How Do I Hire a Good Administrative Assistant?
Do you seem to have a never-ending list of essential yet low-level tasks? Are these tasks taking you away from your core functions, like running your business and finding growth opportunities? Then it’s time to hire an administrative assistant.
Finding the right administrative assistant for your business is essential to ensure its success. Their support can help clear your desk and mind for high-level responsibilities. But before you get into the recruitment process, you may ask yourself, “How do I hire a good administrative assistant?” But don’t fret. Hiring the right talent may be challenging, but it’s not impossible as long as you are clear with your business needs and ready to delegate effectively.
What is an Administrative Assistant?
An administrative assistant is someone who provides support to a team, individual, or business. They typically handle various tasks, such as managing emails, scheduling appointments, making travel arrangements, managing databases, and providing general administrative support. The duties of an administrative assistant may vary depending on factors such as the following:
- Industry or Specialization
- Size of the Organization
- Immediate Superior’s Scope of Work
Want to learn about what remote administrative assistants can do for your business? Visit our Virtual Staffing 101 page or schedule a free consultation with our Growth Experts today.
Who Needs Administrative Assistants?
Hiring a great administrative assistant can benefit businesses or organizations of any size. Whether you’re a team of one or an executive with many direct reports, an administrative assistant can provide valuable back-office support. They’ll take on the routine, time-consuming tasks, so you can focus on your core responsibilities.
Three Signs You Need an Administrative Assistant
The administrative assistant position is an important role. However, not all executives or managers think they need one for themselves or their team. If you’re still on the fence about hiring an administrative assistant, here are three tell-tale signs you need to look out for:
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Sign 1: Administrative Tasks Dominate Your Work Day
If you find yourself constantly trying to juggle important yet low-level tasks, it may be a sign that you need an administrative assistant. Having an extra pair of hands to take on some of these routine office tasks can alleviate the stress and make it easier for you to focus on the bigger picture.
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Sign 2: Communication and Organization Are Suffering
If you’re finding it hard to keep up with emails, reply to messages in a timely manner, or stay on top of important deadlines, you can hire administrative assistants to help. They can handle communication needs like responding to emails, setting reminders, and coordinating with other departments.
Administrative assistants can also keep your files and calendar in order. They have the necessary skills to help you stay on top of your schedule and responsibilities. You don’t have to worry about missing another meeting or getting lost in translation with a great administrative assistant.
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Sign 3: Burnout Seems Inevitable
Burnout is especially common among executives and managers who don’t delegate effectively. This can be due to various reasons, from staffing shortages to the inability to let go of routine tasks. But no matter the reason, taking on too many administrative tasks on top of your executive responsibilities will result in burnout.
An administrative assistant can be the key to freeing up your plate and avoiding burnout. By delegating to your administrative assistant, you can perform your duties better without sacrificing work-life balance.
Two Main Types of Administrative Assistants
When you’re ready to hire a new administrative assistant, you can choose from these options:
In-Office Administrative Assistant
An in-office administrative assistant works from a physical office or workspace. Depending on the business needs, they may work on a full-time or part-time basis. They may provide administrative support to one executive or a business unit with multiple team members.
Remote Administrative Assistant
A remote administrative assistant provides admin support from anywhere around the world, armed with a stable internet connection, of course. Because they have their own remote office, clients don’t need to provide them with physical work desks, additional office supplies, or other work tools. They can accomplish the job of an in-house administrative assistant but without the associated overhead costs.
Benefits of Hiring a Remote Administrative Assistant
A remote administrative assistant or virtual assistant (VA) can provide a wide range of benefits to every business. Here are some of the top reasons why you should hire a virtual administrative assistant:
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Save Money
Hiring remote workers to be administrative assistants is a cost-effective, flexible solution. They can help to reduce overhead costs associated with the office space, supplies, and other resources needed to support an administrative assistant in-house.
