When you can’t hire new employees, the work you wanted them to do still needs to be done.
That’s why companies large and small have turned to remote executive assistants, AKA offshore virtual assistants, to reduce costs and increase executive productivity simultaneously.
The virtual assistant market grew by 41 percent in 2020, according to NanoGlobals. During the height of the pandemic, as businesses transitioned to remote work, many realized that hiring remote executive assistants on a fractional basis could be a cost-effective way to reduce labor costs and free executives to focus more on revenue-generating work.
“Companies stand to save significantly through the use of offsite or offshore outsourcing of admin and assistant tasks,” the study said. “The average company can save more than 50 percent on costs by staffing offshore, with admin and non-technical task work offering one of the largest cost savings.”
Yet, the study also found that “Despite the savings, it’s common for US companies to hire full-time staff for basic admin and assistant work for a variety of reasons ranging from tradition to negative views of globalization to lack of technical ability to manage remote team members.”
Burnout from Overwork on Busywork
Asana’s 2022 Anatomy of Global Work Index found that employees spend 58 percent of their time on “work about work,” tasks that do not require employees' full skill and training levels. "Managers and workers at medium and large companies suffer disproportionately from work about work,” researchers said.
Yerbo’s Burnout Index surveyed over 32,000 workers and discovered that 62 percent feel physically and emotionally drained. A Deloitte survey found that 69 percent of C-suite executives said they were “seriously considering quitting for a job that better supports their well-being.” That was before recession fears slowed hiring and caused layoffs in some sectors. “Layoffs are happening as firms tighten their belts ahead of the recession,” Yerbo said. “And for those left behind at work, there are the additional burdens of bigger workloads and handling the burnout that comes with it.”
Offload Administrative Tasks
Paying executives to do administrative tasks does not make sense. If you can hire a part-time remote assistant to take on the 58 percent of a worker’s time spent on busy work to give them more time for their core responsibilities, you can reduce costs, increase productivity, and preserve executives’ mental well-being.
Where does the time go? According to Asansa, compared to 2021:
- 42 percent of employees are spending more time on email
- 40 percent are spending more time on video calls
- 52 percent are multitasking more during virtual meetings
- 56 percent feel they need to respond immediately to notifications
Survey respondents noted that switching between apps significantly impacted their productivity, with 19 percent reporting reduced attention to tasks and 17 percent admitting they worked longer hours as a result. Overall, 21 percent of respondents agreed that moving between apps had made them less efficient at their job.
Starting and stopping tasks and apps is a significant time killer. It is called “switching time,” and it takes about 25 minutes to refocus with each switch. "Frequently switching between tasks overloads the brain and makes you less efficient," said Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D., founder and chief director of the Center for Brain Health. "It is a formula for failure in which your thoughts remain on the surface level, and errors occur more frequently."
What Can Remote Executive Assistants Do?
Asana defines “work about work” as “searching for information, switching between apps, managing shifting priorities, and chasing status updates.” Most of these tasks can be easily delegated to a trained remote assistant, allowing executives to focus on moving their businesses forward at a significantly lower cost than hiring a full-time on-site assistant or additional executives. Everyday tasks companies delegate to virtual assistants include:
- Calendar management—scheduling meetings, sending confirmations, following up on action items.
- Email organization—sorting emails by priority, responding to routine questions.
- Travel and expenses—researching travel options in advance, filing expense reports.
- File management—finding and storing information.
- Research—finding sales leads, partnership opportunities, and building lists.
- CRM management—entering and updating contact information.
How to Find Reliable Virtual Assistants
Saying that virtual assistants can take workloads off executives’ plates can be easier said than done. You still must recruit, vet, hire, and train someone. Hiring, onboarding, and managing virtual assistants at scale can be a full-time job. It takes 30 days to hire an executive assistant, and 120 days to onboard one, according to C-Suite Assistants.
As NanoGlobals pointed out, few businesses have the expertise to manage offshore workers.
That’s why more businesses are turning to managed virtual assistant services as a flexible, affordable alternative to hiring individual freelancers or independent contractors. Managed virtual assistant service providers hire, train, and supervise remote executive assistants so you don’t have to. The service provider onboards the assistants on your tools and systems, and trains them on your best practices for task management. The service provider also trains backup assistants for continuity if your primary assistant is absent or leaves. You have none of the costs or risks associated with hiring a full-time employee.
Get More Done with Less
Talk to any CFO or COO, and they will always tell you that now is the time to get more done with fewer resources. During boom times, you are struggling to keep up with growth, and workloads increase. In uncertain or down economies, you reduce spending and hiring, forcing employees to pick up the slack. Either of these scenarios can work for a while, but eventually, people will burn out or the quality of work will suffer. Remote executive assistants offer a cost-effective solution to this cycle.
Want to learn more? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Virtual Assistants
About the Author: Bill is Prialto's senior content marketing manager and writes about the future of work and how businesses can be more productive and successful. His work has appeared in the World Economic Forum Agenda blog and CIO magazine.