When is the right time to hire a virtual assistant?

The best time to hire a virtual assistant was yesterday. The second-best time is today. 

Modern professionals are drowning in administrative work. According to Asana's 2024 State of Work Innovation report, more than half (53%) of knowledge workers' time is swallowed up by busywork — chasing updates, searching for information, and other administrative tasks. That leaves less than half of their time for skilled, strategic work that actually drives business growth. 

This administrative burden isn't just affecting entry-level to mid-career professionals. Our 2024 Executive Productivity Report reveals that 53% of executives cited help with administrative tasks as their chief need — up from 50% in 2022. 

The solution? A skilled virtual assistant who can take these time-consuming tasks off your plate, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: leading, strategizing, and growing your business.

Table of contents

• Who Needs a Virtual Assistant
• When Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant
• Hiring a VA When You're Building 
• Hiring a VA When You Know What You Want
• Hiring a VA When You Need to Fix What's Broken 
• How Prialto Can Help

Who Needs a Virtual Assistant 

If you’re a business leader, executive, entrepreneur, or professional juggling too many responsibilities, chances are good that you could benefit from a virtual assistant. 

Many professionals hesitate, thinking they need to reach a certain level of success, organization, or need before hiring a VA. But the reality is that hiring sooner rather than later can help you scale faster.  

If you recognize any of these signs, you may need a virtual assistant: 

• Your email inbox is out of control, and important emails slip through the cracks 
• You’re missing deadlines because of administrative bottlenecks 
• Projects and important initiatives just aren’t getting done 
• Your calendar is packed, but your to-do list never shrinks 
• You spend more time managing tasks than growing your business 
• You’re eternally behind on your administrative work 
• Your work-life balance is nonexistent 
• You’re stressed out all the time about work tasks 

If you find yourself regularly handling tasks that don't require your specific expertise or leadership skills, you likely need a virtual assistant. The question isn't whether you should hire a VA — it's when to bring that help on board. 

When Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant 

Many leaders feel they need to have all their ducks in a row before hiring a virtual assistant. They think they need perfectly documented processes, crystal-clear task lists, and flawless workflows before they can effectively delegate. 

This "perfect time" approach often leads to indefinite delays in getting the help you need. The truth is, there's never a perfect time — and waiting until everything is perfect could mean missing out on immediate benefits. 

Virtual assistants can add value at any stage of your business journey: 

Hiring a VA When You're Building 

Contrary to popular belief, the early stages of building systems and workflows are an excellent time to bring in a virtual assistant. You don't need to have everything figured out first. 

A managed virtual assistant service, for example, doesn’t just assign you a VA and leave you to figure things out. At Prialto, our engagement managers act as workflow designers, working with you to refine and optimize processes, leveraging best practices, and integrating new tools. The result? A system that evolves with your needs, continuously adopting new technologies and solutions that benefit your specific situation. 

Benefits of Bringing in a VA to Help You Build 

• Take advantage of administrative expertise: Virtual assistants work with multiple clients across various industries, giving them insight into best practices and efficient workflows you might not have considered. Engagement managers are also workflow experts, seeing and handling dozens, or even hundreds of workflows across businesses. 
• Outsource the building process: Instead of spending your valuable time researching tools, designing processes, and testing workflows, your VA team can handle this administrative heavy lifting. 
• Get an objective perspective: Sometimes we're too close to our own processes to see inefficiencies. Hiring a managed VA service brings in fresh eyes to identify bottlenecks and suggest improvements. 
• Scale gradually: As your systems develop, your VA can take on more responsibilities (or you can hire additional VAs), allowing your administrative support to grow alongside your business. 
• Document as you go: Professional VAs excel at creating documentation, capturing your processes even as they evolve. 

Hiring a VA When You Know What You Want 

If you already have defined processes but need help executing them, consider outsourcing those business processes to a virtual assistant. A VA can seamlessly integrate into your existing systems and take administrative burdens off your plate. 

A structured approach ensures your VA understands your workflows, follows best practices, and keeps everything running smoothly. Adding a VA can help prevent burnout and provide consistent support for businesses with: 

• Established CRM systems needing regular maintenance 
• Recurring administrative tasks with clear processes 
• Specific delegation needs for particular departments or project

You can even hire a virtual assistant to assist your executive assistant or office team! Learn more about EAs and VAs working together > 

Benefits of Integrating VAs into Existing Systems 

• Take administrative work off your shoulders immediately: With clear processes already in place, handoff to your new VA can happen quickly and efficiently.  
• Save time and money on training: When you know exactly what you need, onboarding focuses on execution rather than process development. 
• Bring trained expertise to specific tasks: One of the best benefits of managed virtual assistant services is that VAs have access to internal expertise, training, and best practices. 
• Enhance existing teams: VAs can support in-house staff by handling routine tasks, allowing your direct employees to focus on higher-value work. 
• Maintain consistency across processes: With well-documented standard operating procedures, VAs can ensure nothing falls through the cracks — even during vacations or staff transitions. 

Hiring a VA When You Need to Fix What's Broken 

Sometimes the best time to bring in outside help is when your current systems aren't working. If you're experiencing administrative bottlenecks, inconsistent follow-through, or simply feeling overwhelmed by operational details, a virtual assistant service can provide much-needed solutions. 

Managed VA services like Prialto don't just provide task executors — we bring in systems thinkers who can identify problems and implement fixes. 

The Value of a VA Fixer 

• Take advantage of administrative expertise: Professional VAs have seen what works and what doesn't across multiple businesses and can apply these lessons to your situation. 
• Refocus on core work: While your VA sorts out administrative challenges, you can return to the work that drives your business forward. 
• Get quick wins: Trained VAs can help you delegate, solve your immediate issues, and then scale your processes. 
• Break bad habits: Sometimes we develop inefficient ways of working simply because "that's how it's always been done." A VA brings fresh perspective without organizational baggage. 
• Create sustainable systems: Managed VA services focus on building processes that will work for the long term, not just quick fixes. 
• Implement best practices: Instead of reinventing the wheel, leverage the established methods your VA already knows work well. 

How Prialto Can Help 

Prialto’s managed service model stands apart from the more traditional VA solutions on the market. Rather than matching you with a single freelancer (with unknown technology and no oversight), Prialto provides a dedicated primary assistant backed by a team that includes trained backups and an engagement manager who oversees quality and continuity. 

Every Prialto assistant is provided with tools, security, and process training as well as extensive internal support. 

This structure ensures: 

• Minimum gaps in service when your assistant is unavailable 
• Continuous improvement of processes and workflows 
• Consistent quality through standardized training and oversight 
• Scalability as your needs grow 
• Enterprise-level security and SOC-2 Type 1 compliance 
• No long-term commitment 
• Built-in knowledge transfer that protects against turnover 

Whether you're building new systems, integrating into existing workflows, or fixing broken processes, Prialto's team approach delivers reliable, high-quality administrative support tailored to your specific needs. 

The real question isn't whether you need a virtual assistant — it's how much longer you can afford to go without one. With more than half of your potential productive time currently lost to administrative tasks, the return on investment on a VA starts from day one. 

Ready to reclaim your time and focus on what truly matters? The right time to hire a virtual assistant is now.