How Do I Find a Good Personal Assistant? [2023 Guide]

 

Business owners have a lot on their plate. They also tend to carry a lot of the burden of the business on their shoulders. This is especially true for very hands-on entrepreneurs. And while this is an admirable and even vital quality of a business leader, being too hands-on also has its limits. Being unable or even unwilling to let go of non-core duties can make the job of becoming a successful business owner a much more complicated process.

 

Top 5 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Need Virtual Personal Assistants

Company executives and entrepreneurs will definitely benefit from working with a virtual personal assistant. But there are some leaders who are still on the fence. Are you one of these individuals who still need to decide whether you need to hire a virtual executive assistant? If so, then here are some of the questions you need to ask yourself:

• Do you have the feeling that you don’t have enough time?

Almost every professional would appreciate adding a few extra hours to their day. Sometimes, it seems like there are just so many things to do but not enough time to do them. Entrepreneurs or company owners often feel they have to work more hours to complete different jobs. This may seem doable at first, but working too many hours is not sustainable. You’ll soon feel like you’re losing time for other facets of your life. Even simple phone calls to stay up to date with family members seem like a luxury when you’re an owner or manager.

It’s important to learn to let go of the idea that you have to do it all. You need to be okay with accepting help, especially for jobs that don’t require your full attention.

• Are you unable to pursue your passions due to your business duties?

There are situations wherein professionals need to make the difficult decision of putting the job first and letting personal life and passions take a backseat. But when this becomes a common occurrence, then you may need to review your current work setup and see what you can delegate to free up a considerable amount of time.

• Are you unable to plan for business growth or take on new customers?

According to a Harvard Business Review study, workers spend as much as 41% of their hours on tasks that could be delegated to others. These tasks include desk-based work. Tasks like data entry or calendar management are less value-adding than building company strategies or other executive duties. Getting a skilled personal assistant means getting the proper back-end and administrative support you need to increase productivity as a business owner. You can meet strict deadlines and improve efficiency without worrying about important yet time-consuming routine duties.

By expanding your client base, you can actually secure the jobs of the people who work in your company. Getting the right help can help you and your team become even more productive and energized enough to generate even more revenue.

 

 

• Are you experiencing an increase in client turnover rates?

Retaining customers is just as hard, if not more difficult, than gaining new ones. You need to put in time and effort to provide the best customer experience and client management practices. If you find yourself losing business because they’re not getting the level of customer care they expect from you, then perhaps you need to consider getting a personal assistant. Personal assistants can help free up some low-level tasks that potentially keep you from providing better, more personalized customer service.

• Do you feel like you’re on the brink of burnout?

Finally, if you’ve been experiencing burnout or symptoms of burnout, you would be doing yourself and your company a favor by getting personal assistant services. The on-the-go or hustle mentality can be difficult to shake off, but it’s important to learn how to work smarter. This means identifying which activities require your utmost attention and which ones you can delegate to your team or a personal assistant. You’ll become a more effective leader and entrepreneur if you empower and trust the rest of your team to carry the load with you. Your success will not be from you doing it all on your own but doing it together as a team.

If you’ve answered yes to any (or all) of the questions above, then you should definitely consider getting virtual personal assistant services.

By working with a virtual personal assistant, you can address these five points of concern. You’ll be able to grow your business and get the personal assistant services you need without breaking the bank. Working with a remote personal or administrative assistant can save you both time and money. You can regain control of your time when you delegate day-to-day tasks to a remote personal assistant.

Plus, you don’t have to worry about piling up overhead expenses for your business. Virtual staffing allows you to get the proper support without the costs typically attached to hiring in-office staff, including new equipment purchases, transportation allowances, mandatory bonuses, and more.

Want to know more about the benefits of hiring remote talents for personal assistant positions? Visit our website or schedule a free consultation today!

 

Tasks You Can Delegate to a Personal Virtual Assistant

A great personal assistant can take time-consuming tasks off your hands. They can help you clear both your to-do list and mind so you can make better, more strategic business decisions for your company. An administrative assistant can do much more than schedule meetings and data entry. The personal assistant duties that an administrative assistant can support you with can range from taking scheduling meetings to generating business reports.

Administrative tasks

• Taking Phone Calls
• Internet Research
• Email Management
• File Management

Calendar management

• Scheduling Meetings
• Communication with Internal and External Partners
• Making Travel Arrangements
• Accommodation Reservations

Business support

• Data Entry
• Database Management
• Internet Research Support
• Running Errands
• Report Generation

The type of tasks you will delegate when you hire a personal assistant will largely depend on your workload and business goals. It’s also crucial to identify which tasks you can and should delegate, so you can make a clear job description to kickstart your recruitment process.

Need more information on what virtual personal assistants can do for your business? Book a free Discovery Call with our Growth Experts to learn more!

 

 

Essential Qualities You’ll Find in a Great Personal Assistant

The qualities of the “right personal assistant” may vary per business owner. But in general, the best personal assistants possess these five essential skills and qualities.

• Excellent Communication Skills

Personal assistants need to have good communication skills to be able to make work easier for their clients. Your personal assistant must have a good command of written and verbal communication. They will most likely be coordinating with various groups of people on your behalf. It would be best to find someone who knows how to get the message across professionally and clearly.

• Highly-Organized and Detail-Oriented

One of the skills to look for when you decide to hire a personal assistant is organizational skills. Find personal assistants that are well-organised so you can focus on your executive duties. Hire a personal assistant that is well-organized and can provide the right administrative support, make the best accommodation and travel plans, and keep your calendar in order. Simply put, they can help maintain order in your professional and personal life.

