Our team has a high bar and a proven process that we use to find the best executive assistants for small businesses:
Read more about our vetting process: Why Most Global Hiring Fails, And How the Ataraxis Vetting Process Fixes It
George was professional, responsive and a pleasure to work with throughout the hiring process. He took the time to understand my needs and connected me with an excellent candidate. I truly appreciate his support and would highly recommend his recruiting services.
As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner running a solo telehealth and in-person practice, I needed a virtual medical assistant who could manage patient scheduling, EHR workflows, and front-office coordination with minimal oversight.
My VA through Ataraxis has been exactly that. She handles new patient intake, manages our scheduling and messaging, and keeps everything running while I focus on patient care. What surprised me most is how she’s become a real thought partner. I’ll ask her to review a conversation or an email and she gives me a straight, honest read. That kind of judgment is hard to find. She’s now taking on more responsibilities as we expand our services, and she told me she’s in it for the long haul.
I only wish I had done this sooner. If you’re a mental health provider considering a HIPAA-compliant virtual assistant, don’t wait.
We’ve had an excellent experience working with Ataraxis and are so impressed. Their virtual assistants are professional, reliable, and highly skilled. The onboarding process was smooth, communication is consistent, and they truly understand how to match the right assistant to the right business needs.
They’ve helped us streamline operations and stay organized without the overhead of hiring in-house. I highly recommend them to any business looking for dependable virtual support.
I made a hire through Ataraxis a few months ago.
As it goes in any hiring process, when you meet the right person, you know immediately. I knew when I met the 5th candidate that she’d be the one.
3 weeks into her job she had a fundamental mastery of her own responsibilities. 2 weeks later, she assumed a whole new set of responsibilities on top of that. And now she’s a fully integrated part of my team.
10/10 will work with Ataraxis again.
Love working with Ataraxis – they really pay attention to your needs, and help you find the right fit, which is incredibly helpful to feel not rushed to explain your needs. I have a private mental health practice and I’m sooo lucky to have such an amazing assistant now. You can tell Ataraxis definitely vets their employees and really pays attention to your needs! (I did interview multiple companies actually and was set between Ataraxis and one other, but Ataraxis had the better candidates for me). Thank you so much! I am so so grateful for my VA, she’s really been so helpful to me.
George has been a great help throughout this process, which was new to us. His team sourced some great candidates for us to choose from, and we are really happy with our hire. George has also conducted regular check-ins and follow-ups. He is happy to share his personal insights and experience around structuring the job description, onboarding, and getting the best out of this recruitment process. I would definitely recommend George and his business for VA solutions.
George and his team did a fantastic job placing a Talent Sourcer on my team. She’s smart, communicates well, works diligently, and is a self-starter. Bonus points, her background (10 years!) is in an industry directly adjacent to ours. As such, she was able to catch on extremely fast and onboarding her was a breeze. My only gripe is that I wish I had taken this on sooner. Thanks Ataraxis!
George reached out to me on LinkedIn, and while I rarely respond to cold outreach offering services, his approach felt thoughtful and genuine, so I decided to explore what his firm had to offer. We’ve been considering offshore talent for several years but hadn’t made the leap, as we hadn’t found the right offshore partner. Recently, we started working with Ataraxis, and it’s been a fantastic experience—they quickly sourced an exceptional contractor for our recruiting team and ran a smooth, efficient process from start to finish.
I was pretty hesitant about hiring people offshore, but had a fantastic experience working with Ataraxis to hire a virtual recruiter for my business. They connected me with Anabel, who’s based in the Philippines and has been incredible—she’s extremely hard-working, quick to learn, and always brings a great attitude to her work. Now I’m thinking about how I can build a team around her.
The entire process with Ataraxis has been seamless, and they regularly check in to make sure I’m happy with the service they’ve provided. It’s clear they truly care about their clients’ success. I highly recommend Ataraxis to anyone looking to grow their team with quality talent!
Even the best leaders can only handle so much. When you’re stuck doing the day-to-day operational work, the big-picture priorities get pushed back, momentum slows down, and you miss out on opportunities.
An Executive Assistant from Ataraxis takes on the work that eats up your time, so you can stay organized, respond faster, and focus on the decisions that actually move the business forward.
Courtney is the CEO of a fast-growing kombucha brand running brand ambassador programs in major grocery chains, alongside a busy Instagram and TikTok presence and a Shopify store. She had no dedicated support. She was managing her own inbox, booking brand ambassadors, coordinating in-store scheduling, and handling social media, all on top of running the business. She’d tried offshore hiring before and gotten burned, and two other EA companies had already sent her candidates who felt scripted and unprepared. She needed someone who could actually own the chaos, not just take instructions.
