Hiring an Executive Assistant is one of the highest-leverage decisions a Manchester business can make. The right EA does not just lighten a leader's load. They protect their time, sharpen their focus, and quietly raise the performance of everyone around them. Get the hire right and it pays for itself [...]
The Chief of Staff is one of the most talked-about career moves in business support and operations right now. It is also one of the least understood, which makes sense, because the path into it is anything but standard. We speak with candidates about this role every week: experienced EAs [...]
The market for business support professionals has tightened this year. Vacancies have eased back and pay is working harder against the cost of living, which you have probably felt in one way or another. A shifting market, however, is exactly when the people who keep quietly investing in themselves pull [...]
Hiring a great EA or PA is only half the job. Knowing how to onboard them well is what determines whether that hire becomes one of the best decisions your business makes, or quietly unravels before it ever had a chance to land. Business support roles are uniquely relational. When [...]
Not every employer invests in your development. Some don't have the budget. Some don't have the structure. Some simply don't prioritise it. If you're an EA or PA working in a fast-paced environment, it can feel like the expectation is that you show up, perform, and somehow figure out the [...]
If you are looking for Executive Assistant salary data for the UK, you are probably doing one of two things: working out whether what you are being paid reflects what you actually do, or trying to set a budget for a hire you cannot afford to get wrong. Either way, [...]
There is a pattern we see repeatedly in our work, and our 2026 Salary Survey has confirmed it with data: Business Support professionals are doing more than ever, taking on more responsibility than ever, and being rewarded at a rate that has not kept pace with either. If that sounds [...]
Every year, the question at the top of almost every EA and PA's mind is the same: am I being paid what I'm worth? And every year, the answer gets more complicated. The 2026 Lily Shippen Salary Survey, our most comprehensive to date, gives a clear, data-led view of what [...]
There's a common misconception in the EA and PA world: that personal brand is something reserved for entrepreneurs, influencers, or people who want to be visible for a living. That it's somehow at odds with the nature of a role built on discretion, support, and working behind the scenes. We'd [...]
You've heard the title. You've seen it appearing more frequently in job descriptions, LinkedIn profiles, and leadership team bios. But when someone asks what a Chief of Staff actually does on a Tuesday morning, the answer is rarely straightforward. That ambiguity is by design. The Chief of Staff role in [...]
