As businesses progress and grow, the need for efficient management and comprehensive support becomes increasingly important. It’s essential to understand the correct type of employee to hire at each stage of growth. One of the first specialists any business should hire is a qualified executive assistant. Leveraging an assistant’s skills on a competitive executive assistant salary is practically a growth hack. It lets you do more with less time, effort, and resources.
The global economy is unpredictable, and the digital business space has plenty of demands. Thus, finding ways to optimize processes within a tight budget are essential for success. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continuously seek innovative strategies to streamline their operations, enhance productivity, and foster sustained growth.
Read Our Guide to Setting an Executive Assistant’s Salary
Whether your SME is taking its first steps or ready for widespread expansion, it’s essential that you understand an executive assistants' pivotal functions. You must also be aware of the salary structures for EAs and where to find top-tier talent. In this guide, we will dive into the value of remote executive assistants. We shall examine the roles and responsibilities they can fulfill and what factors influence their compensation.
We will also discuss choosing the best type of executive assistant to hire based on your business needs and how Wing can match you with a dedicated assistant that meets your executive assistant salary expectations with expertise to match. So, let’s explore the many benefits that a skilled virtual executive assistant can bring to the table and how they can support the growth of your business.
Why Get a Virtual Executive Assistant
Executive assistants, especially those who work virtually, can benefit small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Optimize Business Processes
With diverse skills, these professionals are masters of streamlining and optimizing business processes. They are proficient with various tools and software that help automate repetitive tasks, manage schedules, organize data, and help with administrative duties.
They can seamlessly integrate with your digital workflows and help optimize them for ultimate operational efficiency. And the remote nature of a virtual executive assistant means they can easily collaborate across dispersed teams.
By delegating tasks to virtual executive assistants, you free up more time for yourself and your team to focus on higher-level tasks that drive business growth, increasing productivity overall.
Scalability and Adaptability
The needs of your business will continue to change as you grow. You may need to pivot strategy based on market demands, you may launch new products, or you may have a higher volume of customers than before.
Virtual executive assistants are highly flexible and equipped to adapt to changes in the needs of your business. You can adjust the tasks and priorities of your EA to align with new goals and projects.
This level of adaptability is essential to SMEs that often experience fluctuating workloads or seasonal demands.
Specialized Skills
Virtual executive assistants come with a diverse range of skills and expertise. You can hire an EA specializing in personal assistance, social media management, customer service, or data entry. Or, you can hire an industry-specific EA who knows your niche inside and out, like a real estate VA, medical scribe, or e-commerce assistant.
Remote Work Advantage
Bringing a virtual EA into your team grants you access to a global talent pool, ensuring you can find an EA with the specific skills and expertise your business requires. Virtual executive assistants are already accustomed to working remotely, and the flexibility of this structure enables efficient collaboration and swift execution of tasks, regardless of physical location.
It can also benefit businesses operating across different time zones and serving customers worldwide. Having a virtual executive assistant that can provide coverage will ensure that essential tasks, communications, and scheduling are managed even when primary team members are offline.
Cost-Effective
When looking at an executive assistant salary, hiring a virtual executive assistant is more cost-effective than hiring a full-time, in-house assistant. With a virtual EA, you only pay for the actual hours worked or specific tasks completed, which can be more economical for SMEs with limited budgets.
Additionally, you can avoid expenses associated with on-site staff, such as office space, equipment, and employee benefits.
Executive Assistant Roles and Responsibilities
Virtual Executive Assistants are versatile professionals with skill sets that enable them to handle a range of roles and responsibilities. These tasks range from administrative duties to recruitment support, all central to supporting business owners and their teams.
Here are some of the different roles that a virtual executive assistant can accomplish for your business:
Administrative Support
Virtual executive assistants can handle a wide array of administrative support tasks. These tedious tasks are essential for the operation of every business, but they can be very time-consuming and constantly pull you away from higher-level objectives. This includes:
- Scheduling and calendar management
- Email management
- Making travel arrangements
- Document, report, and presentation preparation
- Preparing agendas and minutes from meetings
Communication Facilitation
Running your business effectively involves daily internal and external communication. From managing phone calls to taking messages and ensuring prompt follow-ups, a virtual executive assistant can handle all your business communications.
They can also draft, edit and proofread business copy and letters to ensure all communications follow a consistent tone. EAs can also serve as the liaison between your internal teams and external parties, providing a seamless flow of information without any delays.
Data Management
Data makes the business world go round, and the ability to collect, organize and manage your business data is vital to leverage its insights. An executive assistant can keep your databases up-to-date, ensure data is entered correctly and in the optimal format, and help maintain all digital records.
They can also research and gather data to support business decisions or marketing efforts.
Project Management
Many moving parts go into each project, and executive assistants can help manage them. They can support project management by organizing tasks, setting deadlines, and coordinating team efforts.
They can track project milestones using your preferred software tools to ensure each project progresses smoothly and efficiently.