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Scalable and Flexible Staffing Option
Remote administrative assistants can provide flexibility and scalability to help businesses adjust to fluctuating workloads. They can be hired on a part-time, project-based, or full-time basis. Additionally, remote assistants don’t need any physical infrastructure or office space, so you can quickly expand your team of administrative assistants as your business and staffing needs grow. You can do this without worrying about finding additional desk space or making adjustments to your physical office.
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Access to a Global Talent Pool
Hiring remote administrative assistants means opening your business to a larger talent pool. You have more chances to find administrative assistants that fit your key requirements without being limited by their location or nationality.
Additionally, they can add to your team’s diversity. This is an essential value for any modern business, as having a diverse group of people can help you get new perspectives, improve problem-solving, and encourage collaboration and open-mindedness among team members.
How to Hire a Good Remote Administrative Assistant
When hiring a remote administrative assistant, it can be easy to get it wrong. To help you avoid VA hiring mistakes and set your new administrative assistant (and your business) for success, here are seven essential tips:
Enumerate the Tasks You Will Delegate
It is also important to enumerate the tasks and responsibilities you will delegate to the remote administrative assistant. This will help ensure that the remote assistant is aware of the tasks that must be completed and can prioritize them accordingly. Additionally, it can help to give clear instructions and provide any necessary resources or guidance to ensure that the tasks are completed correctly and in a timely manner.
Here are examples of day-to-day responsibilities an administrative assistant can do for you:
- Scheduling Meetings
- Expense Reports
- Answering Phone Calls
- Business Correspondence
- Office Management
- Organizing Files
- Collating and Preparing Reports and Meeting Notes
- Monitoring and Ordering Office Supplies
- Other Admin or Clerical Tasks
Specify Required Technical and Soft Skills
You must also specify the preferred skills and qualifications required for the job. This will help you to find the right candidate for the position and make sure they have the suitable skills and experience to complete the tasks effectively.
Your required skills and qualities may vary depending on the actual job duties, but some of the essential skills for an administrative assistant include:
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Computer Proficiency
An administrative virtual assistant must be proficient with computers to perform their job. They need to be comfortable using computers and the typical tools used to generate reports, schedule appointments, organize files, etc. Examples of such tools include:
- Microsoft Office
- Google Workspace
- Project management apps like Asana
- Communication apps like Slack and Skype
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Communication Skills
A virtual administrative assistant should have good communication skills so nothing gets lost in translation. Whether learning about a new task or taking phone calls from business partners, their communication skills will come in handy. Having a good communicator for an administrative assistant will ensure all business communications are accomplished in a clear and professional manner.
Aside from being able to converse professionally and clearly, your administrative assistant should also be a good listener. Listening well allows them to comprehend instructions and expectations well. They must also know how to ask the right questions to ensure they can turn in assignments on time and up to the client’s standard.
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Time Management Skills
Administrative assistants help their clients stay on top of their schedules and workload. To do this, they must have excellent time management skills. It’s best to look for an administrative assistant who can independently manage their own tasks, prioritize urgent assignments, multi-task, and stay organized.
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Highly-Organized
Staying organized is another important skill your administrative assistant should possess. The remote administrative assistant needs to be able to keep track of emails, documents, appointments, and other information related to their job. A highly-organized person can quickly locate the correct file or information the client is asking for.
Want more information? Find out if the VA you’re hiring has these must-have administrative assistant skills, or claim your free consultation with our Growth Experts!
Create a Complete Job Listing
If you want to find administrative assistants that match what you’re looking for, you need to be specific in your job listing. Your administrative assistant job description and ad should be clear and have all the required information. By providing a complete job listing, you can help administrative professionals see your job and assess if they qualify for the role.
Before posting on job boards, make sure your job listing communicates the following essential information:
- Job Title
- Job Description
- Preferred Technical and Soft Skills
- Educational Requirements (e.g., College Graduate, Associate’s Degree, High School Diploma, etc.)
- Scope of Work
- Salary Amount or Salary Range
- Benefits
- Start Date or Availability
- Job Type (Full-time, Part-time, Project-based, etc.)