Ataraxis delivered three fully vetted candidates within seven days. She hired Grace, an Executive and Administrative Assistant based in Nairobi with five years of experience supporting U.S. companies remotely, including building SOPs and managing high-accuracy scheduling for a tech CEO. Grace came in at $11 per hour and was fully onboarded fast, taking over inbox management, brand ambassador coordination, and social scheduling right away.
The hire cost Courtney about $23,400 a year, compared to $55,000 to $65,000 for a comparable U.S. hire, saving her $30,000 to $40,000 annually while getting someone with direct, relevant experience from day one.
Time to hire: 7 days. Annual savings: $30,000-$40,000+.
Ross runs a small recruitment firm in Sydney with fewer than five people, and admin work never really let up. Scheduling, candidate database updates, sourcing, supply orders, and correspondence were eating up hours that should have gone to growing the business. A local executive assistant in Sydney would have run him about $90,000 AUD a year.
Ataraxis matched the firm with an offshore executive assistant from East Africa at $2,780 a month, saving the company more than $55,000 AUD a year, a 61% cost reduction for the same level of support. Within a couple of months, she was supporting three executives at once, managing schedules, running key admin workflows, and keeping daily operations moving without anyone needing to check in constantly.
Annual savings: $55,000+ AUD. Cost reduction: 61%.
No long-term contracts.
When you hire a virtual executive assistant through Ataraxis, you get MBA-level talent who can support C-suite executives, at a fraction of U.S. rates. They fit right into your day-to-day work, clearing up your calendar and handling the small stuff so you can focus on the decisions that actually move your business forward.
Here’s how virtual executive assistant companies like Upwork, Fiverr, OnlineJobs.PH, and Ataraxis compare on key hiring criteria.
When you’re ready to hire an executive assistant, the best location depends on the mix of cost, language skills, time-zone overlap, and talent depth your business needs. Here’s a quick tour of the best regions, each with clear advantages and a few trade-offs, to help you decide where to hire an executive assistant who fits your workflow.
We created the Global Outsourcing Talent Index, a data-backed audit of all 193 UN-recognized countries scored across five variables: labor cost, English proficiency, talent availability, digital infrastructure, and political stability.
The results were eye opening and are frequently cited by major news sites and industry blogs all over the world.
The Philippines ranks #1 globally for outsourcing suitability, placing it in the top 0.52% of all countries evaluated. That ranking is backed by real numbers. The country has over 7 million professionals on LinkedIn, produces 1.45 million graduates annually from higher education and vocational programs, and ranks #2 in Asia and #28 globally for English proficiency with a “High Proficiency” status.
This is our most active sourcing region. The talent pool is large, the remote work infrastructure is mature, and professionals here have been working with U.S. businesses for decades. Cultural alignment is strong across admin, customer service, healthcare back-office, and digital marketing roles.
Pros: #1 ranked outsourcing destination globally, deep English-speaking talent pool, strong familiarity with U.S. business culture, large graduate pipeline, highly competitive rates, proven remote work track record.
Cons: Time zone difference from the U.S. requires scheduling coordination, though most professionals are accustomed to working U.S. business hours.
Best for: Virtual assistants, virtual medical receptionists, customer service, admin support, recruitment, bookkeeping, and healthcare back-office roles.
Latin America as a whole has become a strong nearshore option for U.S. businesses, largely because of time zone alignment. Most of the region falls within one to three hours of U.S. time zones, which makes real-time collaboration far easier than other offshore markets.
The region also produces strong bilingual talent in English and Spanish, which is a practical advantage for businesses serving U.S. Hispanic markets or operating across both languages.
Pros: Excellent time zone alignment with the U.S., strong bilingual capability (English and Spanish), competitive rates, growing professional services talent base, same-day collaboration without scheduling workarounds.
Cons: Quality varies more noticeably by country and city than in more established markets. Thorough vetting matters more here. Rates can be slightly higher than Southeast Asia or Africa depending on the country.
Best for: Bilingual customer service, sales support, admin, marketing, and businesses with Spanish-speaking customer bases.
South Africa ranks #5 among African countries in outsourcing competitiveness, and seven African countries sit within the global top 25 outsourcing destinations overall. South Africa leads the continent for professional services talent, with strong English communication skills and a growing remote work culture that aligns well with U.S. and UK business environments.
Professionals from South Africa tend to communicate in a way that Western clients find natural and easy to work with. The country has solid infrastructure in its major cities and a strong track record in executive support, finance, and customer-facing roles.