Business Development and Marketing
To continue growing your business, you must generate and nurture leads effectively. Executive assistants can assist in the business development process and many marketing tasks by:
- Researching and qualifying leads
- Initiating contact with potential leads
- Partnership outreach
- Email marketing
- Social media management
- Content coordination
- Online advertising
- CRM management
Financial and Administrative Tasks
And we can’t forget all those tedious financial tasks. A virtual executive assistant can manage expense reports, track receipts, and maintain accurate financial records. They can also handle creating invoices, sending invoices to clients, and tracking payments to ensure they are paid on time.
Executive Assistant Salary: Factors That Influence It
What should you expect to pay as an SME for a virtual executive assistant? Many variables will impact an executive assistant's salary. These include:
- Experience: The level of expertise an executive assistant has can significantly impact their salary. EAs with years of relevant experience, especially in specific industries or roles, often have a higher pay rate.
- Skills and Expertise: EAs with specialized and expertise skills such as project management, software development, language proficiency, or technical knowledge may earn higher salaries due to their added value.
- Qualifications: A higher level of education, such as a bachelor’s or master’s degree, can contribute to a higher salary, mainly if the degree is relevant to the industry or tasks at hand. This includes any specialized certifications, such as Certified Administrative Professional (CAP), Microsoft Office Specialist, or others that can demonstrate a higher level of qualification for the role.
- Location: The salary for a virtual executive assistant will also depend on their geographical location. Those in countries with a lower cost of living will often come with lower salary needs than those with a higher cost of living.
Industry Standards for Remote Executive Assistants
Determining a competitive executive assistant salary involves understanding the current industry standards across global executive assistant roles.
The average annual salary for an executive assistant in the United States is $64,210. This works out to about $31 per hour. Within the industry, you’ll find wages ranging from as low as $14 per hour to as high as $48, depending on the region and the other factors mentioned above.
But by hiring a remote executive assistant, you can access top-level talent without the financial commitment of an annual salary. You only need to pay for the tasks and hours you require. And this can start as low as $1199 per month!
How to Understand Customized Packages and Pricing
Understanding customized packages and pricing can help you better navigate the executive assistant salary and find the best option for your business. First, you need to define the responsibilities and tasks of the executive assistant role.
This can vary widely based on your business and the level of support you need. Other factors that need to be considered include the geographical location where you want your assistant to operate, how many hours a week they are needed, and any specialized skills you require based on your industry.
This information allows you to build a customized executive assistant package based on your unique needs. This can include anywhere from 4 to 8 hours per day and have as many tasks as your administrative assistant can complete during this time.
Pricing can range from $1199 monthly for a part-time assistant to $1999 for a full-time assistant.
The ROI On Executive Assistant Salary
You'll find a substantial ROI when you compare an executive assistant’s salary to that of in-house employees. Hiring in-house employees comes with various costs beyond the compensation, including benefits, office space, equipment, and training.
EAs are typically hired on a contract or project basis, resulting in significant cost savings.
They are also highly flexible, allowing businesses to scale up or down as needed without the commitment of a full-time employee. Plus, with the flexibility to work across different time zones, your business can operate around the clock, which can be especially beneficial for tasks like customer support.
Not only can hiring an executive assistant save your business money, but it can support the increased growth and success of your business. Your business can operate 24/7. You’ll have access to a pool of global talent with specialized skills and free yourself up to focus on high-level growth opportunities.
Successful Partnership with Virtual Executive Assistants
A successful partnership with a virtual executive assistant can be a massive asset to your business. Posting job ads, interviewing candidates, onboarding, and training can seem daunting. Still, there are ways to streamline the process so you can work with a qualified executive assistant in a flash.
Before beginning any new partnership, determine your unique requirements so you can narrow your search to only candidates who can fulfill your needs. At Wing, we do that for you. You provide us with your criteria, and we find the perfect and most qualified candidate for the job.
Our virtual executive assistants are all personally matched based on each business’s needs and then seamlessly integrated into your team. Wing manages them for you, taking even more work off your plate. The right match goes beyond skill compatibility and includes alignment with your business values and long-term objectives.
These are equally important factors to consider when making successful matches and ensuring long-term partnerships.
Hire The Best Managed Executive Assistant through Wing
Hiring a virtual executive assistant is a no-brainer when optimizing your business efficiency. But choosing where to hire them will determine a successful, long-lasting partnership.
Platforms like Wing streamline the hiring process with services beyond essential recruitment and give you access to a competitive executive assistant salary. You don’t have to pay out a recruitment team to find candidates, and you don’t need to deal with the tedious steps of hiring new talent.
Wing vets and pre-screens all candidates before onboarding them to determine the range of their expertise and skillset. Once we work with you to create a customized executive assistant package, we will match you with the most qualified candidate to fit your needs.
From there, we handle all payroll management and ongoing support, alleviating all the issues commonly associated with remote staffing. And you can get started with Wing for as little as $1199 a month. So, get ready to revolutionize your business operations and accelerate its growth with a virtual executive assistant.
Kandice is a content writer & strategist with over 5 years of experience in digital marketing. She specializes in SEO-optimized content for the SaaS and tech industry. She’s a digital nomad, currently based in Mexico, and is passionate about helping other business owners and freelancers increase their productivity when working remotely. When she’s not behind her computer you’ll find her at the beach snorkeling, playing volleyball, doing yoga, or cooking up a delicious vegan meal.
