Virtual executive assistants, also known as VEAs, are becoming more common in the business world. They help executives, like CEOs and managers, by taking on tasks that are important but not directly related to moving the business forward. This allows the executive to focus on more important tasks and make the most of their time.

Finding the right VEA for your company can be tricky, but it’s important to understand their role and responsibilities. It’s also important to consider their skills and experience, as well as their communication abilities. With the right VEA, you can ensure that your business runs smoothly and that important tasks are taken care of.

Understanding the Role of a Virtual Executive Assistant

A virtual executive assistant, or VEA, is a type of remote assistant that works specifically for an executive or a team. They are similar to traditional administrative assistants, but they are focused on supporting an executive rather than a business as a whole.

VEAs often take on a wide range of tasks, from handling repetitive admin tasks to helping establish processes. They can also make independent decisions to increase productivity.

The difference between a traditional virtual assistant and a VEA is that a traditional virtual assistant mostly performs repetitive tasks based on pre-defined processes, while a VEA might help establish those processes.

Executives often find themselves bogged down with admin tasks, and their ability to grow the business can be hindered by a lack of time. By hiring a VEA, they can free up time and focus on important tasks while the VEA takes on the admin work with a higher level of skill and trust.

The Tasks and Responsibilities of a Virtual Executive Assistant

A virtual executive assistant, or VEA, is a type of remote assistant who performs a variety of tasks to support an executive or a team. Some of the tasks that a VEA may handle include:

Calendar management: Executives often spend a significant amount of time scheduling meetings, which can be time-consuming and disruptive. A Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA) can manage this task by contacting meeting participants, proactively sharing the executive’s calendar availability, and sending confirmations to minimize the number of canceled meetings.

Email and phone screening:

Executives can spend up to three hours a day managing email and voicemail, much of which is spent deleting unimportant messages. A Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA) can manage this task by familiarizing themselves with the executive’s contacts and priorities, forwarding messages to the appropriate contacts, creating folders, and returning calls and emails.

Travel itinerary organization: Many executives prefer to organize their own travel arrangements, but it can be time-consuming. A VEA can document and delegate the executive’s travel preferences, such as preferred airlines, hotels, and rental car agencies, and create a complete itinerary with all necessary documents before the executive leaves.

Event planning:

Trade shows and conferences can involve a lot of logistics and planning. A VEA can help oversee the planning of internal and external executive events

Personal Tasks: Executives often have a lot on their plate, and personal tasks can take up a significant portion of their time. This can include things like shopping for gifts, scheduling appointments, paying bills, planning vacations, and making dinner reservations. These tasks can be time-consuming and can impede productivity, both at work and at home.

A virtual executive assistant can help by taking care of these tasks on the executive’s behalf. This can free up the executive’s time and allow them to focus on what matters most to them, both at work and in their personal life. The assistant can also ensure that crucial personal events are scheduled on the executive’s calendar, such as parent-teacher conferences, children’s extracurricular activities, and milestone celebrations.

Professional networking:

It is an essential part of being an executive, as it allows you to connect with other professionals in your industry. However, it can be difficult for busy executives to keep up with their professional networks.

A virtual executive assistant can help you stay connected with your professional network by Organizing and sorting your contacts in a database, Scheduling regular calls or meetings with key contacts, Researching events you’re attending to see if any of your connections will be there and scheduling meetings with them, Following up on any action items or tasks discussed during your meetings or calls.

Why You Need a Virtual Executive Assistant

As an executive, you may find that there simply isn’t enough time in the day to handle all of your responsibilities. With the advancements in technology, it’s now possible for executives to take on more tasks themselves, such as scheduling meetings, managing email and phone communications, and delegating requests for your time. However, despite these advancements, there are still numerous responsibilities that need to be accomplished to maintain the smooth operation of your business. This is where a virtual executive assistant comes in.

A virtual executive assistant acts as a representative for you, both internally and externally, handling important tasks such as scheduling meetings, prioritizing email and phone communications, and delegating requests for your time. They can help you get back on track when you start to notice signs that your work-life balance is suffering.

Signs that you may need a virtual executive assistant include an overflowing email and voicemail inbox, complaints from your significant other or subordinates, a decline in business, and an overall lack of balance in your work and personal life.

In short, a virtual executive assistant can help you manage your time and responsibilities more effectively, permitting you to concentrate on the most critical aspects and restore a more harmonious work-life equilibrium.

Ways to Hire a Virtual Executive Assistant: Pros and Cons

When it comes to recruiting a Virtual Executive Assistant, there are several alternatives available, each with its specific advantages and disadvantages. The hourly rate for the assistant will depend on how you choose to hire them and whether they are U.S.-based or offshore. The three main ways to hire a virtual executive assistant are:

Directly hiring a part-time employee or freelancer. This is typically the least expensive option, especially when hiring offshore assistants. The hourly rate for offshore virtual executive assistants can start as low as $2 per hour, while the rate for U.S-based assistants starts at $20 per hour.

However, directly hiring an employee will cost you the most time as you will need to handle all recruitment, hiring, and HR-related tasks. Additionally, you will need to train and manage the employee.

Hiring through a contract virtual executive assistant agency. There are many U.S-based virtual assistant agencies that can connect you with U.S-based and offshore assistants. Some agencies specialize in executive assistants and can help with some of the vetting processes. However, using an agency will cost more, and any training, performance management, and quality control will be up to you.

Hiring through a managed virtual executive assistant service. This is where you are hiring a company that will handle recruitment, training, and performance optimization of offshore virtual assistants on your behalf. These services typically start at $25 per hour. However, this option is a high-touch model, and may not be ideal if you don’t want additional people to train or supervise.

It is essential to note that another method of hiring a virtual assistant is through a freelance platform like Upwork, However, this method may not be the most suitable option for hiring an executive assistant as these platforms are primarily focused on completing specific tasks.

Options for Hiring a Virtual Executive Assistant:

Direct Hiring, Agencies, and Managed Services As previously mentioned, there are three ways to hire a virtual executive assistant: directly hiring a part-time employee or freelancer, hiring through a contract virtual executive assistant agency, and hiring through a managed virtual executive assistant service.

Each choice has its unique advantages and disadvantages, thus it’s crucial to consider which method aligns with your necessities and resources. To recruit a part-time employee or freelancer, you can post an advertisement on Craigslist or a job board, or you can search for a suitable candidate on a job board or marketplace.

Some popular job boards for U.S.-based virtual assistants include Craigslist, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter. For offshore virtual executive assistants, some popular job boards and marketplaces include Online jobs.ph, Upwork, and Fiverr.

To hire a virtual executive assistant through an agency, you can work with an account manager who will document your requirements and introduce you to the candidates that the agency believes align with your needs from their networks.

This can be an efficient way to find a good match, but you will be responsible for training and performance management. Some popular U.S-based agencies include Belay, Delegated, and Time Etc.

To recruit a Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA)

To recruit a Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA) through a managed service provider, you don’t need to qualify or train your virtual assistants as the service provider will handle the hiring, training, and management of the virtual executive assistant.

This can be an efficient way to get started and it’s ideal for executives who don’t have experience hiring or managing virtual assistants, don’t want more people to manage, or want to get started as quickly as possible.