Rules to Better PA (aka Personal Assistant)
If someone has shared their calendar permissions with you, you will be able to check their calendar directly without needing a conversation.
Imagine someone wants to book some time with you. Offer to look up the calendar and book in time straightaway.
Within a company, there are occasions that you are not able to access your computer to send sick emails, or you get a call from your client on the way to the office that you have to drive to a client site straight away; when such things happen, you need someone else to update your calendar when you call in, so others are aware of your availabilities.
Do you check-in with your boss to make sure you are both on the same page?
Even if your boss is not at the office, you should be in contact with them at least twice a day – first thing in the morning and at about 5pm in the afternoon.
Have you ever sent a message late at night, only to worry about disturbing your colleague's downtime? Or perhaps you've received a message outside of working hours and felt pressured to respond? In today's always-connected world, messages can arrive at inconvenient times, creating unnecessary stress and disruption.
Look at your boss's calendar, if you see a meeting at, say, 3pm, call him at, say, 12 noon and say something like "Do you have anything going on this afternoon?"
Bosses are busy and forget. Just like you encourage a developer to book their own appointment (see Do you know to make sure that you book the next appointment before you leave the client?), a boss should be the same.
Always give a heads up when you log in to someone else's account. Also, when you access a company account - which many people may use, like google [at]ssw.com.au - send a heads up to that email so others know you are the one accessing it.
You shouldn't have to send emails on behalf of other people because people now have email on their phones. However, on the rare occasions that you do have to send an email on behalf of someone else (eg. your boss), ensure that you BCC the person you are sending it on behalf of and add [ ] in the subject field (at the end) so that such emails can be identified.
The PA is often the face of the business. It is important to encourage everyone to keep the space looking as good as possible.
If your boss is the host of a meeting, the space must be presentable and set up appropriately (for example, if the meeting will require the use of a computer or projector, ensure there are plugs and a space for them to be used).
Here are some general tips for booking flights: