Thanks to the significant advances in technology over the last decade, working from home has become a reality for a range of different job roles. More people are now able to explore career options that allow them to work from home, saving time and money on travel and often achieving a better work-life balance.
If you have a phone, PC or laptop and reliable internet connection, you already have most of the tools you need for a career based at home. Traditionally, personal assistant roles have been office-based, requiring the assistant to be located close to the executive, so that they can quickly communicate and provide updates to them.
However, there are so many powerful digital solutions available now that the PA role can easily be done working from home. This type of role is often described as a virtual PA and the assistant does not even need to work in the same country as the executive or company that they work for.
Technology solutions for PAs working from home
There are project management tools such as Asana, Slack and Trello that allows the PA to share project progress, as well as allocate tasks that are required. These apps also provide a faster and more time efficient way of communicating compared to email, or lengthy phone calls. A quick message can be instantly sent for urgent communications and many companies are looking to employ PAs that work from home as it saves them money.
Benefits to employers
The hiring company can save the costs of operating an office, simply paying for the necessary equipment and software required for the job instead. Over the next few years, more employers will be looking at recruiting staff that will work from home, so they can reduce costs and in many cases, increased productivity is a further benefit of having employees working from home.
Training courses for personal assistants
If you are considering training to be a PA, or you want to refresh your existing personal assistant skills to be more up to date with the current job requirements, you can also complete PA training courses from home. With online training courses, you can study courses that will provide you with all of the in-demand skills for a PA role, working from home or office based.
Tips for working from home as a PA
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits for both the employer and the PA working from home, as long as the working environment is set up correctly. For example, having an office space that is separate from the rest of the home will help to prevent any distractions. The working environment should be comfortable and well lit, so choosing the right desk, chair and location is important.
Having an area of the home to work in that is separate to the living area helps home workers to mentally clock off from the job quicker, so that is vital if you are trying to have a good work-life balance.
Technology is going to be a big enabler in successfully working from home, so having a fast, high-quality broadband provider, up to date equipment and software is also very important. Some companies have remote IT support teams who can help you to resolve some IT issues but as a rule, a home based PA will need a good level of IT knowledge to troubleshoot issues quickly so that they are able to be available for work as much as possible.
If you are looking for a career change, working from home as a PA is easily manageable with the right working environment, equipment and qualifications.