Own up to your mistakes, keep your boss’s private information confidential and never stop learning – these are just some of the pointers you should keep in mind if you’re aiming to hone your PA skills and seriously impress your exec. According to business etiquette expert Diane Gottsman, making an excuse instead of having the […]

Donna Coulling, (pictured) PA to Helena Bonham Carter and Rachel Weisz, may have started out wanting to be an actress, but she now knows a thing or two about what it takes to become a celebrity PA. Donna gave visitors a look into how she got where she is and how others can follow in […]

A reported 80% of travel bookings are done by email, so imagine an application that shows live schedules and availability, enabling a busy PA to send requests rapidly to their travel team, safe in the knowledge that your chosen flight can be booked immediately. No going backwards and forwards with your travel agent, searching for […]

Wave goodbye to generic, typed online greeting cards and the hassle of finding a shop, buying the over-priced stamp and locating a post box. Say hello to fast and fun, personal, handwritten quality cards right at your fingertips. Helping you to make messages personal is the new Inkly iPad app, which is the first and […]

All the best institutions have an amusing anecdote at their origin and The Palm is no exception (pictured). If a New York City clerk had paid more attention, the restaurant would actually have been named Parma, after the home town of the founders, John Ganzi and Pio Bossi, but the gormless pen-pusher had trouble understanding […]

One prevailing industry trend is the demand for improved technology and innovations that will help PAs do their jobs more effectively. Adam Fidler looks at a piece of kit that is transforming the profession. I would imagine you’ve heard of the “iPad revolution” – where many people now rely on tablet computers in their day-to-day personal […]

The ExecSec Summit at Whittlebury Hall gave delegates the chance to have a break from the serious business side of the event and don some madcap disguises in a video booth, where they also answered a series of revealing questions. The PAs were asked about the strangest request their bosses had ever made, to which […]

The downturn in the UK’s economy over the past few years has led to companies shedding staff, with the knock-on effect that PAs have had to assume new duties and chief among these is corporate event planning. In fact, an overwhelming 96% of office professionals now have responsibility for planning their companies’ functions, according to […]

As the autumnal weather starts to kick in, the clocks have gone back and children have returned to school, our thoughts turn to the remainder of the year. Even though the calendar year starts in January, there is an underlying feeling that the working one, a bit like academic terms, actually starts with the beginning […]

PAs asked to wrap their boss’s Christmas presents this year will be pleased to hear that Sellotape has launched a tool that will save them time and effort. Worn on your hand, the unique On-Hand tape dispenser is the first to allow you to wrap gifts using both hands while also offering variable tape length […]

Are you helping to organise your company’s next exhibition or event, but not sure how to stand out from the competition? Chris Hutber introduces two new products, guaranteed to get you noticed and engage potential customers. How to get noticedPulling in potential customers from a crowded floor can be easy when you have an engaging exhibition […]

British workers say they need more admin support to help them be better organised at work, with nearly one in five suggesting that having someone to organise their physical documents would help. According to research by technology brand Brother, the average UK desk is weighed down by almost a stone of clutter and it’s leading to […]

Some of us might be a little guilty of wasting time that should be spent working browsing the internet for personal matters instead. As it turns out, nearly half of UK employees admit to doing this, though in a result for hard-working women, men have been shown to be the biggest abusers of internet privileges […]

As every good PA knows, keeping on top of a proper filing system is essential in order to protect a company’s confidential information. It appears that some office professionals need to up their game, however, as a new survey shows that sensitive records are being left in plain sight due to poor file management, putting […]

Want to bag yourself some incredible bargains this autumn? Then why not join the PA Life Club and get access to a whole range of amazing offers. Here’s just a selection of what our partners are offering to members in November: Girl Meets Dress – 10% off designer dress hire Tippletreat.com – members accrue money […]

Winning through redundancy – Steve Preston (£12.99, Balloonview) Winning Through Redundancy is, due to its subject matter, a book that many would not read out of choice. However, the wisdom and uplifting advice of self-appointed ‘career catalyst’ Steve Preston will convince you that there is nothing to be worried about.   Whether you are simply […]

Leaders Ought to Know – Phillip van Hooser (Wiley, £14.99) Phillip van Hooser writes from a personal perspective throughout Leaders Ought to Know, lending both gravitas and realism to each of the 11 ground rules he covers. The first, “Leadership is a choice – reinforced by individual effort”, is certainly food for thought, particularly as […]

Mind Your Business: Thoughts for Entrepreneurs – Toine Knipping (Balboa Press, £12.15) Toine Knipping, founder of the Amicorp Group, has set us the task of achieving our entrepreneurial goals, along with the harder challenge of realising a well-balanced and meaningful life. We are promised an insight into how to attain realistic business and leadership success […]