Business owners and execs at every phase and stage face a similar problem: which tasks should I delegate and which tasks should I keep?
A ridiculously talented executive assistant makes it easier. But can you really delegate everything?
Most virtual assistant companies will tell you that, yes – they can do it all, and that they will miraculously handle everything you throw their way.
While we definitely agree that assistants can make your life easier, and your work more effective, all while leaping buildings in a single bound, we also know there are some things that execs should handle themselves.
Understanding this has improved the partnership between clients and remote executive assistants by creating trust.
Knowing your executive assistant recognizes what is—and isn’t—appropriate for them to do makes it easier to give them access to your personal information. You don’t have to worry about your reputation being damaged.
So what kinds of things should clients hold off on delegating to their remote executive assistants? After many years of working with clients, we’ve come up with three basic guidelines.
Read more: 7 Tips To Delegating Effectively To A Virtual Assistant
Private Medical, Legal, and Financial Tasks
Due to the immense amount of privacy laws surrounding healthcare, most tasks beyond scheduling an appointment need to be done by the executive (patient).
Asking an executive assistant to transfer medical records, access medical history, or request prescriptions can be tricky.
While there may be scenarios or arrangements where this is possible, it is a gray area. It may take more time to cut through red tape than it would if the patient handles it rather than the executive assistant.
In similar cases, accessing or adjusting personal financial or legal information can be challenging, too.
For most financial institutions, any information or changes on your accounts need to be given or done personally by the account holder. An assistant may need to be listed on your accounts and have access to all personal information necessary to get through security protocols. The same goes for filling out or signing legal contracts.
- Does it take more time to relay the personal information to your executive assistant than it would to do the task yourself?
- Are you comfortable giving your executive assistant that kind of access?
- Could your executive assistant have the information on file to use in the future?
These are the questions that will determine if this is a task you should do or one you should delegate.
Tasks That Involve Strict International Laws
We have clients located around the world, and that means staying hyper-diligent when it comes to international laws.
These laws affect aspects of business you might not realize. For example, one of our UK clients once asked his UK-based virtual assistant to organize a parcel to be shipped from New York to Atlanta. Seems easy enough, right?
However, US Homeland Security has strict shipping rules in place within the United States, which means that domestic shipping can only be done when paid with a US-based method of payment. As it turns out this UK company also has a subsidiary in the US, so they were able to pay, but what if they hadn’t?
The same goes for shipping items to and from different countries. You have to make sure the items don’t break any customs rules of the country sending or receiving. It’s sometimes best to handle these tasks yourself so that you can be the point of contact or representative in the case the items end up in customs limbo!
Overall Strategy Or Positioning vs. Implementation
The main question to ask is what support do you need at each stage of a project.
Do you need help building a plan—or just carrying it out? A great virtual assistant can help with either. But you need clarity first so they can help best.
So, be careful not to bring in a VA too early. If you do, you might both be confused about where to start and what you want the final result to be.
However, it doesn’t take long before you find dozens of tasks that make sense to delegate.
For example:
- Marketing tasks (social media, newsletters, blog writing, etc.)
- Email and inbox management
- Project management
- Travel arrangements
- Event planning details
- Proofreading
- Social media scheduling
- Gift purchasing
- Scheduling meetings or schedule management
… and if you have a ridiculously talented virtual assistant, much, much more!
Are you thinking about hiring a virtual assistant? Do you need help figuring out how to onboard them properly? You want them to help you grow your business, not just complete tasks — we can help!
Times have changed, and Virtual Assistants with this level of expertise are now typically called Remote Executive Assistants.
