Virtual executive assistants (virtual EAs) enable busy executives to maximize their time, move their businesses forward, and minimize the important but non-business-critical tasks that become distractions.
Virtual assistants are gaining popularity as executives worldwide become more comfortable with remote employees. If you're looking for an executive virtual assistant, use this guide to understand what they do and how to find the right one for your workflows and your business.
Table of contents
- What Is the Definition of a Virtual Executive Assistant?
- What Does a Virtual Executive Assistant Do?
- Why You Need a Virtual Executive Assistant
- How Much Does a Virtual Executive Assistant Cost?
- How to Hire a Virtual Executive Assistant
- How to Manage a Virtual Executive Assistant
- Getting Started
What Is a Virtual Executive Assistant?
A virtual executive assistant is a (usually) part-time remote administrative assistant dedicated to a specific executive or team. The role is best understood by comparing it to a traditional administrative assistant. A simple description is that an administrative assistant supports a business, while an executive assistant supports an executive. While the roles may overlap, a virtual executive assistant often becomes a CEO or VP's "right hand," capable of making independent decisions to enhance productivity.
-
A traditional virtual assistant performs repetitive admin tasks based on documented processes, while a virtual executive assistant might help define and establish those processes.
-
Traditional virtual assistants often perform work for sales teams and back-office systems, not related to a specific executive.
- Additionally, virtual personal assistants do the same administrative work but primarily focus on a client's personal schedule and life.
Executives often handle administrative tasks to support themselves, but eventually, their ability to grow the business stalls due to limited time. A virtual executive assistant can step in to manage some of the administrative work with a higher level of skill and trust. These assistants can benefit any company—ranging from Fortune 500s to small businesses and even stealth startups (which refers to a hidden and quietly launched startup; this article explains more about stealth mode).
What Does a Virtual Executive Assistant Do?
Virtual assistants for executives often tackle tasks in a few key categories:
-
Email and phone screening
-
Travel planning
-
Professional networking
-
Personal tasks
Calendar Management
Executives spend 16 hours a week on day-to-day tasks, and scheduling meetings significantly drains their time. It takes about 20 minutes to schedule a meeting, and the processes can be very disruptive with:
-
Email ping-pong to find a time that works
-
Rescheduling and cancellations
-
No-shows that mean starting over
- The time it takes to context switch between tasks
If you multiply those 20 minutes over several meetings each day, you'll accumulate a significant amount of wasted time.
A virtual executive assistant can take over this process by:
-
Reaching out to meeting attendees
- Managing reschedulings and meeting prep
-
Proactively sharing slots available on the executive's calendar
-
Sending confirmations to reduce no-shows
Internal stakeholders often vie for an executive's time. A virtual executive assistant learns who is most important to an executive's work and can defer requests to more appropriate company contacts.
Email and Phone Screening
Executives can spend up to three hours a day managing email and voicemail. Much of that time is spent deleting unimportant messages. This process is incredibly disruptive when done in real-time as emails arrive. You stop what you're doing to see if a message is important and requires your attention. Switching time, the time it takes to back out of one task, attend to another, and return to the first task, takes another 20-25 minutes.
A virtual executive assistant who understands your contacts and priorities can manage email and phone screening, allowing you to focus only on messages that need your attention.
The assistant can also:
-
Forward messages to a more appropriate contact
-
Create folders and store emails for you to review later
-
Return calls and emails to qualify ambiguous inquiries on your behalf
- Highlight urgent messages
Travel Planning
Many executives prefer to plan their travel to control their experience. They have preferences for:
-
Airlines
-
Airports
-
Aircraft seating
-
Loyalty program perks
-
Hotel chains
-
Room types
-
Rental car agencies
-
Vehicle types
It's understandable. Travel, even for business, is a personal experience. But the average business trip takes about 12 hours to plan. Think of all your time looking at different flight times, layovers, hotel availability, and prices, and starting over when one itinerary doesn't quite work. Then, there is the time spent scheduling meetings at the destination city, selecting restaurants for meals, and making reservations. It adds up.
You can record and assign all of these preferences, review the final plan, and make adjustments. Nonetheless, having an executive assistant who understands your needs and provides you with a complete itinerary along with all the essential documents before your departure is a significant advantage.
Ultimately, your virtual executive assistant learns your preferences and applies them to your travel plans, allowing you to skip all the busy work.
Event Planning
Trade shows and conferences often involve managing numerous logistics. Although a virtual executive assistant is not a trade show manager, they can oversee both internal and external executive event plans to ensure consistency with your venue standards, meal selections, displays, and materials.