• Time Management Skills

Personal assistants are essentially responsible for making sure their executives can do their job better than before. They should make your professional life easier and less-hassle free through great time management skills. Their ability to manage their time and yours well can allow you to focus on becoming the best company leader you could be.

Additionally, your personal assistant will most likely not work on a single project during their whole work week. They’ll be juggling a few assignments, so they need to manage their time well to make sure no jobs fall through the cracks.

• Open to Learning Opportunities

The ability and willingness to learn new skills are crucial for any professional, including personal assistants. Your current remote personal assistant may have the ability and skills they need to do their job well now. However, because of the evolution of technology, there will come a time that they will need to learn new skills to remain effective. Their ability to learn new methods of communication, new programs, and so on can also help you stay competitive.

• Computer-proficient

Virtual personal assistants don’t need to be IT experts to do their job well. However, knowing how to navigate Microsoft Outlook, Excel, and other MS Office or Google Suite programs should be a given. It would also be best if they were familiar with project management and communication apps.

What other top virtual assistant skills should you look for?

 

How Do I Find a Good Personal Assistant? Top Tips You Should Know

Now that you’ve decided that you want to hire a personal assistant, here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Define the Support You Need

One of the necessary steps you should do is to create a list of the tasks you plan on delegating to your remote personal assistant. It will help if you build an exhaustive list of the different jobs you’re responsible for. Then, categorize these items. The first category is jobs that require your business knowledge and executive decision-making skills. The second is those tasks that require the skills and knowledge of a middle manager or supervisor. Finally, identify the activities or jobs that you believe will be best delegated to someone in a personal assistant position.

2. Plan Out the Personal Assistant Hours Required and Your Budget

After working on the first step, it’s time to focus on the third category (personal assistants’ responsibilities). You can estimate the hours a week each task will take to decide whether you need someone to fill a full-time or part-time position. Additionally, you will need to identify how much you can spend for the virtual personal assistant role. It’s best to set a limit to ensure you’re not overshooting your labor budget.

3. Post a Job Ad on Relevant Platforms

Now, it’s time to prepare your job ad and post them on relevant platforms. Make sure to include information on where interested personal assistants can send in their applications.

 

 

4. Screen and Interview Candidates

Depending on the number of applications you will get, the screening process can take from a few hours to a few days. You will also need to reach out to shortlisted candidates for interviews. To help you decide, you may also opt to ask these assistants to work on short tests to measure their skills.

5. Create a Job Offer

The happy path is that you can find the right personal assistant for the role the first time around. When this happens, you need to craft an offer that will detail the project they will work on, expected work hours, salary terms, and so on.

6. Onboard your new Personal Assistant

Once your selected virtual personal assistant has accepted your offer, you may think that the process is already complete. But in fact, it’s only just started. To set them up to be successful at their job, you need to properly onboard and train your new personal assistant. This way, they’ll be better equipped to work on the projects that will be assigned to them.

Learn about effective VA management tools and other virtual staffing tips.

 

Find the Best Virtual Personal Assistant Services at 20four7VA

As you can see in the above list, finding the right personal assistants can be a lengthy process. You need to invest time, money, and energy to complete the process from job ad creation to screening to onboarding. However, by working with 20four7VA, you can get the right personal assistant without taking too much of your time and effort.

Why work with 20four7VA? Here are Five Reasons

• Wide Remote Talent Pool

We have a wide talent pool of skilled remote professionals. We can screen through our benched VAs to shortlist the personal assistants that fit your approved job description. We’ll also help you schedule interviews and test tasks to make sure you’ll be getting the right personal assistant support you need.

• Dedicated Account Manager

Our top priority is making virtual staffing solutions cost-effective and hassle-free for clients and VAs. Each 20four7VA client will be assigned a dedicated account manager who will act as the first point of contact for any remote staffing-related issues and concerns. This way, every client knows who to contact should they need support.

• End-to-End Services

By working with 20four7VA, you gain access to our top-notch remote staffing services. We don’t stop at finding you a great personal assistant. We also offer HR services like VA communication and management, payroll processing, in-house training, and more. To add, all 20four7VA clients and remote personal assistants can seek assistance from our IT Support team for any software or hardware-related concerns.

Discover what 20four7VA can do for your growing company. Check out what our clients are saying about 20four7VA.

• No Upfront Fees

Business owners and prospective executive assistants don’t have to worry about shelling out placement fees. Our pre-consultation and client-VA matching services are free and no-strings-attached. A client will only need to think about payments once their new remote executive assistant has started working for them.

• Accredited and Award-Winning Virtual Staffing Agency

We are honored to be recognized by various institutions over the past few years. The certifications and recognitions we’ve received over the past few years are a testament to our goal of helping businesses grow through cost-effective remote staffing solutions. We also aim to provide rewarding remote career opportunities to talents with the right skills and knowledge by connecting them to the right companies. Our most recent awards and certifications include the following:

• 2022 Inc. 5000 Honoree
• Certified Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)
• Strategic Partner of the Argentine Association of Telework (ASAT) and Remotear
• Ranked 315th in the 2023 OA500 Index
• WOSB Certification From the Small Business Association

Stay updated! Visit the 20four7VA website for the latest on 20four7VA and the virtual staffing world.

 

The benefits of virtual staffing and working with 20four7VA are clear. You get access to a vast talent pool and remote staffing experts who can provide the best virtual staffing solution for your growing company. You’ll be getting top-notch talent without overshooting your overhead costs. Plus, you’ll gain access to end-to-end services to make remote staffing as hassle-free and effective as possible.

Complete your team with the right virtual personal assistant. Schedule a free consultation call with our Growth Experts today.