Editor Amelia Walker hosted the third roundtable discussion with PA Life readers. This sessions topics: The EA/PA debate, the boss/PA relationship, and frustrations in the workplace
Amelia: What is the difference between a PA and an EA?
Lee: It’s interesting talking to other people at networking events because in some companies I’ll be an EA but I’m a PA to a director.
Emily: I’ve done so much research on this debate because before I was recently promoted from PA to EA, I’d gone to recruitment agencies that I know and asked them to give me a job description of what an EA was – because I don’t fully understand it and the difference in perception and skillset between the two. Most agencies said that there’s two schools of thought about an EA – you either have a university degree or you have been a PA for a minimum of five years.
Jessica: I have not heard that before.
Lee: Me neither. For me there is a massive difference between working in banking and asset management. In banking it tends to be that you’re a ‘grade’. With execs at companies like KPMG for example, their prestige and their ‘level’ in their world depends on the title for what their support is.
Jessica: I thought the difference between EA/PA was the difference between business and private. PA is your personal assistant so you do personal things and EA is executive assistant – you’re doing more executive-type things. My job is largely focused on the business side of things, however there are times that I help with my boss’s anniversary or birthday parties. I always say I’m a PA because it’s the first thing that springs to mind, but then my boss always says, “no you’re an EA”.
Emily: The research I’ve done is not definitive in that you have to have a university degree – I don’t have one, so in my mind you wouldn’t just walk into an EA role, you have to have been a PA to be an EA. I do ‘personal’ elements, such as picking up dry cleaning, and ‘executive’ things such as making decisions in board meetings. I don’t take minutes, I have an input.
Lee: In different companies they will have a completely different set of titles. You can’t look up job descriptions for PA or EA, as there would be thousands of different answers and it would be so varied across the board. My cousin works for Bank of America. He is quite senior and he talks about his support staff as ‘admin’.
Jessica: My boss goes to America a lot, so when I’m talking to his clients or companies over there the attitude is significantly different to how staff are spoken to or regarded in London. I often think, “hold on, you’re trying to sell something to my boss right now, if you have the wrong attitude you do realise that I have a close relationship with Ian” and that I could tell him this person is horrible, for example. Them being a PA appears to be deemed as a stepping stone. This isn’t a stepping stone for me; this is what I love doing. The London PA scene is really changing; I think with all of the awards, the PA magazines, PA networking, all this is a voice for us – saying proudly that we are powerful.
Amelia: How regularly do you liaise with your bosses?
Lee: Every Friday my boss and I look to the week ahead. I diarise things every Friday, as we hit the ground running on Mondays.
Emily: Things have recently just changed for me, as my boss has moved out to Abu Dhabi as we’ve opened up an office there. Prior to that I’d meet with him every morning and at the end of every day.
Now on a Monday morning when I come in I Skype him. Obviously weekends are different out in the Middle East, so I’ll also speak to him on a Thursday because he is working on the Sunday.
Jessica: My boss goes to New York every month for at least a week, maybe more. So when he is over there I’m half on UK time and half on New York time too, so I don’t leave the office until late. I jokingly say, “what present have you got me?” – and normally it’s a fridge magnet. So whenever I’m on holiday I’ll get him one and he’ll get me one in return. We try and get the worst one possible.
Our seating plan has changed recently. I find it really difficult now purely because he used to sit in my office. Now he sits in the top founders office and I’m down on the ground floor. We are trying to find a balance now because we don’t have weekly catch-ups; it’s very much as and when. I will find time in his day, look and see that he is free now so will pop up with a list of things to approve and answer. I do want to structure it a little bit more, but him moving only two floors up really makes a difference to how we’re working. He is the Global CEO of everything.
Lee: You learn so much by watching what your boss does. You can gauge their mood as they come back, you can know if they are in a rush and if they don’t want to be disturbed. It’s unspoken communication.
Amelia: How close are you with the other PAs?
Jessica: We’re really close; we all back each other up and have a ‘buddy system’. I work really closely with Jackie, who is Aaron Simpson’s PA. If one of us is on holiday we always look after each other’s boss. I like working for Aaron; he is so entrepreneurial. He always listens to my opinions and likes my creative input.
Emily: You both obviously work for very big companies and you have other PAs so you can support each other. The company I work for is very small; I work with 34 staff and I’m the only PA and I’m Nick’s first PA – he’d never had one before. He had no idea what I could do for him. On day one when I said “you need to share your emails with me” and he was shocked! I said you just have to trust me. He was really holding back at the start.
Amelia: So what frustrates you in the workplace?
Jessica: Sometimes people can be undermining. They don’t realise that I see and hear everything; I know a lot of what is happening behind the scenes. There were times when I first started that I would have to lie and say “Ian would like it done like this.” Secretly it was my idea, as I know how Ian likes things done and the time frames he expects. If there is a problem with something with a colleague it would be settled face to face rather than in an email.
Emily: CC’ing unnecessary people into emails does my head in. We are grown-ups, there’s no need for that; it’s a waste of people’s time.
In conclusion
Amelia: The continual battle in the perception of the PA/EA role demonstrates two main factors. Firstly, many people on the other end of the phone still do not appreciate that it is the PA/EA who has the ultimate say in whether or not they choose to go with a venue etc. Secondly, the EA/PA debate itself continues to remain ambiguous; the difference in title and responsibilities for both are evidently blurred, not only with individuals outside of the industry but with professionals in said positions.
With special thanks to Shaka Zulu; shaka-zulu.com