- Short Background on the Company and Industry
- Application Procedure
To make the application process easier for everyone, post job ads with complete details and clear instructions.
Get the Word Out Through the Right Channels
Once you have crafted a complete job listing, it’s time to get the word out. You can use job boards, social media, or both to reach out to potential remote administrative assistants. Make sure to research the most popular and effective career portals for remote job seekers. This way, you have a bigger chance of reaching the best applicants and finding the most suitable match for your business needs.
Have a Thorough Screening and Recruitment Process
Screening and reviewing applications is another important part of the hiring process. You need to review applications from the various administrative assistant candidates. In this step, you need to be very thorough to make sure you’re getting qualified candidates that match the job description and requirements.
You, the hiring manager, or your recruitment lead must ensure the shortlisted candidates have the relevant skills, experience, and expertise needed to do the job. To help learn more about the shortlisted candidates, you can conduct interviews and administer test tasks. You can ask questions about topics that the resumes don’t usually uncover, like their adaptability, ability to communicate effectively, problem-solving skills, and the like.
Don’t Skip Onboarding
Just because you’ve hired the most suitable candidate for the job doesn’t mean you can skip onboarding altogether. You still need to formally welcome the new member, introduce them to other team members, and align expectations with them.
It can also help to provide any additional training or resources needed to help the remote assistant become familiar with the tasks and responsibilities. It’s also important to ensure that the remote assistant is comfortable with the technology and tools they will need to use to effectively do their job.
Seek Help from Remote Hiring Experts
The administrative assistant hiring process can be time-consuming and challenging regardless of the position you’re looking to fill. It can also be especially difficult if talent acquisition is not your core strength. You can consider working with a remote staffing agency to make the hiring process more convenient and effective.
Save Money
A full-service remote staffing company like 20four7VA can help you save more money in the long run. Their experience in finding the most suitable remote talent will benefit their client. Many clients have experienced employees leaving due to the wrong job fit or unclear expectations. This will force them to restart the recruitment process, requiring additional labor hours and training costs.
Additionally, a full-service company like 20four7VA provides end-to-end services, including HR services, remote talent management, and in-house training. With all these additional functions included in the package, you can get the best remote staffing experience without overshooting your budget.
Save Time and Energy
Working with an experienced remote staffing company can be cost-efficient. They have the right expertise and network to find the right person for the role in the most efficient way possible. You don’t have to spend your valuable time and energy finding an administrative assistant since you can count on your remote staffing services provider to do it for you.
Get Access to Pre-Vetted Global Talent
Aside from their expertise, one way an experienced remote staffing company can find the best talents quickly is their global talent pool. These talents have already undergone the company’s screening process and are ready to be matched with a client.
20four7VA remote assistants have undergone the company’s meticulous 8-step screening and vetting process. We have a thorough process to ensure all clients have access to top-notch talent and that our remote talents are equipped with the right tools to succeed in their next remote assistant role.
Ready to hire a remote administrative assistant? Book your free consultation with our 20four7VA Growth Experts today.
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Best Relaxation Apps for Busy Managers
For managers and business owners alike, stress and anxiety are common occurrences. In the digital age, one way to relieve stress and anxiety is through some of the different relaxation apps available online. These apps were specifically created to provide relief, entertainment, and relaxation to its users. Here are the best relaxation apps for busy managers to help them get through the day.
Omvana
Omvana is a free app that includes optional purchases for audio tracks that help soothe the mind. Considered by some as the life coach of meditation apps and websites, it not only relaxes you while you meditate. It also helps to sharpen your mind so you’ll be more focused on your upcoming projects. This is useful for goal-oriented managers who would like to take a break for a while to feel reenergized and more focused on the task at hand.
Calm
As the name of the app implies, the goal is to get you in a calm and relaxed state. It’s a subscription-based app that helps reduce stress and make you feel more relaxed. Musical tracks provide different targets for your well-being. You can choose from different tracks that target good sleep, focus, relaxation, and calmness. If you want additional tracks in your library, you’ll need to make in-app purchases. Surely you won’t mind spending a few bucks to feel bliss?
