Valentina Akpan: Founder of Rellatech, providing administrative and operations support to executives, founders, business owners and teams. Her background combines technical support, customer success, administration and operations.
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Where an assistant works can affect scheduling and contracting arrangements. It does not tell you how well that person communicates, exercises judgement or understands your systems.
Compare the actual person, service and working arrangement before choosing on the basis of location or hourly rate.
Start with the hours you need covered
Identify the tasks that require live overlap, such as scheduling changes or coordination with your team. Separate them from work that can be completed asynchronously, such as preparing a report or organizing documents. Ask each provider to confirm their working hours, time zone and response expectations. A different location does not automatically mean a scheduling problem, and a nearby provider does not automatically offer the availability you need.
Assess experience directly
Review examples of relevant work, ask how unusual situations are handled and discuss the tools your business uses. Evaluate language and communication skills through the person's actual writing and conversation. For client-facing responsibilities, agree on tone, approval rules and which matters should be escalated.
Compare the full scope and cost
Check the currency, included capacity, onboarding, management arrangements and any additional fees. Compare proposals covering the same responsibilities and service expectations. Avoid assuming that a lower rate means lower quality or that a higher rate guarantees a better result.
Decide how the relationship will work
Ask who completes the work, whether you have a consistent point of contact and what happens during absence or changes in workload. Confirm access and information-handling requirements relevant to your organization.
Working with Rellatech
I am based in Canada and support clients remotely across several countries. You work directly with me, with the responsibilities, schedule and pricing agreed before starting. Read more about administrative support.
Book a free callTell me what needs attention and which tools you use. I review inquiries personally and normally reply within one business day with the next step. Any detailed audit or implementation is scoped separately.
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