Too many low-margin tasks and duties chew up your precious time. This leaves you with mixed-up schedules, canceled meetings, and a mountain of unanswered emails.
If you find yourself dreaming about somebody swooping in and saving you from your mounting to-dos, it’s time you snap out of that dream and turn it into reality by getting a virtual executive assistant or EA.
Executive assistants can take on your routine tasks, giving you the time and headspace to focus on higher-value work.
In this blog, we’ll explain what exactly an EA is, their core skills, why an EA is a smarter choice than similar roles, and where to find the best possible EAs according to your unique needs.
Let’s dive right in!
What is an Executive Assistant?
An executive assistant or EA is basically a virtual secretary.
They are in charge of your calls, meetings, emails, schedules — almost everything!
EAs primarily handle (but are not limited to) the following tasks and duties:
- Managing your calendar
- Scheduling meetings and conferences
- Making work-related travel arrangements
- Preparing reports, presentations, and other business documents
- Filtering/prioritising emails and phone calls
- Taking meeting notes and minutes
- Welcoming/answering questions
- Directing enquiries to the appropriate person or department
- Drafting/editing business documents
- Assisting with ad hoc tasks and special projects
Why an Executive Assistant?
Some would say that you should hire a secretary.
Others would suggest you delegate and spread out tasks to your existing team.
While both options are doable, hiring an on-site secretary can be quite costly and limiting. On the other hand, delegating and adding routine tasks on top of your team’s existing workload increases their risk of burnout, potentially hurting your retention rate.
This is where getting a virtual executive assistant or EA comes in.
Here are 4 reasons why EAs are the smarter choice:
- 1. Well-Rounded Skillsets
As the role of executive assistants has evolved along with technology, today’s EAs are no longer limited to clerical tasks, taking on a wider range of responsibilities that require more adaptability, critical thinking, and tech-savviness.
Today, virtual EAs provide dependable, flexible, and cost-effective support, breaking away from merely traditional admin and secretarial roles. This makes EAs invaluable assets in modern business environments.
- 2. Cost Efficient
The most sought-after executive assistants are usually based in countries like the Philippines, where English proficiency is high but labour costs are significantly lower compared to developed regions.
That means you get high-quality, globally competitive talent for a fraction of the cost, making virtual EAs a strategic, sustainable long-term choice.
- 3. Excellent Communication
With excellent communication skills, EAs excel at translating complex technical jargon into layman’s terms. They can talk to clients who speak in emojis and to departments that communicate in spreadsheets.
Acting as the glue that holds disparate teams together, EAs can also navigate office politics with grace and finesse.
- 4. Empowered Onshore Team
Your EA frees you and your onshore team from routine work so you can pursue higher-margin and business-critical tasks.
However, their impact goes beyond the day-to-day admin tasks. If you can leverage your EA effectively, they can also work more collaboratively with your onshore team, especially in the areas below:
- General Comms
Responding to emails, taking phone calls, attending meetings, and other comms-related tasks take up 1.5 to 2 hours of your day. EAs can take this task off your plate—that’s two extra hours for other higher-value work.
- Arrangements
Making travel arrangements, scheduling meetings, and event planning — you wouldn’t have to worry too much about blockages or clashes when you let your EA work their magic on managing schedules and providing logistical support.
- Business Strategies
Some EAs who have extensive experience (and expertise) in business operations and development can provide you with sound, relevant, and quality input for strategising and positioning your company as an industry leader.
- Personal and Professional Development
Being young and tech-savvy, executive assistants are constantly exposed to news, trends, and innovations that can help you know more about the changes in the industry, as well as new skills (that are typically related to utilising technology) you can use to develop yourself not only professionally but personally, too.
What Skills to Look for in Executive Assistants
- Organisational Skills
Executive assistants often have top-notch organisational skills. They act as a gatekeeper to their boss as well, prioritising incoming communication and filtering out distractions so that the executive can focus on what’s most important.
- Multitasking Skills
- Time Management Skills
- Other Important Skills
- Problem solving skills
- Analytical skills and critical thinking
- Technical skills
- Communication skills
- Tech-savviness
- Relationship-building/interpersonal skills
What Traits to Look for in Executive Assistants
Beyond things like proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite or problem solving abilities, you should also look for these personality traits in your EA:
- Professional Integrity
- Warmth and Kindness
- Punctuality
Aside from skills in juggling multiple tasks, prioritise effectively, and keep track of deadlines. Look for an EA with a good track record on punctuality to avoid unnecessary time sinks and bottlenecks in your pipeline.
- Attention to Detail
The last thing you want is for important details to slip through the cracks, which is why your EA should have a keen eye for details.
- Adaptability
Things can change at a moment’s notice in the business world, so your EA should be able to roll with the punches and shift gears as needed.
Where Can You Find a High-Quality Executive Assistant?
Sourcing a good EA is just a few steps away! If you’re looking to find your dream executive assistant, these are some of the best hubs/sources to do so.
- Conferences
- Professional organisations
- Referrals/recommendations from industry friends
- Job listings (LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.)
- Job fairs in colleges and universities
- Staffing/talent solutions providers
Especially since times are changing, it’s highly recommended to tap global talent solutions providers.
This is because of the slew of benefits it can bring to your firm that we’re sure you’ll find quite hard to refuse.
What Really Sets Executive Assistants Apart
More than slashing overhead costs, it’s leveraging global talent like bookkeepers, auditors, and executive assistants that can serve and deliver as much as onshore talent can, which frees up your plate and buys back your time for higher-value tasks.
Partnering with executive assistants is the key to unlocking your business’ full potential, and we’d love for you to further explore the benefits of working with elite EAs with us.
Your first step starts here.