Buddhify 2
It’s the meditation app built for the urban life. The app is designed to help you feel focused and relaxed while you walk, commute; go to the gym or just stay at home. A perfect fit for the busy and active managers who reside and work in the urban jungle.
The Mindfulness App
It’s designed to provide you with 5-day meditation “sessions” to help you get attuned to your daily or weekly goals. Sessions last from 3 to 30 minutes, and these sessions are customizable and adaptable to your specific needs.
Headspace
It provides the user with 10 daily guided meditation sessions that they can use to relax. Don’t have any internet access where you’re going? It’s not going to be a problem as you can download the meditation sessions so you can use them offline. This is pretty useful if you want to spend the weekend in the woods or the mountains without any Wi-Fi signal. This can be your companion while you relax and meditate. It also features dedicated sessions targeting different areas you want to focus on like stress, eating, sleeping, walking and mindfulness.
Breathe2Relax
Feeling relaxed yet? This app is designed to guide you with breathing. These breathing exercises are focused on helping you manage stressful situations. It also guides you on how to keep calm and control your anger and anxiety.
These are some of the apps available in the Appstore and Google Playstore that busy managers can access and download. Keeping yourself relaxed and calm is very important. It helps you be more focused on upcoming projects and allows you to get rid of unnecessary stress. All these apps are just waiting to be downloaded and tried, so give each of them a go and see what fits best with your mood and your lifestyle.
Next: 5 Compelling Reasons To Outsource Your Social Media Management
20Four7VA recognizes the challenge of effectively managing an online business – and we are very eager to help. Our company specializes in eCommerce VIRTUAL STAFFING SOLUTIONS, providing customizable and scalable solutions to small, medium, and large enterprise business owners so they can focus on growing their business.
Ready to have access to incredible people with incredible skills in the most cost-effective way? Contact us today!
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7 Practical Reasons Why You Need To Hire A Virtual Assistant
Hiring a virtual assistant can be very beneficial for your business’ growth and success. Over the years, virtual assistants have immensely helped small businesses and startups boost sales and growth. To learn more about this, here are 7 practical reasons why you need to hire a virtual assistant.
Hand over the tedious jobs
If there are tasks that you don’t want to do, your virtual assistant or virtual secretary can work on them for you. Usually, these include the tedious administrative jobs that you shouldn’t even be doing. This ranges from cleaning your inbox to social media management and data entry to setting appointments. This would not only save you time and money, it would also make your daily life easier and less stressful.
Save time in recruitment
You’ll be saving precious time in the recruitment process when you opt for a virtual assistant. You don’t need to spend much time on interviewing, scheduling and screening candidates to be your virtual assistant. Instead, consider hiring from virtual assistant companies to help you with this. You just need to provide the skill sets you would need for virtual assistants to run your business and the staffing services would do the rest.
Save money on logistics
By hiring a virtual assistant, you don’t have to worry about paying office space rent, utility bills, office supplies, and appliances. You also don’t need to purchase computers and software for your virtual assistants. Since your VAs will be working remotely, a physical office or permanent office will not be on the top priorities of your business’ budget.
Save money on salaries
You’ll save money by hiring a virtual assistant compared to hiring an office employee. Generally, the salaries are lower for VAs because you don’t have to pay for benefits and taxes. You don’t have to spend much on training as well as it is already understood that they already have the skill set you need from them to help you run your business.
Be more productive
By hiring a virtual assistant, you’ll be more productive. You’ll have more time to spend on more important things that will help your business grow and succeed. You won’t have to spend time anymore cleaning your inbox or managing your social media accounts. These are tedious and time-consuming duties that you should not be doing if you want to focus on other aspects of your business.
Get great content
If you’re handling all aspects of your business, you usually spend time thinking and writing new content for your blogs. But this will be a thing of the past once you hire a virtual assistant. You can hire VAs that are expert content writers to accomplish these tasks for you. Imagine the time you’ll be saving in thinking of new subjects and new topics to discuss in your blogs.
