How to Build a Long-Term Relationship with an Executive Assistant

Executive assistants (EAx) have significant skills and contribute to changing your business motion within your targeted framework. You can compare EA with your key positions working with your business strategy setting, and nurture brainstorming ideas of core contributions. Therefore, it’s necessary to build a long-term relationship with your remote executive assistant to achieve remarkable business consequences.

Understanding the Role of an Executive Assistant

When you decide to continue your strategic operations and share insights into the business, it’s important under an EA role. Executive assistants work with the top management of a business and contribute to the business’s core strategies that require more administrative support. They are the trusted advisor who often gives you deep insights into executive priorities, schedule, and decision-making approaches.

Furthermore, an executive assistant tasks whistleblowers with getting market insight, putting in significant effort in the business. They have a strong working relationship with senior management that is equivalent to your company’s executive position.

Setting Clear Expectations From the Start

An executive assistant working as a remote assistant, but their roles are defined by the top management of the company.  Considering your priority, hire remote executive assistants who can meet your expectations within the defined role and responsibility. Go ahead with your executive assistant by providing access to email and platforms, ideally treated as trusted partners.

• Provide outlines that define their key responsibilities compared to company executives and executive assistants.
• Discuss their boundaries, including tasks the assistants should handle and execute.
• Share with important areas like key files, folders, and resources, including personal email, brochures, policy & regulations.

Building Trust and Rapport

If you intend to build a long-term mutual relationship with your remote executive assistant (EA), start your clear expectations from the beginning. These steps included open communication, mutual respect, and a strong commitment to understanding interactive working styles and preferences. Therefore, establish clear job responsibilities that prioritize communication channels and a system for handling urgent issues.

• Attached with your EA, share feedback and be willing to get accustomed to each other, and this is vital to your successful partnership.
• Conduct with full manner approaches, as if your remote executive assistant can accept you as a respected person with good intentions.
• Priority for high-level support, decision-making, and strategic oversight, as if EA can support best from a remote position.

Effective Communication Strategies

Effective communication is essential to prioritize tasks and ensure clear communication. Based on offering different tools to smooth your communication process and make internal communications with your executive convenient. Hence, you’d be able to help your executives’ minds, really understanding your executive needs regarding ongoing relationship-building and communication.

• Provide access to email platforms, Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, and Slack for instant messaging, integrated with productivity tools. Also, offering chat, video conferencing, and file collaboration capabilities linked to office applications.
• For documenting and file sharing, access to cloud storage. Manage and secure long credentials using Password Manager. You may use AI-powered email management to automate emails, responses, and organize your inbox through an executive assistant.
• For scheduling and meeting reminder settings, use Google Calendar, Asana, or Digest. The Digest calendar is comparatively user-friendly, with a faster and more effective tool. You can drag and drop calendar items, links, and attachments directly to the Digest calendar.

Investing in Professional Growth.

An executive virtual assistant, compared to your business’s key professional who helps you to decide with strategic decisions. Therefore, invest in your EA professional development, and be encouraged to enroll in paid courses and professional meetings.

• Find the most effective and related courses in Coursera, Udemy, and specialized training providers. These are EA training provided by Office Dynamics International and the Institute of Executive Assistants and Administrators. Training areas are project management, financial procedures, advanced communication, and strategic thinking using advanced technology.
• Be consistent with professional platforms like LinkedIn to connect with related professionals and maintain communication. Also, join with other professional networks such as the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP).

Maintaining a Positive and Productive Relationship

Maintaining a positive and productive relationship with your executive assistant (EA), prioritize open communications, and authorize them with trust. Also, provide constructive feedback regularly, acknowledge their boundaries, and invest in their professional development to nurture loyalty and mutual respect.

• Schedule regular check-ins to discuss priorities, goals, and challenges to create a scope of discussion and feedback. Share your business objectives and expectations on ROI, therefore executives will be determined about your, and avoid misleading and improve performance.
• While sharing your strategic planning and brainstorming sessions, executives contribute to provide you valuable insights. This will nurture a deep understanding of your business objectives. Therefore, always keep an executive assistant in important conversation, projects, and commitments to help them understand broader strategy and give you more effective support.
• Provide access to manage calendar with other strategic tasks, and appreciate hard work, innovative thinking, and problem-solvings ability.

Overcoming Common Challenges

Remote support tasks have various challenges, and executive assistants use various problem-solving techniques to tackle challenges effectively. They analyze the root cause of the issues to identify issues, and brainstorm for potential solutions. Again, effective communication between team members and executive assistants ensures alignment.

• The most common challenges faced by executive assistants is managing multiple priorities and tasks from different sources.
• Arrange meetings in calendars, arrange travel schedules, reports, email and more within limited time preferencing needs.
• Setting realistic expectations, empowering when possible, and trying to avoid unnecessary requirements that jam your schedule.

Conclusion

Building a strong relationship with your executive assistant is a remote executive support assistant ensures your business success. Through following the above steps of outlines and guide, you can grow a brilliant relationship with your executive assistant, and work together. Effective utilization of an executive assistant has long-term consequences that ensure you better business results.

FAQ

How Do I Onboard a Virtual Executive Assistant for Long-term Success?

You can start with clear roles and responsibilities with providing a structured onboarding plan, providing necessary tools and access. Also, establish a robust communication protocol including regular meeting a feedback loop, which contributes to build a trust with long-term partnership, and success.

How Can I Communicate Better With My Virtual Assistant?

Provides necessary access to communications tools and platforms like cloud email, voice chat, and CRM systems, to ensure better communication with your virtual assistant.

How Do I Build Trust With My Remote Executive Assistant?

Share your business insights, provide necessary training, and acknowledge for better outcomes, which contribute to building rapport with your remote executive assistant.

What if My Virtual Assistant’s Work Style Differs From Mine?

It’s a normal process for your virtual assistant to provide your different work style. During the boarding process, take time to set priorities, expectation, and communication methods, deadlines, and task priority. A good executive assistant is flexible and open to adjust workflow to align more effectively with your style.

How Can I Keep My Virtual Assistant Motivated Long-term?

For motivating your assistant long-term, focus on clean communication, recognize and appreciate outstanding effort, within a supportive and collaborative team environment.