Pros: Native or near-native English speakers, strong business writing and professional communication, solid alignment with Western business culture, good infrastructure in major cities, high-quality talent in admin and finance.
Cons: The talent pool, while strong, is smaller than Southeast Asia. The time zone can require some adjustment for businesses operating purely on U.S. hours.
Best for: Executive virtual assistants, professional services support, customer-facing roles, content, and finance.
Seven African countries sit within the global top 25 outsourcing destinations, with Kenya ranking #11, Ethiopia #23, and Uganda #24. East Africa is one of the fastest-growing outsourcing markets in the world right now, and it remains underutilized by most U.S. businesses, which means you can access experienced, highly motivated professionals before the market becomes saturated and rates rise.
Several of our highest-performing virtual assistants come from this region. The professionals here tend to be well-educated, detail-oriented, and take remote work seriously.
Pros: High education levels relative to compensation, strong English proficiency, highly motivated professionals, very competitive rates, growing urban infrastructure in cities like Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and Kampala.
Cons: As a newer outsourcing market, careful vetting is essential. Infrastructure can still be inconsistent outside major cities.
Best for: Administrative support, executive assistance, sales support, operations, and any role where you want experienced professionals at a lower cost point.
The Caribbean is one of the most underutilized nearshore options for U.S. businesses. Countries like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados have established outsourcing industries, and the professionals coming out of these markets communicate in a way that U.S. customers find immediately familiar. North America dominates the global outsourcing market with the largest revenue share at 37.4%, and the Caribbean’s proximity makes it a natural extension of that market for businesses that prioritize real-time collaboration and accent familiarity.
Pros: Near-identical time zones to the U.S. East Coast, strong English communication, high cultural familiarity with American consumers, no scheduling lag for customer-facing roles.
Cons: The talent pool is smaller than other regions, which limits options for specialized or high-volume hiring. Rates tend to be higher than Africa or Southeast Asia due to proximity and cost of living.
Best for: Customer service, inbound and outbound calling, sales support, and roles where real-time availability and cultural familiarity are priorities.
Romania ranks #10 globally and is the highest-scoring European country for outsourcing competitiveness. Eastern Europe as a whole is the go-to region for businesses that need technical and specialized professional talent. Countries like Poland, Romania, Ukraine, and Bulgaria have large pools of highly educated professionals in IT, software development, finance, and data analytics, with strong English proficiency in professional roles.
It is worth noting the cost trade-off. The United States ranks #86 globally for outsourcing competitiveness despite perfect scores in English proficiency, infrastructure, and talent availability, with high labor costs being the primary gap. Eastern Europe sits closer to the U.S. on the cost scale than Asia or Africa, but still delivers meaningful savings compared to hiring domestically.
Pros: Strong technical and analytical skill sets, high education levels, solid English proficiency in professional roles, good infrastructure, and a work culture that aligns well with U.S. and European businesses.
Cons: Rates are higher than other offshore regions, which reduces cost savings compared to Asia or Africa. Time zone differences with the U.S. require some planning for real-time collaboration.
Best for: IT support, software development, data analysis, finance, and roles requiring strong technical expertise.
MBA, with 8 years of experience in healthcare, finance, and HR
MBA, with 9 years of experience in marketing, accounting, and professional services
Master’s degree, with 8 years of experience in finance, software, and consulting
MBA, with 12 years of experience in manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality
A Virtual Executive Assistant (EA) is a high-level professional who provides tailored support to executives and senior management, ensuring seamless day-to-day operations and strategic efficiency.
Hiring a Virtual EA allows business leaders to focus on high-value tasks while delegating administrative and operational responsibilities.
A Junior Executive Assistant has 0-2 years of experience in administrative or executive support roles. Assist with scheduling, managing emails, and basic project coordination. Comfortable using essential office tools like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace and work well under supervision.
Ideal for businesses needing entry-level support with standard administrative tasks.
With 2-5 years of experience, a Mid-Level Executive Assistant handles more advanced tasks like managing executive calendars, organizing travel, and preparing reports. Proficient in using CRM systems, project management software, and other tools. Capable of working independently and taking on more responsibility,
Ideal for businesses that need dependable, efficient support with a variety of executive functions.
A Senior Executive Assistant brings 5+ years of experience and excels in supporting C-level executives. Manage complex schedules, oversee projects, and handle confidential matters with discretion. With advanced skills in tools like CRM systems, analytics, and communication platforms, capable of strategic support, project management, and training junior staff.
