Hiring a remote administrator - Think Admin onboarding process
If you are considering bringing a remote business administrator into your team, but not sure about how best to implement this, I have put together some pointers to guide you through my onboarding process here at Think Admin.
1. Remote = the new normal
Don’t be daunted by the prospect of having a fully remote member of staff. Remote working is increasing in popularity and frequency in businesses globally. Although it might feel like a loss of control not having physical oversight of all of your team, an experienced professional like myself will prove themselves by the quality and efficiency of their output, regardless of their location.
2. Be specific: What do you need from me?
Make a list of the exact tasks you need completing by your remote administrator. I work on tackling specific elements of full-scale administration including accounting and HR. I don’t need a broad job description in the same way that someone working full or part-time office hours might, instead, the more specific you can be in your requirements, the better I am at planning the resourcing needed to complete the job(s).
3. Let’s get technical
Once you have made a list of the tasks required, go back to the top and fill in all of the programmes, databases and software needed to complete them. As a senior administrator I use a wide range of products, often on a daily basis, such as Xero, Quickbooks, Mailchimp and G Suite, and the list is growing all the time depending on my clients’ needs.
4. Name the date
Return to the top of your list and mark against each task the frequency which it occurs (eg daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly) and where possible the deadlines required (eg payroll, expenses, invoice payment terms etc).
5. Get in touch
You’ve now built up a detailed picture of your exact administrative requirements, so it’s a great time to get in touch with me to discuss your business needs. I meet with a lot of new and prospective clients either face to face or via phone and video call. We can evaluate each task, discuss preferred communication methods and business processes, and I can quickly calculate your required resourcing across a monthly period, so that we are in a great position to work together to streamline your administration. I pride myself on my diligence and confidentiality, and am motivated to make your business more efficient. You can contact me at joanne@thinkadmin.co.uk / 07483811424
6. All aboard
Following a successful meeting and with a work plan agreed, I can now join your team as a remote administrator. This involves getting me set up with, where required, applicable logins, user licenses, email accounts, access codes, database storage, file sharing, technical support details and key contacts, (a lot of which you will have already detailed from Step 3, making this last part quicker and easier!). I take client confidentiality very seriously and, at the point of handover, store all information safely and securely.
To ease, and in some cases shorten the handover process, I have an optional onboarding meeting available to new clients which is a two-hour meeting to collate all the necessary information for me to complete my work as your administrator. At £75, in two hours we will cover all the set up detailed above, and is a good option for business owners who want to handover responsibility in one sitting, cutting out the back and forth over email and enabling you to focus on your business priorities. All of the training that would take weeks and months of resource for a new-starter to learn, I aim to complete in those two hours.
If this process has shown you that remote administration is the next step for your business then I would love to hear from you.
Alongside my full-scale business support, I am currently running a Starter package that is a great way to introduce remote administration into your organisation. For £99 a month*, the Starter package provides 3 hours admin plus a 30-minute strategy meeting.
*Minimum 3 month commitment. Excludes onboarding meeting.