A high quality, specialist Executive Assistant recruitment service has dedicated Consultants and Sourcing Coordinators connecting and liaising with Executive Assistants all day, every day.
With demand coming in from clients to find the ‘the best of the best’ for a variety of Executive Assistant roles, the changing requirements in relation to capability and ‘value add’ generally moves in a similar trend.
EA recruitment agencies across Australia will agree that 2020 changed the role of the Executive Assistant once again. From our perspective these are the 5 traits that are most in demand in 2021:
Self starters who work well autonomously
Quite self explanatory but we will expand anyhow. Many Executives were forced to work from home last year for the first time in their careers and they were highly sceptical that it was going to suit them, their team or their Executive Assistant.
So many were totally surprised at how well it could all come together and generally this was with the forward thinking and proactiveness of Executive Assistants in finding ways to maintain connectivity and accountability.
Some people find it hard to ‘make things happen’ in adversity and others just see it as a ‘code they need to crack’. Those Executive Assistants who take challenges on ‘head first’ and maintain momentum when working remotely are in high demand!
Resourceful, adaptable, self aware
A CEO from a major corporation once described his ideal Executive Assistant as someone who takes responsibility for their own training and development and ability to add value. He had previously worked with individuals who complained in performance reviews that there is never allocated time, budget or effort in training Executive Assistants from HR or from their Executives.
He then worked with someone who identified their strengths and weaknesses when supporting him, requested additional opportunities in the areas they knew they could excel and sought out training and support to become better at the things they didn’t.
Leadership capabilities
Working remotely in particular, many Executives found that they were ‘meeting heavy’ trying to stay connected with their teams. Executive Assistants who were able to take a step up and chair or conduct or finish off meetings on behalf of their Executives became INVALUABLE!
And it allowed the EA to continue to nurture their relationships with leadership teams and others from the office that they are less likely to liaise with on a regular basis remotely. And when people are more comfortable going to an Executive Assistant, the Executive tends to have a lighter load.
A champion in something other than being a traditional EA
An EA who can manage or contribute significantly with HR, Projects, IT, Operations, Marketing, governance, strategy implementation or other major accountabilities outside of traditional EA work is in high demand. Some businesses have downsized and don’t have leads in these areas anymore and need someone to pick up the pieces. Some Executives are less reliant on their EA’s and therefore there is more time on the EA’s side.
Overall, the modern workplace is always striving to achieve more efficient and cost effective practice in general so being a ‘champion; in other areas of the business is going to be valuable. Executive Assistant recruitment agencies will tell you this has been a growing request since our last financial crisis and one that savvy EA’s have done something about.
Contribute significantly in the maintenance of a company’s culture, values and vision
Consultants who specialise in EA recruitment will tell you that for many years EA’s have been attracted to roles that have HR responsibilities. It makes sense as generally they are close to the Executive leadership teams and across matters that involve employee relations.
But there is a difference between an EA who wants the title and responsibility noted on their resume and one that genuinely cares and connects with the culture, values and vision and goes outside of their everyday scope to make it better and more achievable.
Want to learn more? Connecting with an Executive Assistant recruitment service is an ideal way to learn more about how to attract one of these in-demand Executive Assistants to your role.