Best suited for businesses needing high-level administrative support and leadership assistance.
Many of our virtual executive assistants have MBAs and graduate degrees, so you’ll have access to high-level expertise, without the price tag.
It is easy to confuse these roles, but they serve different purposes. Here is the short version:
| Role | What They Handle |
|---|---|
|
Virtual Assistant (VA) |
General administrative and operational support. Email management, scheduling, project coordination, research, and CRM updates. The workhorse of day-to-day business operations. |
|
Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA) |
Works directly with senior leadership. Handles complex scheduling, executive communications, strategic planning support, and sensitive information. More depth, more judgment, more accountability. |
|
Virtual Personal Assistant (VPA) |
Focuses on personal logistics: travel, appointments, personal calendar management, errands. Great for executives and entrepreneurs who need the personal side of their life managed as tightly as the business side. |
The right Virtual Executive Assistant should be a strong communicator who actually understands your business goals. You want someone who can manage a busy calendar, put together briefing decks with real data in them, coordinate investor and board calls, and keep sensitive information private. They should also be comfortable using the tools that keep your metrics, deadlines, and stakeholders on track.
When you hire the right VEA, you get to step back from admin work and follow-ups. That means more time for closing deals, working on strategy, and growing the company, while knowing the details are handled.
Organize meetings, appointments, and travel itineraries to maximize executive productivity.
Draft emails, prepare reports, and serve as a liaison between executives, clients, and internal teams.
Plan, schedule, and facilitate meetings; take minutes, track action items, and ensure timely follow-ups.
Support ongoing initiatives by tracking deadlines, managing priorities, and coordinating cross-functional efforts.
Handle sensitive documents, manage executive files, and maintain a high level of confidentiality and discretion.
Filter emails, flag priorities, and summarize key messages to keep executives focused and informed.
Streamline processes, delegate tasks when appropriate, and help manage the executive’s workload effectively.
Book flights, hotels, and ground transport; coordinate logistics for conferences, offsites, or client events.
Create polished slide decks, reports, and briefing materials tailored to executive needs.
Communicate with service providers, schedule check-ins, and manage ongoing relationships on behalf of the executive.
Conduct research on market trends, competitors, or potential partners; deliver concise summaries to support executive decisions.
Manage receipts, submit expense reports, and assist with monitoring executive-related budgets.
Delegate administrative work to focus on strategic goals.
Keep your schedule streamlined and priorities clear.
Maintain consistent, high-quality correspondence.
Ataraxis does the heavy lifting by thoroughly screening and vetting virtual assistants before they’re matched with you. This means you won’t waste time sorting through unqualified candidates.
Ataraxis virtual assistants are fluent in English and skilled at communicating professionally, ensuring there’s no miscommunication in your day-to-day tasks.
Unlike many freelancers who may not align with your work hours, Ataraxis virtual assistants are willing (and happy) to work in your time zone, making collaboration seamless.
All Ataraxis VAs are college educated and have specialized experience in various fields, so you can trust them to hit the ground running.
Hiring through Ataraxis gives you access to ongoing support. If your team of virtual assistants needs adjustments, Ataraxis is there to help, unlike freelancer platforms where you’re on your own.
Freelancer platforms often attract short-term gig workers who juggle multiple client projects at the same time. Ataraxis virtual assistants are committed to building lasting partnerships with one employer, becoming a true extension of your team.
Hiring your first virtual executive assistant is perfectly doable on your own, but most business owners underestimate the hours it takes to sift through resumes, schedule calls, and run multiple interview rounds. Research shows that the DIY path typically drags on for weeks (or months), involves several interviews, and can still lead to mis-hires if you rush the vetting stage.
List everything you want your virtual executive assistant to own and create detailed instructions. Clarifying scope upfront helps with long term retention and minimizes confusion.
Having a set schedule helps create structure and consistency.
Write a descriptive JD with required experience, KPIs, schedule expectations, etc.
Post your job description to virtual executive assistant websites and craft a recruitment message you can use to reach out to candidates directly.
Expect to screen 40-100 candidates to find your ideal virtual assistant.
Give 2-3 finalist candidates a short take-home assignment to test their attention-to-detail, responsiveness, and work product.
A bad hire can cost up to 50% of first-year pay, so doing your due diligence is cheap insurance.
Draft an employment or contractor agreement, include an NDA, and grant tool access.
When you hire a virtual executive assistant through Ataraxis, you skip steps 2-7, saving you weeks of lost productivity.
We source top talent globally from regions including the Philippines, Latin America, South Africa, and East Africa, and beyond.