External executive events include:
- Trade shows
- Conferences
- Partner meetings
- Executive speaking opportunities
For external events, a virtual executive assistant can:
-
Reserve venues
-
Send invitations to your contacts
-
Order display and collateral materials
-
Arrange for any shipping to the venue
-
Book your flights, hotels, and meetings
-
Register for the event
-
Submit abstracts for speaking opportunities
Professional Networking
Keeping up with professional networks is something that often falls by the wayside for busy executives. A LinkedIn study found that:
-
80 percent of executives said networking is important
-
70 percent got positions where they had a connection
-
49 percent say they don't have time to do it
A virtual executive assistant can be your networking ninja, helping you stay connected with your contacts by:
-
Entering and segmenting contacts in a database
-
Researching networking events
- Creating post-networking event follow-up cadences
- Managing contacts in your CRM
- Creating reminders to reach out to contacts
- Managing your notes
Personal Tasks
Personal tasks take up to 25 percent of an executive's time. As day-to-day work duties impede productivity, non-work tasks can do the same. The goal is not necessarily to give the executive more time to work (and less at home) but to enable executives to focus on what matters most in their lives — at work and beyond. A virtual executive assistant can perform personal tasks like:
-
Shopping for gifts
-
Scheduling personal appointments
-
Paying bills
-
Planning family vacations
-
Making dinner reservations
An executive virtual assistant can also make sure that important personal functions are on the executive's calendar, such as:
-
Parent-teacher meetings
-
Children's activities
-
Birthdays and anniversaries
Why You Need a Virtual Executive Assistant
You need a virtual executive assistant because there isn't enough time in the day! Technology has enabled executives to be self-sufficient, including managing their own administrative tasks. Voicemail, calendar apps, travel and expense applications, and more have made in-office admins less common, but those tasks still need to be accomplished.
You need a virtual executive assistant when you need someone who can effectively represent you to others both inside and outside your organization. You're giving this person the authority to:
-
Schedule internal and external meetings
-
Prioritize email and phone communications
-
Delegate requests for your time to a more appropriate contact
Signs you need a virtual executive assistant include:
-
Your email and voicemail boxes are overflowing
-
Your significant other is complaining
-
Your subordinates are complaining
-
Business is slowing down
-
Your work-life balance is out of balance
These indicate that your key priorities are struggling both at work and at home. A virtual executive assistant can help you regain your focus.
Learn more about Prialto virtual executive assistants:
How Much Does a Virtual Executive Assistant Cost?
The cost of a virtual assistant for executives is usually determined based on an hourly rate. That rate depends on how you hire the assistant and whether the assistant is U.S.-based or offshore. There are three ways to hire a virtual executive assistant, each with different price points, risks, and benefits:
-
Directly hire a part-time employee or freelancer
-
Hire through a contract virtual executive assistant agency
-
Hire through a managed virtual executive assistant service
The Cost of a Direct-Hire Virtual Executive Assistant
Plain and straightforward, directly hiring an employee will be the least expensive option, especially offshore. Using a job board is the most common way to engage directly. Direct-hire rates start at:
-
$2 per hour for offshore virtual assistants
-
$20 per hour for U.S.-based assistants
Note that these prices don't differentiate between a virtual assistant and a virtual executive assistant.
While a direct hire may offer the lowest hourly rate, it will cost you the most time. You will need to recruit, hire, and provide any HR overhead. More importantly, you'll have to train and manage another employee. If you're already overstretched, know what you are looking for to find the right person. You want your assistant to give you time back, not take more of yours!
Also, remember that your remote virtual assistant will work in a home office and network with a personal computer. If you give this assistant access to any sensitive personal or company information, you'll need to inquire about the assistant's security measures, including potential VPN deals to enhance security. Finally, you are solely responsible for the mismatch risk and for the assistant's quality control. A bad hire means you start over.
The Cost of a Virtual Executive Assistant Agency
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of U.S. virtual assistant agencies that offer to connect you with U.S.-based and offshore assistants. Not all of them specialize in executive assistants. The advantage of using an agency is that some of the vetting is done for you. Most agencies screen candidates and have some experience matching executives with the right assistant. That removes some of the risks of a bad hire and much of the recruiting and interviewing time. Also, you typically pay the agency, which eliminates any HR overhead.
