank you” can mean to someone.

Start Your Journey and Reclaim Your Time with Pepper’s Personal Assistants

Are you interested in hiring a personal assistant? Pepper’s Personal Assistants can provide you with the help you need, when you need it most. We make it easy to find the perfect personal assistant for your lifestyle and goals. 

Learn more about us, or contact us today for a free 30-minute consultation to answer any of your questions.