Pros and Cons of Full vs. Part-Time Assistants for Executives

Hiring an assistant enables you to give administrative and various other business tasks to someone else so you can focus on high-value tasks, such as business development, strategy, and mentoring your team. 

Our friend Jack Daly, CEO of Professional Sales Coach and top international speaker, says it best: “If you don’t have an assistant, you are one.” 

Hiring a Part-Time vs. Full-Time Assistant

After you’ve decided to hire an assistant, you’ll need to decide if you want to hire a part-time or full-time assistant. 

Many business owners think they won’t be able to keep a full-time assistant busy and opt to start with a part-time assistant. This may seem like a compelling option if you’re hesitant about the workload or the cost (but I’ll talk more about the cost later), but this decision isn’t always that straight forward.

The biggest benefit of a full-time opposed to a part-time assistant is that they’re able to dedicate their time and energy to you and your business alone. They’re fully focused on learning and improving with your business, and are more readily available to you than a part-time assistant. 

As a full-time member of your team, they more easily assimilate into your culture and become an integral part of your team, resulting in a bigger impact to you and your company. 

If you’re still unsure which option is best for you, my own personal experience may provide some insight.

My Experience as a Business Owner Hiring an Executive Assistant

I took Jack Daly’s words to heart and realized I needed to hire an assistant. Like many leaders, I had my doubts that I could keep a full-time assistant busy, so I hired an assistant part-time for twenty hours a week. 

Here’s what happened:

By the end of the first week, my assistant was busy for about three hours a day. By the end of the second week, she was busy for four hours a day. And by the end of the third week, as I was getting more comfortable with giving her tasks (and realizing that her capabilities went way beyond basic tasks like managing my calendar), she had more work than could be done in 8 hours. It was unbelievable how quickly the tasks I could delegate to her started to pile up. 

It became obvious I needed to hire a full-time assistant. Unfortunately, my assistant had another client, so I interviewed a new set of candidates—which took some time (as did onboarding the new assistant).

The Impact of Hiring a Full-Time Assistant

My life changed that month, both at and away from the office. At work, I was spending time where I wanted and needed to—strategizing, spending time with customers and employees, and doing productive work that moved the needle. 

I felt like I had unleashed my business and it was free to grow without the shackles of the administrative tasks that had taken up so much of my time. I was also able to head home earlier and stop working weekends—all while my business was growing faster than before.

Looking back, I did see some benefit in those few weeks that I had a part-time assistant. But the benefits of having an assistant grew exponentially when I hired a full-time assistant. The biggest benefit was that I no longer had to wait until my assistant had time for me. 

At the end of the day, I only wish I’d hired an assistant sooner and, quite frankly, that I started with a full-time assistant. I would have saved a lot of time and reaped the benefits more quickly. And I hear similar sentiments from clients all the time.

When Hiring Part-Time Assistant Makes Sense (and When it Doesn’t)

While hiring an assistant full-time was the best decision I could make for myself and my business, I recognize that there are still some situations when part-time assistants makes the most sense:

• Project work – when you need someone for a certain period of time to handle 1 or 2 specific tasks. In reality, this is just a freelancer.
• If you are sure* that you only need someone for X hours a day to handle a specific task.

*For business owners, this means that you are not letting go of tasks that can be handled by someone else, therefore not freeing up as much time as possible to work on high-value activities.

Remember that with a full-time assistant, you have someone that:

• Only thinks about and spends their time at your business (at least for 8 hours a day)
• Is available during all business hours (you are not competing for their time)
• Integrates seamlessly with your team because they are a part of your team.

I wasn't sure if I had enough work for a full-time assistant and initially considered hiring a part-time person. However, I quickly found plenty of tasks to delegate. Discovering that I could offload personal items that were consuming my mental energy was a huge relief. My assistant not only supports me professionally but also helps with personal tasks that I would otherwise have to handle during or after work hours. This has significantly lightened my load and has been a tremendous help."
- Jessica Marucci, Chief of Staff, Sky Ventures