Keep things running smooth, even when your team is jetting off.
Woo hoo – it’s officially ‘out of office’ season. Around this time of year, you and most of your team disappear for a few weeks, to return golden, refreshed and ready to hit the ground running. This all sounds great (which it is) but have you ever had that feeling when you can’t wait for holiday, but spend the 3 weeks leading up to it screaming through your to-do list as you try to cram everything in? Oh god, and let’s not even talk about first week back fear.
Luckily, there’s a solution for that. When it comes to managing holiday cover, Virtual PAs can swoop in to make things a whole lot easier and offer support before, during and after your time away. All of our ibLE PAs have years of experience as actual, real-life PAs and work on a totally flexible time frame, so you a) get someone who knows what they’re doing and can start straight away and b) only pay for the time and tasks that you and your team needs.
Here’s how Virtual PAs can help your business during Summer holiday season…
Okay, so picture this – you’re going on holiday and you don’t have an assistant (or you do, but need an extra pair of hands). In fact, this could be the case that anyone in your business is heading on holiday and needs a bit of cover.
On the weeks leading up to your time away, a Virtual PA can help with calendar management to ensure that you have enough time to get everything done before your trip and put things in place to keep the ball rolling, even when you’re not in the office. To make sure this happens, they can take day-to-day tasks off your hands (some inspo here) so you can focus on the things that only you can do. Oh! And even on top of all that, they can help to clear up those last minute things you need for holiday (eg: travel insurance, money exchange or even scouting the best bars within a 5 minute walk from your hotel).
Once you’ve sashayed out the front door and you’ve had your first airport G&T at 10am (which, by the way, is totally acceptable) it’s officially holiday time. Well, at least it should be. According to a new survey from the Institute of Leadership & Management, 65% of business owners admit to checking their emails on holiday, which I have maybe 100% been guilty of doing on more than one occasion.
With a Virtual PA at hand, they can take care of your inbox, to keep things moving instead of putting pause on a project with every ‘out of office’ response. If anything comes in that needs done right away, they can flag it to your team and delegate to other people in the business so your poolside reading is left interrupted. All of this helps a Virtual PA to organise your first week(s) back, so you can keep that relaxed holiday feeling from the moment you step into the office (wearing something white, to show off your tan, of course).
Okay, so that’s one scenario and things are looking pretty balmy, right? Now, what if – dun dun duuuunn – your current PA has booked a 3 week holiday Mexico, leaving you to manage everything on your own?
Typically, a good PA should save you up to 2-3 hours worth of work a day. If – all of a sudden – that lands on your plate, alongside everything else you need to do, things will start to feel pretty chaotic, pretty quick. You probably know where I’m going here, but again, this is where a Virtual PA can help during holiday season.
On the run up to your PA’s holiday, a Virtual PA can work alongside them to do a proper handover of all their tasks. This means, as your PA is away, their workload is picked up by an experienced Virtual PA to keep things running as smooth as an ice-cold Piña Colada. As your Virtual PA can help to plan your weeks ahead of time, your current PA can arrive to a smooth transition (instead of panicking as soon as they land). Altogether this helps you to feel as ease when your PA is on holiday and also helps your PA to fully relax, knowing that everything in good hands while they’re away.
Holiday season can sometimes feel like a difficult time for businesses, but it’s so important for everyone to take some time off (yes, even you, fellow business owners). Holidays help us all to rejuvenate, avoid burnout and even boost productivity. Psychology Today even reported that 64% of people feel refreshed and excited to get back to work after a holiday – which, in the long run, means good things all round on a business front. A Virtual PA can help to keep things going, so you and your team can take that much-deserved time off, without checking your inbox.
Get in touch to book your holiday cover hero today.
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