The cost of hiring a virtual assistant is a common concern—but finding an executive assistant you can trust should be a priority! Wherever your executive secretary is—and whether they work remotely or in your company’s office—they should come with all the skills and requirements helpful to the business.
An executive needs a professional who is experienced and reliable. Executive virtual assistants can work autonomously on behalf of busy executives. A virtual executive assistant will manage your to-do list and prioritize tasks without input.
Building Trust
Building trust doesn’t happen overnight. Both you and your hired administrative executive should put effort into creating a healthy professional relationship. An executive administrative assistant needs to have a high level of trust. The process of building trust is a combination of being transparent, honest, and communicating clearly and openly.
As the employer, here are some tips for building trust with a virtual executive assistant:
- Minimize risks of distrust. A lack of consistency in messaging and practice leads to distrust. It is also impossible to build trust if you communicate distantly and respond unfairly. Hence, make it a habit always to try to be respectful to your executive support assistant as much as possible, so they will continue to be honest and open to you.
- Choose to trust. You build trust through genuine efforts to foster a relationship with your team. When you ask them for something, you must be consistent and fair to judgment. It’s not easy to trust someone. But it would be best to trust them anyway, as soon as they earn it.
What Makes a Great Executive Assistant to CEO
Great Writing Skills
EAs spend a lot of time writing memos, emails, and reports. An executive assistant’s writing must be clear, concise, and correct since they represent the company and the executive. Professionalism and ease of understanding must be evident in their writing.
Excellent Communication Skills
A good executive personal assistant should be proactive in listening. They should be able to understand what they need to do and how or when to do it by speaking calmly and clearly. No matter who they talk to, they should communicate well with anyone based on how they should act and talk.
Always Open to Feedback and Willing to Learn
A successful admin executive assistant should be open to feedback to grow and always be alert to potential issues and conflicts, so they will learn to cope and find solutions constantly. They must have the heart to learn as much as they can daily.
It is easier to trust a new executive assistant sooner when they’ve had previous experience. Experience is always a plus, because it helps you set the right expectations about your EA being up to speed quickly in the day-to-day job.
