Meet The "Tech Savvy Assistant" and Learn About Her Best Practices For Remote/Hybrid Teams
Jessica McBride is the founder of Tech Savvy Assistant. Below, she shares her favorite books, software products, and more! If you like guest posts such as this one, please let us know.
At Offsite, we often work with Chiefs of Staff, Executive Assistants, and other “People Leaders” working on planning team retreats in addition to their other (endless) tasks.
That’s why the work Jessica McBride, Founder of Tech Savvy Assistant, is doing is so interesting to us. Every day, she leads a community for, creates content around, and supports thousands of admins to leverage technology like our free-to-use platform and tools like ChatGPT, to “get ahead” and serve their teams more effectively.
In this guest post, Jessica answers some of our favorite “interview” prompts to share pro-tips for People Leaders like yourself on running remote/hybrid teams, being a more tech-savvy assistant, and much more.
Check it out, and let us know if you like this format (as we can interview other cool people like Jessica if you find value in this blog post).
Without further ado, enter Jessica…
Hello! Who are you, what company are you with, and what is your role at that company?
I’m Jessica McBride, Founder of Tech Savvy Assistant. Tech Savvy Assistant was created to empower admin professionals and people leaders of all levels to utilize technology. Most of my work is around educating my community on AI, and using my background as an Executive Assistant to hone in on our niche needs as a profession.
What's your backstory and how did you start Tech Savvy Assistant?
I started Tech Savvy Assistant on a fluke. In January of 2023, I fell on vacation, injuring my knee and rendering me bed bound for the next few months.
While bored on the resort because I refused to sacrifice my whole vacation over an injury that wasn’t going to kill me, I learned about ChatGPT from TikTok.
I just thought it was a neat tool, and started testing different Executive Assistant scenarios from different groups I was in. I wrote a guide on using ChatGPT and shared within my pretty small LinkedIn network. I was surprised at how much interest there was, and was asked to do a few speaking engagements.
Fast forward to February 15th, and I get laid off with 30% of the company. I frantically began applying for jobs, picking up freelance virtual assistant work and was getting more interest in my educational work.
By April/May, I knew I wasn’t going to go back to a traditional job. I’d been remote since the pandemic, and love it too much to go back, plus jobs were paying 40% less than what I’d been making and I knew I could make that as a virtual assistant.
Eventually, it got to a point where I just took my “Open to Work” banner down and decided to bet on myself. I coined Tech Savvy Assistant shortly and have been building from there.
I have expanded from digital speaking events, to in-person, providing keynote and masterclass presentations on AI for the Admin Profession. I have a popular newsletter, that I send out 1-2x a week, where I share about my journey as a Founder, as well as a smattering of tech news, tips and partnerships.
Take us through your “best practices” for managing remote and hybrid teams…
In my last Executive Assistant role, I supported a small tech company that had the most amazing culture. I was lucky enough to be able to plan 2 company offsites in New York City, with no prior event planning experience.
I learned an incredible amount and loved what I produced but looking back, things would have been better if I’d brought in a professional [like Offsite].
I truly believe that the offsites we had were how we were able to bond and work so well together as a team. You really need to be able to know your coworkers as people to be able to build the type of relationship needed in successful cultures.
Did you ever have an “oh shit” moment culture-wise where you thought things wouldn’t work out so well?
I worked at a start up for a bit in 2017, that was under a lot of pressure due to a looming deadline. I remember 2 things vividly: The feeling of completely being connected to my colleagues as we barreled towards this mission, and the feeling of wanting to snap at some of them for not taking things seriously enough.
It always felt like a certain side of the office (admin and finance) was drowning and sales was playing ping pong. Truthfully, it never got better, and I got laid off a few months after the deadline, but it was fun while it lasted.
What role do you see offsites and team retreats in solving some of the problems associated with running remote and hybrid teams?
As a society, we’re pretty lonely. I’m the biggest advocate for remote work, but even I at times miss having fun with my coworkers. Offsites and team retreats are going to be key moving forward in actually allowing your team to bond.
While I don’t have coworkers anymore, I hope to run an offsite for the Tech Savvy Assistant community in the future, expanding on the idea and offering master classes and training, but in a beautiful and fun environment.
What habits, rituals, technologies, etc are absolutely crucial for maintaining an engaged and aligned workforce at your company, or within your community / client base?
I’m a big fan of employee engagement platforms.
Epoch is one I’ve found really appealing lately, as I often see Executive Assistants in my community looking for ways to engage their team.
At my last role, we used Bonusly and I loved getting to cash in my points for Sephora gift cards. I’m a big fan of using technology to bring people closer.
What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources in your career that have shaped how you think about employee engagement and people leadership?
I read a lot, but hate most leadership books. Dare to Lead by Brene Brown was the first leadership book I read that opened my eyes to even just the idea of leadership. I’d never seen my values reflected in a leader before, and always saw myself as too soft for it. It was really inspiring.
I’m going to plug my own podcast here, The Future Focused Admin. I co-host this with my mentor, Candice Burningham of Admin Avenues based in Australia.
We always struggled to find a podcast on the admin field that we enjoyed, so we decided to make one. We tackle a lot of issues that aren’t often discussed within our profession and making it was a profoundly influential experience for me.
What are some strong opinions you have about company culture-building (or remote/hybrid work), and how do you actually put those into practice in your company?
I always made it a point to have a short meeting with new employees as soon as they started, genuinely just a 15 minute, “Hi, I’m Jessica, I’m here to make your work life better.” meeting at the end of their first week.
This gave me the opportunity to open the lines of communication with them and give them a sense of having a friend within the org.
I found this set the tone for the team and people seemed to love it.
Where can we go to learn more about you / your company?
My website is here.
You can subscribe to my newsletter here.
Connect with me on LinkedIn here.
And my email is jessica@techsavvyassistant.com
What To Read Next:
Here at Offsite, we want to be true partners to you and your team when it comes to running a more connected company.
That’s why, on The Offsite Blog, we’ve recently shared:
The Cadence (so you can bake offsites into your annual planning framework)
Agenda templates for All-Hands Meetings and Executive Team Retreats
How To Develop Meaningful Company “Mission, Vision, and Values”
Find this helpful? Who else would you like us to interview? Let us know…
Every company is different, and every offsite has different business objectives, so the team at Offsite is committed to being a resource for you throughout your journey.
Email me anytime at jared@offsite.com, or visit offsite.com for client case studies to see how other companies are using Offsite for their team retreat needs.
And of course, whenever you plan offsites in the future, make a free account at offsite.com to search our curated marketplace with hundreds of amazing offsite venues, 20%+ savings on room blocks, meeting space, and more.
Plus, we offer end-to-end offsite planning services if you want a “done for you” experience. See why companies like Buffer, Webflow, 15Five, Linear, HiBob, Metabase, Hampton, and others trust Offsite for their team retreats.
Thanks for reading.
-Jared
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