Get a cleaner your inbox
Cleaning your inbox is a tedious task that can take up a lot of your precious time. Delegate this task to your virtual assistant and have them organize and sort your inbox to save you the time and effort. It also allows you more time to answer emails that are actually important and relevant to your business. You don’t have to worry about irrelevant emails in the future.
These are the 7 practical reasons why you need to hire a virtual assistant now. Don’t waste the time and opportunity to hire one. Now that you know the benefits, hiring a virtual assistant should be a priority. Take advantage of this opportunity and you’ll never feel overworked and understaffed again.
Next: Why You Need A 20four7va Virtual Assistant For Your Ecommerce Business
20Four7VA recognizes the challenge of effectively managing an online business – and we are very eager to help. Our company specializes in eCommerce VIRTUAL STAFFING SOLUTIONS, providing customizable and scalable solutions to small, medium, and large enterprise business owners so they can focus on growing their business.
Ready to have access to incredible people with incredible skills in the most cost-effective way? Give us a call at our toll free number 1 (443) 856-4882 today!
READ MOREThe Local Business Owner’s Guide to Avoiding Social Media Mishaps
As an owner of a local company that shares the same line of business with big corporations, how do you keep up with advertising, if at all?
The answer to your marketing woes are two words: Social Media.
It’s time to step up with your social networking skills from a savvy business person’s perspective. Like any other marketing platform, it takes skill, impeccable timing, and a good strategy to make a name for yourself on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Before you set out outlining your strategy, it’s best to know which practices to weed out. Remember that you cannot just copy what the other businesses are doing. They may have goals and needs which are different to your own or a much larger market to target.
What you need is a type of approach that’s geared towards a more focused, localized market.
Here is the local business owner’s guide to avoiding social media mishaps:
Mistake #1: Not being proactive in direct messages or comments
Many businesses regard Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter as mere advertising platforms. Although marketing through these networks is effective, it should not make you forget what regular customers are using these apps for: to communicate.
Here’s how to make it right:
As the owner of a local business, you can’t afford to be mum when users send you direct messages or comments on your posts. Although it might get a little tedious to answer the same basic questions, you must be as accommodating and informative as possible. Remember that you have a local company. Your best shot is to show people you are their friendly neighborhood supplier of the services you provide.
Mistake #2: Pouring all your efforts in one platform
While it is true that it’s not smart to be a jack of all trades, you must at least expand your horizon and optimize relevant social networks available at your disposal. Focusing on one network alone means not taking advantage of the exposure other platforms can give you.
Here’s how to make it right:
Highlight the different strengths of your business using the different forte of social channels.
On Facebook, you can share links to your blog or website and increase brand exposure through check-ins and tags. On Instagram, you can showcase vivid and colorful snapshots of your products to entice customers. On LinkedIn, you can build your professional portfolio so other people can view a summary of your profile.
Mistake #3: Not having a strategic schedule of posts
In advertising, timing can make or break your business. An innocent joke made at the wrong time can make you sound insensitive and cause a whiplash. A well-timed post can rouse followers and convert them into subscribers of your blog.
Here’s how to make it right:
Every social channel has a different algorithm and influence on the audience. Know what works and what doesn’t as far as posting frequency and time is concerned.
Here’s a research takeaway you can use as a guide:
- Facebook – 2 posts/day before users flake out in Likes or Comments.
- Twitter – 3 posts/day is the maximum if you’re rooting for engagement. After the third Tweet, users show a decrease in engagement.
- Instagram – 2 posts/day before users feel like you’re spamming their feed.
- LinkedIn – 1 post/day during the week shows 60% of audience reach increase.
- Blogs – 2 blog posts/week regardless of the blogging platform you use. Blogs that publish an entry 3 to 5 times/month shows reader engagement and the companies that increase their posts to 6 to 8 times/month gain twice as much readership.
