When it comes to hiring the right Executive Assistant, timing is everything. In this blog post, we’ll cover when you should be looking for a new assistant (spoiler: our recommendation may surprise you).
Hiring the right person to fill an open position is one of your biggest challenges as an entrepreneur. It can be a nightmare trying to find someone who fits with your company, has the skills you need, and wants to work for you. To make matters worse, many leaders wait too long to hire help. As the saying goes, “hire when it hurts.”
We don’t agree with this approach.
We think you should hire to avoid pain, not when you’re already hurting. It’s better to not experience pain at all, than to try to stop bleeding with a new teammate after you are already hemorrhaging.
The truth is…there is no universally correct time to hire a new Executive Assistant. There is only the right time for you.
Many experts recommend hiring in Q1 of the New Year. Why? If you need help sooner, there is no reason to wait.
Our busiest time for helping Executives hire a new assistant is in late fall or early winter. Leaders want a new assistant before Q1, so they can onboard and hit the ground running with their goals.
Here is how you hire to avoid pain
Forecast your year. What is on the horizon? What needs do you have? Once you know this, you need to measure the capacity of your existing team, or of yourself, if you are a solopreneur.
If you track metrics in this way, you can start to see how long you can operate without burning out.
If you are managing an existing team, you need to be sensitive to their balance of workload and morale. Once the scale shifts, and your team starts to have high stress and high workload, you know you are already bleeding.
The goal is to hire a new teammate before your existing team starts to lose morale and experience fatigue. That way, when a new assistant is onboarded, they are ready to lighten the load of your team.
There is a lot of wisdom in hiring during a slow season, in preparation for when your organization ramps up or is really busy. The slow season gives your new assistant time to onboard and get acclimated before they are expected to meaningfully contribute.
This is how you hire based on your needs, but also your goals.
How do you approach hiring? Do you think there is a “best time” for companies to add a new teammate?
When it comes right down to it, hiring the right person for your business is hard.
It’s like trying to find a needle in an ocean of candidates. And when you do find someone, how do you know they’re the right fit? You don’t want to waste time and money on false starts or poor hires that can hurt your company culture and bottom line.
Priority MATCH gives you Executive Assistant recruitment customized to YOU with our done-for-you direct placement program. With Priority MATCH, you can focus on running your business instead of wading through resumes and interviewing endless candidates who aren’t qualified or wouldn’t be a good fit for what you need at this stage in your company’s growth.
Our team will take care of everything from start to finish, including hiring profiles, comprehensive interviews complete with Kolbe Certified™ matching, skills assessments, reference checks and more.
If you’re ready to learn more, schedule a free strategy call with us. Don’t wait to hire. Get on our calendar to avoid pain!
