Introduction
Deciding to hire an executive assistant to help you with your business is a big leap. A lot of business owners don’t end up hiring at all for fear of getting it wrong and wasting their time.
The good news is that there is a workaround to ensure that you’ll have a system before you even decide to look for remote executive assistants to interview.
Read on to know what questions you have to ask yourself before you hire an EA.
What tasks will you delegate?
It’s a good idea to list down your business process before anything else. Start with your daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, etc. tasks. Watch out for tasks that are repetitive and regular.
Once you’re done with the list, determine which ones are taking up your time and can be delegated to your remote assistant. Choose the tasks that can free up your usual day so you can do more for your business.
How much time do you spend on those tasks?
On a normal workday, how many hours do you work for your business? Track the hours that you can free up when a task is done for you. This will give you a general idea of how much time your EA should be taking.
It’s important to understand that your time spent will not be exactly the same, but you should be able to tell if your EA is taking more time than needed.
Are you willing to train them?
The rate that you will pay your executive assistant will depend on a lot of factors but will mostly be dependent on their skills and experiences. If you are willing to provide them with video tutorials and guides on your processes, then you can opt for less experienced ones.
On the other hand, if you want an expert in the field, then prepare to pay higher rates. This is not to say that higher rates result in better hires, but you get the point.
How will you communicate?
When you work with an EA, you will either be talking to them daily or at least a couple of times a week. Having a good communication app is a guarantee that no messages will be left unread.
Eliminate email communication, which tends to have a lot of lost interactions. Take a look at the most used communication apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Telegram, Skype, or WhatsApp.
How will you delegate your tasks?
Aside from having a good communication app, you also have to have a task management app. It’s important to have a system where you can delegate tasks and see the progress without having to call a meeting with your remote executive assistant.
The most commonly used task management apps in the market now are Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Notion, ClickUp, and more. Take a look at these and see which one will work best for you and your hire.
Closing Thoughts
Hiring a virtual executive assistant can boost your business if you find the right fit. Just remember that there is no 100% guarantee that you’ll get a good one no matter how high you pay. The right client and EA relationship will take effort on both sides to ensure that it’s beneficial to you, your business, and your remote assistant.
If you are curious about how we can help you find the right fit for you, check out our website for more info.