That said, any required training, performance management, and quality control are up to you. You'll pay more because a "middleman" takes a share of the rate. Using an agency can work if you have experience managing virtual executive assistants. Virtual assistant agency rates start at:
-
$8 per hour for an offshore assistant
-
$30 per hour for a U.S.-based assistant
As with job boards, agencies don't differentiate between executive assistants and admin assistants.
The Cost of a Managed Virtual Assistant Service Provider
With a managed virtual executive assistant service, you're not hiring a virtual assistant; you're hiring a company. Managed virtual assistant service providers recruit, train, and optimize the performance of offshore virtual assistants on your behalf. Managed service providers typically offer a few types of virtual assistants for distinct functions:
-
Executive administration
-
Sales and marketing support
-
Back-office operations
The assistants are employees of service providers. An account manager supports the executive functions of your assistant by documenting your processes and training the assistant on your preferred workflows, while an internal manager oversees performance. The managed service follows a high-touch model, making it ideal if you prefer not to have extra people to train or supervise. In addition to a trained executive assistant, you also receive a fully trained backup assistant who takes over when your primary assistant is unavailable.
- Managed virtual executive assistant services start at $25 per hour
A fourth way to hire a virtual assistant is through a freelance marketplace like Upwork, but that isn't realistic for an executive assistant as these services are more task-based.
How to Hire a Virtual Executive Assistant
As mentioned above, there are three ways to hire a virtual executive assistant:
-
Directly hire a part-time employee or freelancer
-
Hire through a contract virtual executive assistant agency
-
Hire through a managed virtual executive assistant service
How to Hire a Part-time or Freelance Virtual Executive Assistant
The options for hiring a part-time employee are the same as for any position. You place an ad on Craigslist or a job board, or you can search a job board or marketplace for suitable candidates. In either case, you’ll need to know what you're looking for—the skills, experience, hours per week, tools, and technology that your executive assistant will need. Job board ads must be done right to be effective and can make or break hiring success, as shown in this Manatal report comparing paid job ads against free job posts across multiple job boards.
Job boards with U.S.-based virtual assistants include:
-
Craigslist
-
Indeed
-
ZipRecruiter
Job boards and marketplaces with offshore executive assistants include:
-
Onlinejobs.ph
-
Upwork
-
Fiverr
How to Hire a Virtual Executive Assistant through a Managed Service Provider
As mentioned above, the answer to the question “How do you hire a virtual executive assistant through a managed service provider is?” is, “You don’t.” The service provider hires, trains, and manages the virtual executive assistant. You tell them your needs, and the provider picks an assistant with the experience and skills you need. Hiring can be time-consuming, and a managed service is the fastest way to get started.
The advantage of this model is that you don’t need to qualify or train your virtual executive assistants. This can be valuable for executives that:
-
Don’t have experience hiring or managing virtual assistants and don’t know what to look for.
-
Don’t want more people to manage.
-
Want to get from zero to sixty as quickly as possible.
There are fewer managed service providers than freelance or contract virtual assistant options because:
-
The virtual executive assistants are W2/equivalent employees of the provider, and the provider must comply with all labor, tax, payroll, and HR requirements
-
These white glove services have more overhead than job boards or agencies.
-
Staffing and service delivery require more operational sophistication.
Managed virtual executive assistant service providers include:
-
Boldy (U.S-based with U.S. assistants)
-
Prialto (U.S.-based with offshore assistants)
How to Manage a Virtual Executive Assistant
As you can see from the section above, there are two options when it comes to managing a virtual executive assistant:
-
Manage the assistant yourself
-
Engage a managed service provider
Managing includes training. While an assistant may have experience with the software platforms you use, they may still need training in your processes and preferences in using these tools. You will need to train an executive assistant on your processes and preferences:
-
How to send meeting invitations and confirmations
-
Times of day you like to schedule distinct types of meetings
-
How long meetings should last
-
How much buffer time do you want between meetings
-
Priority contacts for email and phone responses
-
Your preferred response times for communications
-
All your travel preferences
With a direct hire or agency, you or someone in your organization must train and manage the assistant on your processes. In an onboarding call, an account manager documents your processes and preferences with a managed service provider. The service provider trains the virtual executive assistant in advance so that the assistant arrives ready to work.
Getting Started
A virtual executive assistant can be a lifesaver for busy executives, giving you back those 16 hours a week you spend on busy work. As you can see, there is a lot to consider when making this hire. Because the assistant will be your representative to internal and external contacts, it's essential to get it right.
Prialto offers a managed virtual assistant service that has helped executives boost productivity for over 12 years.
Curious about the Prialto experience?