Raising your value.

[itsme_calista]

No not pay again .... lol.

At the moment I am fuming (would be an understatement) and extremely disappointed.  I am very ambitious, although I have no plans for the future I'm not prepared to still be the PA in 5 years time.  My boss is very supportive of this too.

Unfortunately other Directors and the CEO don't appreciate this and purely see me (and other PAs) as having little worth. Don't get me wrong, they appreciate us, but in terms of development we are last on the list.  From things such as provisin adequate training, development within the company, networing with each other and the staff we work most closely with.

To me these things are vital in providing a) a first class service to my boss, and b) progression within this company.  As they say it's not what you know but who ....

Any ideas on how to raise the value of the PA? Try to make them understand why it's important to be involved in networking, be included in the team building events etc.

Callie

[gee4]

Calista,

I have faced this for years.....so no I don't have any definite answers for you.  We are servants at the end of the day, providing a support service.  Some of us may have fallen into this role or prepared for it.  My only comment would be if you are not happy, and are not getting rewarded for what you do, then move on.  Personally I am now finally where I want to be with the exact level of responsibility that I can deal with.  I worked long and hard for this, faced redundancy and had to prove myself all over again.  I know I am the world's worst pessimist, but please be happy with what you have - this time last year I was made redundant and facing a long hot summer without work - not an ideal situation to be in.

If you want training, ask for it, be prepared to have reasons why you want it and what you will achieve from it.  Set goals and inform your boss what you want out of your current role or why you wish to move up the ladder.  If you don't communicate, no-one will know where you want to go.

[queenbean]

Not sure I agree with Gee's description of us as servants - in the broad sense every employee, whatever the role, is a servant, but I certainly don't feel that way just because my role is a PA.  My boss employs me to manage his projects and his work life in exactly the same way that he employs others to manage other aspects of his business.  In that respect, there's never a time when I would describe myself as a servant.

But that's getting off the point.  I do agree that the only way to raise the profile of the PA is to do it yourself.  No-one's going to do it for you.  If the CEO and directors of a company have the perception of you as not adding value to the company, then only you can do something about that by proving them wrong.  You have to have the confidence to show exactly what you're capable of - often in practical terms.  Use your performance review process to flag up ideas, or highlight work that you have done that has improved efficiency of something, or saved the company time and therefore money.  It's all about the bottom line.  If you want training, you need to research it yourself, find the best course and ask for it.  You simply have to prove that both you and the company will benefit from spending the money.  I've never had a request for training or personal development refused, because I make a sound business case for it, just as I would make a business case for spending the company's money on anything else.

QB

[itsme_calista]

It's not so much justifying additional vocational training that I'm talking about as such, or spending money, as you say that I can do because I have to research it and justify it.  It's the "being included" in company events.  We currently have a mass "teambuilding" event taking place but the PA's across the company aren't allowed to attend because it's not seen to be valuable to them.  In reality, it's possibly the most valuable thing the company could offer me right now!

These things add value to a role regardless of the level at which a person works, i.e. receptionist through to Director.

I have done a couple of things and my boss has appreciated it, but the CEO just saw it as part of the job ... PA's in this company are expected to do anything and everything LOL.  I put forward the idea of applying for some local business awards, but have been told I won't be able to go to the nomination dinner, even if it's because of me that we're actually there.

The PA's are of practical value (and our jobs are appreciated) but we're not seen as fitting into the grand scheme of things.  I don't want to leave because it's a fantastic job otherwise; I just want some ideas on how to raise the value and profile of the PA.  

I need something that the CEO and Directors can see adds value to the role, and how the role of PA fits into the grander scheme of the company operations.  

Callie

[queenbean]

I don't want to sound negative, but I think you've got your work cut out.  If the fundamental problem is that your CEO's attitude is that you're not integral and wouldn't benefit from things like teambuilding, it sounds like he or she is closed to the idea of change.  Probably the only way to change opinion would be for your boss to broach the subject - if he or she feels that you and the other PAs are of considerable value, and that you would benefit from inclusion in company events, maybe it's something they could suggest to the CEO.

It makes me wonder what the CEO's relationship with his/her PA is like - maybe there's not a great deal of value placed on that role.  Just reading some of these posts makes me realise how lucky I am - my boss treats me as an equal and a very important part of the company.  He wouldn't dream of excluding me from such events, in fact he would expect me to be there (and not just to organise it!).

I still think that the only way to raise the profile of the PA is from within.  I think it's very easy to do everything and anything that's thrown at us quietly and without trumpeting the fact.  The automatic assumption is that some manager has done the work and the PA has just typed it up, and I don't think we're good enough at claiming the credit for successful projects!  When I first started in this role I automatically put my boss's name on everything I did, but after a while I started sending things out in my own name - eg for projects that I was controlling from start to finish, not company-wide directives.  My boss had no objection, and it meant that people in the organisation started to understand what I did, and they were more inclined to come to me directly to discuss these projects.  Now, it's only the most topline, official communications that carry the MD's name, because everyone knows me well enough and understands that I run x, y or z anyway.

I don't think this is something that's easily fixed, and although you say that it's a fantastic job except for this problem, I'm not sure I'd be happy working somewhere that clearly didn't value my role.

Good luck anyway.

QB

[peaches2160]

QB - I have to agree with you.  If the mindset is from the top down, people immulate their higher ups.  I have seen it at our company.  The old regime was very pretentious.  However, when the company was bought and the CEO's replacement came in, the minsdet has changed drastically.  Yeh, I get my boss a bottled water, and do go out at lunch at times to bring him a bite to eat back, but those are not things I would not do for any other coworker who is working a hectic schedule like my bosses.  It is called teamwork.  Fortunately, my company is very supportive of training and team building.  Until the mindset changes at the top, there won't be much chance of changing.