When to Hire a Virtual Assistant

The best time to hire a virtual assistant was yesterday. The second-best time is today. 

There’s a good chance you’re overwhelmed by administrative work. Asana’s 2024 State of Work Innovation report says that 53% of knowledge workers’ time is taken up by busy work. That’s your growing mountain of non-specialized tasks like research, task management, and organizing your calendar. Work that leaves you with less time than ever to actually do the work your business or role is all about. 

Unfortunately, admin work isn’t going anywhere. However, a virtual assistant can help by tackling that work so you can focus on your core responsibilities: leading, strategizing, and growing your business.

When to Hire a Virtual Assistant

Like most things, there is no “perfect” or “right” time to pull the trigger on hiring a virtual assistant. Attempting to wait until everything feels perfectly aligned could (and likely will) mean missing out on immediate benefits. 

Virtual assistants can add value at any stage of your business journey: 

Hiring a VA When You’re Building 

Whether your company is young, you’re new to your role, or you’re finally getting around to process design, a virtual assistant can help you build.

Virtual assistants are workflow experts. They can come in and help you leverage best practices, integrate your new tools, and optimize your processes. 

If you wait until you have everything figured out, you’ll miss out on short-term benefits and delay reaping the long-term rewards of working with a virtual assistant.

Bringing in a VA to help you build gives you the advantage of:

• Outsourcing the building process
• Getting an objective, third-party perspective
• Scaling as you go
• Documenting as you go

Hiring a VA When You Know What You Want 

If you already have defined processes but need help executing them, consider outsourcing those business processes to a virtual assistant. A good virtual assistant can integrate directly into your systems, picking up processes like an in-house hire would. 

They can even act as your second resource, working directing with an in-house executive assistant and blocking and tackling as you go. Adding a VA to your team can help prevent burnout and provide consistent support for business with the following: 

• Established CRM systems needing regular maintenance 
• Recurring administrative tasks with clear processes 
• Specific delegation needs for particular departments or project

Hiring a VA to tackle established processes has the advantage of: 

• Immediately lessening your administrative burden
• Saving you time and money on training
• Enhancing your existing teams and allowing you to split tasks in the way that best suits your business
• Maintaining consistency across processes

Hiring a VA When You Need to Fix What’s Broken 

Sometimes the best time to bring in outside help is when your current systems aren’t working. If you’re experiencing administrative bottlenecks, inconsistent follow-through, or simply feeling overwhelmed by operational details, a virtual assistant service can provide much-needed solutions. 

If your processes are broken, it may be time to triage. 

A VA fixer gives you the benefits of:

• Established administrative expertise
• Quick wins
• Breaking bad habits and reworking stressful workflows
• Implementing best practices

The Best Time to Hire is… Today

Whether you’re at the beginning of your workflow optimization process, need help immediately, or know exactly what you want, a VA service can help you get there.

Introducing Prialto

Prialto provides managed virtual assistant and subscription staffing for executives, teams, and businesses. Its virtual assistant services are curated and managed from Prialto’s headquarters in Portland, Oregon, with creative insights from global staff in Asia, Africa, and Central America.