Business Support at Moneypenny: the engine behind smooth collaboration

Can you briefly introduce yourself and explain what Business Support at Moneypenny is?

I started as a VA, like most people here, and then grew into different roles. I now work within Business Support. We make sure processes run smoothly, that colleagues can do their jobs, and that both clients and VAs are supported from the very first point of contact.

It suits me well: the combination of hands-on work and strategic thinking. Since becoming a team lead, leadership has become part of my role too. That’s still relatively new to me, but something I really enjoy learning.

Outside of work, I like being hands-on as well. I have a large vegetable garden and three dogs, so I spend a lot of time outdoors. I used to work in a bookshop, where I loved organising everything neatly. That practical mindset and enjoyment of structure have, quite nicely, come back in my role within Business Support.

When is a day ‘successful’ for you?

A successful day is one where I’ve managed to balance the practical, day-to-day work with more strategic tasks. That doesn’t always happen—sometimes it’s simply busy or something unexpected comes up, and the strategic work is the first thing to go.

But when I do manage to carve out time to focus on improving a process or refining a work instruction, I genuinely feel at the end of the day: that’s progress.

Which Business Support activities are often invisible to others, but make a real difference?

We play a significant role in supporting the sales process. When a lead comes in, sales takes the lead, but we know exactly when to step in—for example, to prepare a proposal or schedule an introduction. That process now runs very smoothly, and I’m quite proud of that.

We’re also involved throughout the entire journey, from the first lead to the onboarding of a client, right up to the moment they officially start.

The same applies to VAs. After the final interview and once someone is hired, we guide the onboarding. We monitor the Trello boards and check whether everything is completed on time. These steps may be invisible, but they truly make a difference.

What signals do you pick up on that others might notice later?

Within Business Support, we often spot things early. My colleague Annemieke, for example, is very close to the day-to-day operations and is often the first to notice when something is off.

For instance, a project might be about to start while the proposal hasn’t yet been signed. Or during onboarding, we quickly see when someone is falling behind. The People team isn’t always on top of that daily, so if something slows down, we notice it immediately and can raise it in time.

How do you collaborate with account management, People and VAs to keep everything aligned?

A lot of our collaboration happens through Trello. It works really well for us because all steps come together there. The communication on each card is key: you can immediately see what it relates to and what stage it’s in.

For example, during the onboarding of a VA, everyone can see what has already been done, what the next step is, and who is responsible. It keeps everything clear and prevents overlap or missed steps.

What do VAs need from Business Support to do their work well?

We mainly support VAs during onboarding, for example with new assignments or transitions. We provide clear information: “you’ve been introduced to this assignment, these are the tasks, this is what has been agreed.”

Often this has already been discussed verbally, but it’s helpful to have it clearly structured in writing as well.

We also act as a general point of contact. Anything that doesn’t naturally fall under an account manager or buddy often comes to us. These are usually administrative or practical questions, and we aim to support VAs as well as possible.

How do you ensure that work remains transferable and not dependent on one person?

A large part of that lies in documentation and clear work instructions. Bringing people along in what you do and making sure processes are documented. I personally enjoy the challenge of writing instructions so clearly that no questions remain.

I also aim to distribute knowledge more widely within the team, so we can step in for each other more easily—for example when it comes to systems or operational support.

What have you recently improved that made a noticeable difference?

We recently improved the process around project kick-offs. Previously, account managers were still handling quite a few administrative tasks after the kick-off. These have now largely been moved to Business Support.

It’s working very well, and I can see that account managers really benefit from it. They can focus on their clients and new opportunities, while we ensure everything is handled properly behind the scenes.

We’ve also started using AI for proposal texts. I built this into a GPT, so now you can generate a clear, well-structured proposal at the click of a button. It saves a significant amount of time.

How has Business Support evolved alongside Moneypenny over the years?

In the beginning, support tasks were more fragmented across different roles. Over time, this has been brought together into one team.

We first grew, and then became more efficient, which now allows us to do more with a smaller team. The focus is much sharper on support that truly adds value to other teams.

What do you see as typically ‘Moneypenny’ in the way you work behind the scenes?

What feels very Moneypenny to me is that we’re highly supportive, but we also think for ourselves. We don’t just say “yes” to everything—we think along and look for smarter or better ways.

There’s a positive atmosphere, but we also work hard. And everyone is willing to go the extra mile. That sense of responsibility is strong across the team. Especially because we work remotely, trust and ownership are essential.

If you could give one piece of advice to organisations considering support through Moneypenny, what would it be?

Invest in the relationship with your VA. Remember that you’re working with a person, and that human connection really matters. The better you get to know each other, the stronger the collaboration becomes—and the more you can ask of one another.

And don’t forget: behind every VA is a full team at Moneypenny, thinking along and supporting you.

Good collaboration starts with the right alignment. Curious how Moneypenny shapes this together with clients and VAs? We’d be happy to explore it with you.