How Assistants can transform your agency or business
Not Another Marketing
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Episode breakdown
In the Not Another Marketing Podcast, Barbara Turley, CEO of The Virtual Hub, chats with Jon Tromans about the benefits of support assistants and how they can help businesses optimise their operations.
Barbara highlights the importance of optimising human capital and how a properly delegated support assistant can drive business growth. She also talks about the lines between support assistants, freelancers and designers, emphasising the need for process development for efficient delegation.
We also chat about the impact of AI, guidelines for hiring support assistants and the importance of integrating support assistants into the company culture.
- The benefits of hiring an offshore team
- Clearing up misconceptions about hiring assistants
- The importance of having efficient delegation in your business
- How to delegate effectively
- What tasks are commonly delegated to assistants
- The importance of setting the right expectations when working with assistants
- The impact of AI to assistants
- The importance of integrating assistants into the company culture
I think delegation is underrated. And also the skill of being able to delegate effectively is something that's not talked about enough. It is like the gateway to scaling any business.
In this episode
00:00 Introduction & guest introduction
Jon Tromans introduces the episode topic — how assistants can support businesses and agencies — and welcomes Barbara Turley, CEO of The Virtual Hub. Barbara shares a brief background about her career, transitioning from financial services to founding an offshore staffing company in the Philippines.
01:26 Why businesses mismanage human capital
Barbara discusses how many businesses misuse their expensive human capital by having high-salary staff handle routine, process-driven tasks. She explains the value of optimizing the “support layer” through delegation to offshore assistants, improving productivity and cost-effectiveness.
04:55 Misconceptions: Assistant as an expense VS investment
Barbara addresses why some companies see hiring assistants as an additional cost instead of a way to save. She highlights challenges in hiring locally and how offshore assistants can cost-effectively handle administrative and repetitive tasks, allowing key staff to focus on high-impact work.
07:10 The role of delegation & control
Discussion turns to the importance of delegation as a growth strategy. Barbara explains the common resistance to delegation due to control issues, and introduces the “70-80% Rule” — delegate what you can and manage oversight on the rest — as a path to business scalability.
09:17 Common assistant tasks & process development
Barbara outlines typical assistant responsibilities, from calendar and email management to marketing execution tasks like content scheduling, image creation, and reporting. She stresses the importance of process development and differentiating between admin tasks and specialist roles like design.
14:40 The impact of AI on virtual assistance
Barbara reflects on the arrival of AI tools like ChatGPT, initially a concern for her business, now seen as a productivity booster for her team. She shares how her company trains assistants to leverage AI tools, which significantly speeds up tasks like document preparation.
17:23 Smart questions to ask assistant agencies
Barbara advises what to ask when selecting a assistant agency: attrition rates, whether assistants are employees or contractors, data privacy protocols, and whether assistants are dedicated or part of a shared pool. She also touches on ethical employment practices and culture-building for offshore teams.
20:58 Integrating assistants into company culture
The conversation highlights best practices for integrating assistants into client businesses — inviting them to team socials, celebrating events together, and ensuring they feel part of the team. Barbara explains how her company provides cultural support for assistants, especially for small clients.
24:31 Closing & contact details
Jon and Barbara wrap up the conversation, with Barbara sharing how listeners can connect with her and The Virtual Hub via their website, YouTube, LinkedIn, and other social platforms.
