If you analyze the work teams in your organization, they have their own ways of organizing and delegating tasks. Some teams benefit from sharing one assistant and tend to organize much of their own work. Other teams and individuals may require an assistant for every one or two professionals. An executive may create the need for more than one executive assistant (EA) because he or she oversees numerous divisions or teams. Whether your need is to support an executive or a team, remember that executive assistants perform a complex mix of administrative and clerical tasks. To plan for the ROI of an EA, calculate the salary line as a percentage of the executive's total compensation package. If the assistant nets $90,000 yearly and the executive nets $450,000 yearly, then the EA should make the boss at least 20 percent more productive to justify the expense. Remember, EAs take care of financial analysis, attend C-suite meetings, respond to emails and correspondence, and draft operational reports for their boss. Finding a person with the right fit will offer many benefits beyond increased productivity.
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS SUPPORT ENTREPRENEURS
Forbes contributor Ryan Westwood once described how EAs benefit entrepreneurs: he or she "can enhance your productivity and brand ten-fold by compensating for weaknesses, enhancing professionalism, expanding productivity, and increasing the organization of your company." If you aren't sure where the weaknesses of the business owner or the work team lie, an astute EA can quickly figure those out. There will be situations that arise throughout the first week the EA spends on the job. These situations are typically the job of an EA to fix and often result from the actions of team members who don't know how to anticipate operational problems or who make bad decisions due to a skill deficit.
ADVANTAGES OF EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS
If your organization is presently considering hiring an EA, here are some advantages of filling this position:
Delegate administrative authority to a person who can manage multiple difficult personalities within an executive team.
Get one assistant to organize an administratively inept executive, business owner, or team leader.
Provide partial support to multiple managerial positions within the same location.
Assign a person with strong management, supervisory, and public relations skills to handle complaints from various stakeholders.
Utilize one person to set strategic goals and assign duties to various divisions.
Hold executives and their staff accountable for achieving their assigned goals.
Coordinate the schedules of multiple executives who often travel for business.
Provide professional and support employees with a contact who will hear their concerns in the absence of the executive.
Any temporary assignment of an executive assistant can work over the long term if this individual understands his or her core duties and how much time should be allotted to each person or department's administrative issues. Furthermore, the ideal candidate should be able to prioritize administrative tasks and situations that are most important and to save other tasks for calmer periods within the week. Executives should enjoy immediate access to a talented assistant, so they can make effective decisions and deliver on their promises to competing stakeholders.
TRUST THE HIRE STANDARD
We know that finding the right person could take multiple searches. That's why it is often necessary to outsource this assignment to a staffing agency. As an EA provider, our San Francisco recruiting agency takes pride in finding superior executive assistants. We want to limit your search and help you start securing these advantages of an executive assistant in San Francisco. The best candidate will walk in and quickly learn the job. He or she will troubleshoot any issues before they impact productivity. As the glue, he or she will keep everyone focused on their schedules and urgent tasks. This position will soon become indispensable to the organization, maintaining a growth and development mindset in a difficult business environment.
TRY AN EA TODAY AND GROW YOUR BUSINESS CAPACITY
At The Hire Standard, our friendly San Francisco recruiters are ready and to assist with your recruitment needs. Professional staffing is a skill we have honed to empower companies, helping them grow faster and smarter. Schedule an appointment with a recruiter and learn about the costs of searching the San Francisco metro for your next executive assistant.