What does a virtual executive assistant do?
If you’ve never worked with an executive assistant (EA) before, you’ll want to know what they do and how their services benefit you. This blog post explains how hiring a virtual executive assistant will free up your time so you can grow your business. Plus, make sure an EA is the right fit for you if you’re unsure which type of assistance you need.
Difference between a virtual, personal, and executive assistant
You may have seen the acronyms EA, VA, and PA. So, let’s discuss the differences between an executive assistant, virtual assistant, and personal assistant…
Actually, you might be surprised they’re not all that different. The terms get used interchangeably, and offer a wide range of services to various clients (often covering both professional and personal tasks). An executive assistant usually covers everything a PA or VA would do.
The important thing when looking for remote assistance for your business is checking their personal expertise to see if they have the skills and knowledge to support your specific needs.
What tasks can a virtual executive assistant help you with?
Virtual executive assistants provide administrative support to high-level executives, such as CEOs, directors, and senior managers. Their duties are often closely tied to the day-to-day operations of the executive office, with access to sensitive information and they are also involved in decision-making processes.
Traditionally, EAs would have been based within company premises. However, technology has allowed more virtual executive assistants in recent years to carry out all tasks remotely. Remote EAs communicate with their clients via email, phone calls, video conferencing, or other digital means. This flexibility allows them to work with multiple clients in different time zones and industries.
Tasks you can delegate to a remote assistant vary widely depending on the company’s needs. Common responsibilities include managing the executive’s schedule, arranging meetings, handling correspondence, preparing reports, and sometimes managing other administrative staff. An EA can also handle marketing activities such as social media, website maintenance, and emails.
How can a remote executive assistant help you?
If you’re a CEO or business owner wanting to focus on high-level business development tasks and need someone who can take control of the day-to-day business needs, hiring a virtual executive assistant is the right choice for you.
There are many ways a remote executive assistant can help your business grow (too many to name, in fact!). The specific support you need depends on your business model and the areas you need help with most.
Here are the most common services our Virtually Priceless EAs handle on a day-to-day basis for clients:
1. Executive assistant diary management services
I’m sure at some point you will have liaised with someone else’s EA to arrange a meeting with them, so when people think of admin assistance, diary management is usually the first thing that comes to mind.
When you work with an executive assistant for diary management, they will schedule everything in your calendar and take full control of organising your day to be the most efficient and productive. Whereas a VA might only schedule things you ask them to, an executive assistant is hands-on in your business and will make decisions for you.
This can include everything from understanding the prep time you need before meetings and arranging those meetings for you. An EA will give you enough focused time to work on your business development tasks while ensuring that personal commitments are up to date and travel time is factored in.
When you hire a remote executive assistant, they will take care of all the back and forth with people you need to meet with, and can handle any rescheduling needs should your plans change at short notice. And, perhaps most importantly, they will also act as gatekeepers for you by responding to requests you need to push back on and saying no gracefully but firmly on your behalf.
Just think about how much time executive assistant diary management services will save you each week…
2. Executive assistant inbox support
Not only do EAs have incredible scheduling skills, but they can also manage your overflowing inbox. Executive assistants help with everything email-related, including:
- Dealing directly with simple customer or staff requests
- Customer service email support and communication
- Redirecting tasks to other people on your team
- Categorising and flagging important emails
- Tracking team progress to stay on top of everything
- Deleting or unsubscribing to unwanted spam emails
And if you’re nervous about someone communicating with important stakeholders on your behalf, your virtual executive assistant will soon adopt your style of communication. As your EA will work closely with you, it won’t take long to agree on what they should take care of without direction, what to run by you, and what to leave alone.
Getting inbox support from an EA means when you only have a few minutes to dive into your inbox, you know exactly what to prioritise and don’t get sucked into unnecessary emails.
3. Your executive assistant starts acting as your “second brain”
As we’ve already highlighted, an executive assistant becomes an integral part of your business operations. Due to this high-level, hands-on support, your EA starts acting as what we like to call a “second brain”.
What does that mean? Imagine having someone at your back, who predicts your needs, learns your ways, and becomes a vital sounding board for your ideas. Almost like having a clone of you, but with the opposite skills to yours… that’s what an executive assistant can become for you.
Instead of making all the decisions yourself, hiring an executive assistant means you’ll have someone who pushes back on your ideas and also supports to:
- Prioritise your workload effectively
- Stay accountable to achieving tasks
- Manage what you’re doing day-to-day
An EA will act as your eyes and ears around the business, building important relationships with your team and any external stakeholders as required. They will constantly be looking ahead and thinking about what needs to get done, then making sure it is taken care of, discussed with you, or flagged to the right person in plenty of time.
Soon, you’ll find that before you’ve even mentioned upcoming trips or meetings, an EA will put well-researched travel options and an itinerary in front of you.
Hire a virtual executive assistant to grow your business faster
Partnering with an EA means you have someone in your corner helping you be the best leader possible, as they will learn how to make your working day stress-free and productive so you can focus on business-building tasks.
When you have someone who truly gets you and what you’re about, you’ll feel a huge weight lifted and will probably wonder how on earth you ever coped before…
At Virtually Priceless, our dynamic team of virtual executive assistants can seamlessly integrate into your business. So, if you want to take the first step to getting more time for business-growing tasks, book a call to discuss your needs.