Mistake #4: Thinking you can manage it all yourself
Just because you have a small business does not mean you have to confine your thinking and obligations to a limited space. While it is possible to manage your social channels and blogs, this leaves you with limited time and energy to work on other business dealings.
Here’s how to make it right:
Hire a virtual office assistant. The good news is, the hiring process is easy, fast, and smart. You can get the best virtual secretary to manage your social channels and blogs as conveniently as possible. All it takes is getting in touch with the right company to help you find the best remote staff.
You already have social media profiles for your small business. Now, thanks to this guide, you’re guaranteed to avoid the typical social networking mishaps that many local businesses fall into.
Next: 3 Quick And Easy Tips To Make Instagram Work For Your Business
20Four7VA recognizes the challenge of effectively managing an online business – and we are very eager to help. Our company specializes in eCommerce VIRTUAL STAFFING SOLUTIONS, providing customizable and scalable solutions to small, medium, and large enterprise business owners so they can focus on growing their business.
Ready to have access to incredible people with incredible skills in the most cost-effective way? Give us a call at our toll free number 1 (443) 856-4882 today!
READ MORE5 Indispensable Social Media Tools for 2017
Social media has proven to be a very powerful tool in brand awareness and exposure. It has become a powerful marketing tool that helped businesses increase their sales and the number of their loyal customers.
To give you an overview of how your business can utilize social media to be even more successful, check out the top 5 indispensable social media tools for 2017 below.
Facebook can be considered as the king of social media platforms right now. Almost everyone has their own Facebook account; even small and big businesses alike. What’s fascinating about Facebook is that it’s dynamic. They constantly update their platform to provide users with innovative features that shake the social media landscape. For instance, Facebook Live, which enables live broadcasts, can be used for interactive product introduction. This was one of the biggest changes Facebook has recently implemented, and it’s projected to improve together with Facebook Messenger and Facebook Marketplace.
YouTube
YouTube has launched its own YouTube community. It has developed from a video sharing website to a video sharing social media platform. This is big for businesses, as consumers can be reached easily through this channel. Its potential is enormous in terms of people sharing your videos, reacting to them and giving their feedback. This is a perfect platform to present or launch your products, or simply market your company’s services.
The biggest feature to further help businesses would be “stories” where you can feature your business or product by sharing pictures or short videos. With millions of users interested to see what “stories” are, this is one strategy that businesses can look into. With Instagram, you can also have influencers introduce your product for their followers to see. They can also react and share the content for their friends to see.
Twitter has evolved from a place to simply express your feelings to a venue where businesses can make their customer service useful. Businesses have started using Twitter to deal with complaints and provide instant customer service. Customers who are on the go can receive quick responses without spending too much time waiting for someone to pick up the phone or respond thru email. Twitter, with speed as its asset, is perfect for this opportunity. The quick interaction between a company and its customers allows fast resolution and satisfaction.
Pinterest has launched “Promoted Pins” for small and medium businesses alike. This allows businesses to further increase brand and product awareness to current customers and potential customers who may be interested in what you could bring to the table. It provides companies the flexibility to run different marketing campaigns and at the same time, monitor which campaign is doing well and which campaign needs improvement.
These are just some of the social media platforms to look forward to in 2017. To make the most of social media, have your virtual assistant or virtual executive assistant act as your social media manager and take advantage of the tools mentioned above.
These are exciting times for marketing and advertising as different tools and innovations are expected to be launched by different social media platforms that compete with each other.
As these platforms compete, different tools are made to attract businesses to use their services. These innovations have become more daring, effective and helpful in different campaigns in marketing.
Next: Reputation Management Tools In Social Media
20Four7VA recognizes the challenge of effectively managing an online business – and we are very eager to help. Our company specializes in eCommerce VIRTUAL STAFFING SOLUTIONS, providing customizable and scalable solutions to small, medium, and large enterprise business owners so they can focus on growing their business.
Ready to have access to incredible people with incredible skills in the most cost-effective way? Give us a call at our toll free number 1 (443) 856-4882 today!
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