The household personal assistant is the one who provides the necessary home care for some family members, manages all activities related to this care, organizes them, and sets priorities to achieve the social and health balance of those she takes care of. May also be responsible for managing a staff of other workers performing the same tasks.
What skills are needed for a Household Personal Assistant?
A personal assistant job does not usually require an academic degree, but it does require some skills such as:
- Good communication skills.
- Being familiar with the family atmosphere.
- Personal care support skills.
- To be more of an extrovert person, because positive communication is one of her main tasks.
- Trustworthy and reliable.
- And has time management skills.
Besides the general skills, there are some qualities that can help you choose your household personal assistant:
1- Cooperation and coordination skills
It’s the heart quality of your personal assistant to be helpful, be happy to help, and help without being asked. A personal assistant’s responsibility is also to coordinate the matters related to the ones she’s taking care of along with other family members and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
2- Organizational skills
The household personal assistant often plans ahead for appointments of the ones she’s taking care of, doctor visits, and transfers. Maintaining medications on time, arranging priorities, and fulfilling her part of household responsibilities.
3- Positivity
Not a toxic positivity that would stand against taking the right action, but the balanced positivity that helps her to keep going, find solutions, take the best out of what’s available, and look for something better.
4- Adaptation
It’s not some desk job with fixed tasks and a daily routine; it’s a household job that requires adaptation and flexibility. An experienced personal assistant knows how to handle hard situations, and knows how to handle her employer’s requests well. An experienced personal assistant is challenging to find, except if you hire through a personal assistant staffing agency like Raha.
5- Ability to travel
Traveling, doctor visits, camping, hospital visits, and shopping with the family every once in a while are some of the important things a household personal assistant does. A household personal assistant accompanies the ones she’s taking care of to most of the places they go.
6- Has attention to detail and keeps boundaries at the same time
It’s a catch if you find it, a personal assistant who has the wisdom to combine attention to detail with keeping boundaries. A household personal assistant (PA) should also be aware of the culture, etiquette, dress code, and proper manners code in the Arabian community, as well as maintain the family’s privacy and reputation.
7- Tolerance
Since a home personal assistant spends a lot of time among your family, she has to be familiar with kids and doesn’t mind their noise, and be familiar with elderly family members and doesn’t mind their repetitive requests, also can handle being at the help of pregnant and doesn’t mind their mood swings.
A household PA communicates regularly with key contacts such as family members, and friends of the ones she’s taking care of whenever necessary.
What to avoid when hiring a household personal assistant?
- Avoid the expectations gap, especially when you’re hiring in Gulf countries, as most foreign workers expect extremely high wages and small tasks. Be clear with your assistant about her responsibilities, monthly wage, and off days.
- Avoid the unclear messages around tasks, duties, and salary. Avoid overloading the assistant with multiple tasks, especially if she’s already a dedicated person. It’s always better to assign specific tasks your assistant is responsible for, specific working hours, specific rest days, and even a specific number of tasks for her to do daily; and make sure these won’t be exceeded.
- Avoid hiring a household personal assistant on your own, especially if this is your first time. Most of the personal assistants in the Arabian Gulf area are foreign workers, and no matter how careful you are, there will be something you didn’t expect.
A Household Personal Assistant staffing agency makes the right checks:
- Mental health checks.
- Medical condition checks.
- Criminal record checks.
- Qualifications and skills assessments.
Also, a personal assistant staffing agency would go further by giving the personal assistants the training they need and the cultural awareness they should have; giving them the medical and social insurance coverage, and handling all the official documents they need to enter the country legally.
So, if you want to hire a personal live-in assistant to care for the elderly in your family, children, or pregnant women, Raha offers you all that. Raha provides you with household personal assistants who are experienced, trained, and skilled with everything necessary to help your loved ones and provide them with care. Download the Raha app here.