Our team screens over 200 applicants with a 5% acceptance rate. Every candidate goes through:
You’ll only meet the top 3–4 finalists we’ve personally vetted and approved.
Read more about our vetting process here.
For each role, we’ll shortlist 3–4 highly qualified finalists based on your requirements. You’ll have the opportunity to interview each candidate and decide who’s the best fit for your team.
We set up and maintain secure VPN access and use timekeeping and productivity monitoring tools to ensure accountability. All staff are trained in data security best practices to maintain compliance and confidentiality.
Ataraxis has been operating for just under two years, but our roots run deep. Our founder has led a successful recruitment business for nine years, employing global talent within that company as well. (We eat our own cooking.)
Yes. Once hired, your chosen candidate will work exclusively for you on a full-time basis. They’ll act as a dedicated member of your team, fully aligned with your goals and workflow.
We take care of all the back-end work including compliance, paperwork, and payroll. You’ll simply receive a monthly Stripe invoice for each person you hire, making the process seamless and hassle-free.
No. Our agreements are month-to-month, giving you complete flexibility. There are no deposits or lock-in contracts.
Hiring a virtual executive assistant saves money compared to having full-time office staff. This lets you and your team focus more on growing your business and doing what you do best.
Great virtual executive assistants often come from countries and regions like the Philippines, South Africa, Latin America, East Africa, and Eastern Europe. These countries are known for their skilled workers who speak fluent English and have strong work ethics.
Yes! At Ataraxis, your virtual executive assistant will match your local time zone, making teamwork easy and smooth.
US-based virtual executive assistants usually cost $25 to $50 per hour. Ataraxis offers MBA-level, full-time virtual executive assistants starting at just $11 per hour. This means you get great help for up to 70% less.
We keep your information safe by using secure VPN connections, regular monitoring, and privacy agreements signed by every virtual assistant.
Payments are easy and secure with Stripe. We also promise 100% satisfaction – if you’re not happy, we’ll fix it right away.
It depends on your workload. We offer both full-time and part-time virtual assistants, so you can choose the option that fits how much support you actually need. Full-time VAs tend to integrate deeper into your team and build more institutional knowledge over time, while part-time VAs are a good fit if you have a narrower, well-defined set of tasks.
Check out our pricing page to see rates for both options.
Ataraxis uses software to monitor your assistant’s activities, ensuring they are always working efficiently and staying productive.
It’s best to set up clear communication methods right from the start. You can use popular tools like Slack, WhatsApp, Zoom, or email, based on what works best for you.
Your satisfaction is our #1 priority. If you’re not happy, we’ll quickly address the issue and find you a better match, or issue a prorated refund if needed.
Great communication skills, attention to detail, strong work ethics, time zone alignment, work from home readiness, and problem solving skills. We carefully choose assistants based on their skills, experience, availability, and special abilities to make sure they match your business needs.
Yes! Many businesses find virtual executive assistants deliver even better quality work, especially for specialized tasks.
Paying very low rates, like $2-3 per hour, usually means getting less skilled workers and lower quality work. Ataraxis offers affordable assistants who are highly skilled.
It usually takes 1-2 weeks to get your virtual executive assistant fully onboarded and familiar with your business, ensuring you work well together from the very beginning.
Yes. They handle holds, buffers, priority rules, color coding, and fast reschedules while minimizing context switching.
Yes. They triage messages, apply rules, draft replies with your voice, surface priorities twice daily, and maintain a clean archive and folder structure.
They create agendas, gather briefs, join calls if you want, capture action items, log decisions, and send follow-ups with owners and due dates.
Yes. They plan door-to-door itineraries, hold refundable options, manage loyalty profiles, and handle disruptions with clear fallback plans.
Your VEA retains your style guide and response playbook including tone, do’s and don’ts, compliance notes, and escalation rules, and applies them across emails and messages.
Yes. They draft role briefs, coordinate interviews, manage scorecards, collect references, and schedule debriefs with hiring teams.
They compile decks, organize data rooms, coordinate distribution lists, and manage RSVPs and materials. Final content decisions remain with you.
Yes. They reconcile receipts, file expense reports, match statements, and coordinate AP or AR with your accountant. Financial approvals stay with you.
You do. Work product lives in your systems, and access uses accounts you control.
If your days are jammed with admin, details, and constant context switching, it’s time to bring on an Executive Assistant through Ataraxis. You’ll unlock more productive hours, streamline your calendar, and stay focused on your biggest priorities while your EA handles the rest.
Start Hiring a Virtual Executive Assistant Today
