Many organizations overlook EAs, in reality, EAs are the glue that hold the whole startup together. They make all the gears turn behind the curtain and get all of the gritty admin work done.
As such, value and treat them as an equal member on your team. If you can do this, there is nothing you and your EA can’t accomplish together.
Note: while this is geared specifically for EA’s, it can be applied to anyone you want to hire in your company.
Before you hire, onboard, or develop a relationship with your EA, you’ll first need to properly define scope. This should go for any role you hire for, but it is especially critical with your EA so that both of you can define healthy boundaries of what their responsibilities are and what isn’t.
Start by conducting an Energy Audit.
Decide which things are draining your energy.
This probably includes things like phone calls, scheduling meetings, uploading receipts, and other administrative tasks.
Create a list of these things, and make a note that your EA will be the DRI for these tasks (with you as the back-up.)
Next, create a list of things that don’t necessarily drain your energy, but you want your EA to be the backup DRI for.
You might still want to own putting together investor memos, or maybe you actually enjoy doing your own scheduling.
However, if push comes to shove and you need to step away for a period of time, your EA should be ready to step in and take over as your backup. Make a note that your EA will be the backup DRI for these tasks.
Now that you’ve conducted your Energy Audit, congratulations — you now have a scoped-out list of responsibilities for your EA.
Take the list of responsibilities you made in the previous step and send it to the agency of your choice (or send it to all three, and go from there.) Depending on how many tasks there are on this list, decide if you’ll need someone who is full-time or part-time.
Regarding budget, you get what you pay for. The best EAs often double the cost of cheaper agencies, but they overall seemed happier, well-spoken, and worth the investment.
Eventually, if you plan on bringing your EA onto your team full-time, be ready to pay a placement agency fee in the tens of thousands of USD. This might seem daunting, but keep in mind the ROI here:
<aside> <img src="/icons/new-alert_purple.svg" alt="/icons/new-alert_purple.svg" width="40px" /> Many of the best EAs don’t necessarily come from Business or Technology backgrounds.
In fact, many people are trying to get their break into tech by looking for roles in operations, administrative work, and other non-technical sectors in startups.
Keep that in mind as you start your search.
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You may choose to hire an EA without involving an agency. Perhaps you have a fantastic recruiter, or you have teammates who have EA recommendations (source from within if possible!)
If you plan on going straight to the job boards, be sure to prepare a thorough job description outlining the EA’s responsibilities and the kind of person who might be a great fit for the role.
Whether you go through an agency or not, what you look for in an EA should be the same. And most of the time, this depends on what is in your EA’s scope.
If you want an EA to help free up your time from low-yield tasks, you’ll need someone with professional-level English proficiency, meticulous attention to detail, and a love for all things admin-related.
On the other hand, if you want your EA to eventually become a thought partner, potential COO, or take on more of a strategic role, you’ll want to find someone who you communicate well with.
Therefore, there should be little to no language barrier, they are First Principles thinkers who can think several levels of abstraction higher than your average person, and can challenge you if they believe you are making a bad decision.
<aside> <img src="/icons/new-alert_purple.svg" alt="/icons/new-alert_purple.svg" width="40px" /> NOTE: most EAs can grow into this kind of role. It all depends on how you onboard them (read: Onboard yourself in 30 Days (for COOs))
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You may want your EA to work in the same timezone as you. It will work for the better and you will have the best relationship when you work in the same timezone on the same hours. Please pay them well for this kind of sacrifice if your EA is in a different timezone as you.
Finally, you should get along with your EA. It seems simple enough, but having a good working relationship with them should be as important as having them produce good work.
To assess this, take the time to ask the agencies whether you can get Loom videos from each EA they suggest you work with. Have each EA both record and write answers to these questions:
The beauty of Loom is that you can batch-watch all of these responses at 2x speed and decide whether you like them or not. In fact, you can require a 2-minute Loom video as part of every hire you make.