This column is written by an experienced Senior PA who shares their experiences and advice from their role to the benefit of other assistants.
Most of us dread performance reviews. Our minds can go blank when we need to write about our own performance. Yet it’s such an important opportunity to demonstrate our worth and prove our true value. Too important not to prepare for properly.
As a Senior PA I have three performance reviews a year. The recently introduced Employment Rights Act has prompted employers to monitor performance much more than previously. This has made me think about how we can benefit most from this inevitable process that’s often time consuming and challenging as we need to write about new wins.
Top tips for better performance reviews
- Make notes throughout the year of your achievements, plus collect feedback from colleagues, especially after you have completed a piece of work or project, or a colleague is due to leave. This ensures that you don’t forget anything, whether it went well or not so well.
- Don’t dwell on your mistakes, instead learn from them to avoid repeating them. Feedback is crucial for development as we can’t see ourselves the way others do.
We need to blow our own trumpet!
There is a danger for us assistants feeling so comfortable in the role that we forget to appreciate the work we do. But to the Execs who a new to working with a PA or EA it is not always obvious what we do, or how they can get the most out of us. We need to show them.
We need to document what we do. Much of our work seems invisible and may only be noticed when we go on leave or things go wrong. They know that we work quietly behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of the office, but what exactly do we do?
For example, I proactively invest time in understanding the current projects which allows me to exercise excellent judgment when planning my exec’s time. I solve issues by liaising with colleagues before they even reach him and encourage them to reach out to me first. I assist new and less experienced PAs to improve their performance.
How can we add value so that we become indispensable?
Being as autonomous as possible. Being intuitive and anticipating the exec’s needs, knowing the right moment to consult them and when to leave them to concentrate on the task in hand. Microsoft Co-pilot can’t do this!
Ahead of your next review meeting, prepare well. Come up with ideas of how to solve problems rather than just list them. I also urge you to use the networking opportunities at PA Life events for sharing our experiences and discussing solutions to problems.
