FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Getting started

Why should I use Double instead of hiring someone part-time?

Finding a great assistant is hard work. Double makes it easy to get started with an experienced and vetted assistant right away, with little long-term commitment. On top of that, our Doubles stay up to date with industry best practices so you don't have to, and give you access to workflows and tips from our community to kick start your collaboration. Finally, the tools we build help you and your Double save time every day, making it more efficient to work with Double than anyone else.

I want to sign up. What's next?

Welcome! Schedule a call with our team so we can learn more about your expectations and preferences. Once we know more about you, we'll find the best Double to fit your needs and introduce them to you during our onboarding call. You can start sending projects to your Double right after the call.

Can I interview my Double?

Our goal is to make it as fast and easy for you to get you started. That's why we pick the best Double for you based on the information we gather during your introduction call. We take into account the tasks you need help with, the Double's experience, time zone, and personality. Wrong matches rarely happen, but when they do, we'll find you a new Double asap and transition all your projects to them.

What factors do you consider when matching me with a Double?

Double’s goal is to foster long-term working relationships between executives and executive assistants, so we have a thorough matching process in place. We match Doubles based on location, task expertise, industry fit, and shared working style preferences. We do not tolerate discrimination in our matching process, and will not make matches based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, age, or any other characteristics protected under law.

Where is Double available?

We currently have Doubles in the United States, Canada, and France and are accepting clients in these countries.

About our assistants

What is a Double?

Doubles are all college-educated executive assistants, based in the United States, Canada, and France. They have on average 5 years of experience working as assistants for busy CEOs and C-level executives, and their main goal is to help you gain back your time so you can focus on what matters most. Once you're matched with your Double, they will be the only person you work with: they'll get to know you, your company, and your team, and learn to be proactive about your needs.

What tasks can my Double help with?

Doubles can help with calendar management, scheduling, inbox help, travel, meeting preparation and follow-ups, contact management, project management, administrative tasks, expenses, invoices, onboarding new employees, recruiting process, data entry, research projects, personal projects...and more!

What tasks can't my Double help with?

Doubles cannot help with any physical errands (though they can help find someone to run them), or tasks that require a specific expertise (i.e. legal, advanced accounting, graphic design).

About our app

How do I communicate with my double?

We have a desktop app, a Gmail extension, and an iOS app to help you communicate seamlessly with your double and track projects. On top of that, we'll help you give your double access to the tools you already use: Slack, Asana, Trello, ... And of course, you can always email or call your double.

Why do you only accept people who have a Google Suite or Outlook account?

We are a small team building tools for both our clients and our doubles, on desktop and mobile. Unfortunately, this means that we've had to make tough choices on where to begin. We recently expanded our app to include Outlook users from previously only accepting Gsuite at login. Our mobile app is currently only on iOS, and we have plans to expand to Android in the future, but it is not required to use our service.

How do you protect client privacy and data?

Every double we hire signs an NDA before they are matched with an executive. The NDA covers all data they receive from third-parties while working with Double. This measure protects not only Double's data, but any and all information our executives share with our Double assistants while working with us, regardless of which clients they're working with or who provides the information to them.

When executives are onboarded to Double, we either ask them to add their double to their existing password manager, or we guide them through creating a free and secure 1Password vault through Double that is shared between them and their new assistant. This ensures all shared, sensitive information is protected.

We also recommend our clients interact with their assistant through our Double mobile app, desktop app, or Chrome extension. The data passed through these communication tools are always encrypted—both at rest and in transit.

Pricing

How does billing work?

Our plans start at just 10 hours per calendar month for $549. After your first month, you can choose to upgrade to another pricing plan that works best for your needs. Each plan includes a set number of hours to be used every calendar month, for any hours your Double works beyond the included hours, you will be billed at the hourly rate according to your plan. As you upgrade to a higher tier plan the cost per hour reduces further.

The first week of every new month your credit card gets charged for the plan plus any additional hours used in the previous calendar month. Some plans allow you to receive an invoice and pay it online.

Can Double support a team?

Yes, Double can support multiple individuals in one organization or team. We offer Plans for Teams to bundle hours for even greater benefits and lower costs per hour.

While we cannot guarantee that you and your teammates will have the same Double due to availability and compatibility, we do our best to have as few Doubles working across your team as possible. Our Doubles go through a rigorous vetting and selection process, so you can expect a consistent level of service and excellent collaboration.

The primary user of your Double for Teams plan will have the ability to add and remove team members and set a maximum number of hours for their teammates, in addition to deciding whether personal tasks are allowed or not. If you have any other questions, please feel free to schedule some time to speak with our team.

Vetting and selection process

How do you source your assistants?

We receive thousands of proposals from assistants who want to work with Double. While the majority of assistants submit for the opportunity directly through the job board on our website, many of our prospective assistants are referred by our trusted current Double assistants and client community. Among the tens of thousands of proposals we receive, just 0.3% of contracts are awarded.

What is your candidate vetting process?

Our team only considers assistants from candidates who have been virtual executive assistants with top executives. Our assistants have on average 5 years of experience. We then conduct an extensive selection process that includes:

  • Pass a skills assessment that evaluates their ability to complete critical executive assistant tasks
  • 2 rounds of interviews with our in-house recruiting team

In addition, our team performs both reference and verified background checks for every assistant we work with.

How do you evaluate candidates for experience and professionalism?

During each part of the interview process detailed above, our team evaluates candidates across five key competencies that we have identified as critical indicators to success.

  • Problem solving: Our team uses scenario-based assessments and questions to identify candidates who are strong critical thinkers, creative problem solvers, proactive, adaptable, and work well under pressure.

  • Organization: The structure of the interview process enables us to evaluate how well candidates can balance competing priorities, context switch efficiently, manage time effectively, and present information clearly and succinctly.

  • Communication: From the moment an application is submitted through the end of the interview process, we look for clear, proactive, adaptable, and professional communication skills in every written and verbal interaction.

  • Relationship building: Relationships are at the heart of what we do. Our team leverages the scenario assessments to identify candidates who are proactive, flexible, trustworthy, discreet, coachable, and positive.

  • Technology: Our executives use a wide range of productivity tools and apps. Therefore our double assistants must be in-the-know about the latest platforms and willing to level-up when they’re not.

How do you ensure successful matching between an assistant and executive?

Before an assistant can be matched with an executive, they must complete a week-long onboarding process. During this time period they review all of our guidelines and meet with current, experienced doubles.

When matching clients and assistants, we take into account the following attributes: - Location and timezones - Assistant experience working within different industries - Executive experience working with assistants - Difficulty level of anticipated tasks, amount of support hours the executive needs, and balance of professional vs personal support - Executive working style and communication - Common interests and pet peeves

Once an assistant has completed their onboarding, they are matched with only one or two executives to begin with, so that they have time to ramp up. Each seasoned assistant supports on average 3 executives at a time.

How do you ensure ongoing success with the assistants after they are onboarded and matched?

All Double assistants are monitored by our team on an ongoing basis. They participate in regular coaching sessions and attend community webinars on new productivity methods, tips for working remotely, and ways to anticipate an executives’ needs. We collect candid feedback from our executives that we are able to effectively translate and deliver to our assistants. This feedback loop enables our doubles to work on and adjust their performance to best meet their executives' needs. If an assistant does not provide satisfactory work to more than one executive, we take all necessary measures to ensure long-term satisfaction of our executive clients, such as coaching or matching the executive with a new double.