Secretary | PA Prive

10 Questions To Ask Before Buying a Business

There are no stupid questions. This is what you should consider when doing your research before buying a business. The more questions you ask, the less risk you will have. But just in case you have no idea where to begin, here is a list of ten questions as a starting point of a thorough investigation. 1 – What are your biggest challenges right now? You want to be aware of potential issues. For instance, if you’re buying a company that will need improvements, you need to know that before deciding to acquire the business. 2 – ...

Jul 15, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 11, 2013

Summer Office Attire

Appropriate (and not so much) office attire. Most employee handbooks will give specific examples of what to wear and what is considered acceptable. With the spike of summer heat comes an opportunity to adjust your work wear for the rising temperature. Rule of thumb for appropriate attire during the summer season is to avoid the “four Bs”: bar-wear, boudoir attire, barbell outfits and beachwear. Women’s skirt lengths should not be too short nor should necklines be too revealing. Showing your bra straps are also a definite no-no. Flip flops are distracting. They make noise and expose your feet. The weather ...

Jul 11, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 11, 2013

How To Boost Workplace Happiness

Research continues to show that a happy and positive workplace increases productivity, reduces staff turnover and engenders employee flexibility. Basically happy workers are more likely to say yes to extra responsibilities, stay for longer, collaborate and help boost morale. Incorporating the following ideas into your workplace will soon have everyone smiling! Do Something You Love Every Single Day. Trust your team. Step out of approval. Instead, pre-approve and focus on supporting your people. Make your people feel good. Make this the focus of management. Pass the knowledge on to your people, so they don’t need things approved. Find ...

Jul 11, 2013 | 1 Comment

Top Health and Wellbeing Tips to Get You Refreshed for Summer

To help you break the busy-ness cycle and work happier, we’ve rounded up a handful of counter-intuitive ways to tweak your habits and your mindset. They range from obvious-but-oft-ignored tips Do more exercise. Make sure you exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week. Exercise is one of those activities that improves almost everything, including productivity and focus. Ask for help and share feelings. If you feel under pressure and feel your workload is spiralling out of control, take the opportunity to discuss your feelings with friends, family or your manager. Sit less. Most of us spend ...

Jul 10, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 8, 2013

Great Apps for Executives

There are lots of lists out there and they are all different because new apps show up everyday. Here are some top apps for executives that we have hand picked for you. Docs-To-Go This is essentially a mobile version of Word, Excel and Powerpoint. It will not be a replacement for the desktop version but it is great for a quick edit or to jot notes or review information in transit or before a meeting. Very stable app with a strong history Scanner Pro Paper meets the iPhone in Scanner Pro, which turns the iPhone’s camera into a simple scanner for ...

Jul 8, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 5, 2013

How to Boost Team Creativity

Being creative is more than just coming up with new ideas for products, or cost reductions. It’s a tool that can be used in many ways and situations. Creative people are better problem solvers and tend to overcome obstacles to reaching goals better than plodders. Research shows that people are much more creative and productive when they feel happy says Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard University. Having a hard time coming up with new ideas with your team? A few practical tips to build a more creative team. Learn each team members’ distinctive talents The areas ...

Jul 5, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 3, 2013

How to organise an Event

Managing an event has become a specialised discipline and requires an abundance of skills. The following are 10 things to keep in mind while organising an event Questions to consider before planning an event: What are the objectives (both primary and secondary) of the event? What is the benefit to the organization? Are there achievable budgets and results? Does the concept have the support of your Board or Head Office? Do you need to test by running a pilot event? What is the division of roles and responsibilities? How can the event be monitored? How will the evaluation ...

Jul 3, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 2, 2013

Five Time Management Ideas for Executive Assistants

It is frustrating to constantly feel overloaded with work. Have you ever thought, “I’m sure there’s an easier way of doing this”? Chances are there are, and with the following tips you’ll be able to save time in most of your activities and be happier at work. 1 – Get organized Getting organized is the first thing you should do in the day so all the other activities don’t get jeopardized. Organisation leads to accomplishment while disruption leads to loss of focus, delay of work getting done and ultimately frustration. 2 – Create templates In order to ...

Jul 2, 2013 | Comments Off

Jul 1, 2013

Diary Management Tips for PAs

Managing a busy diary is no simple task – as every PA will know. Some boss’ diaries are so complex, they employ two PAs, one to work on the diary – the ‘diary PA’ – and one to do everything else. In some industries, such as banking, the diary can be as much as 80% of the PA’s work. A good diary manager needs to decisive yet flexible. Flexibility in the diary is something that a number of PAs are afraid of – they live by the ‘once it’s fixed, it’s fixed’ approach and woe betide anyone who asks them to ...

Jul 1, 2013 | 1 Comment

Tips for Having More Productive Days

Are You Busy or Are You Productive? There is a big difference between being busy and being productive, yet many of us use the two terms interchangeably. Stop confusing busyness for productivity, and you’ll get more done. Are you making progress on mission-critical tasks and projects? Then, you are productive. We believe having a productive day is all down to planning, prioritising and focusing. Check out our tips below: Get enough sleep every night. Wake up early, probably just after sunrise. Many studies reveal that morning birds are more creative, energetic and motivated than night owls ...

Jun 28, 2013 | Comments Off