There’s no denying how the business landscape has significantly changed over the past years. What used to be performed in an office setting in an eight-to-five shift can now be accomplished in a remote location with a flexible schedule.
Today, we’ve seen a growing number of freelancers, contract workers, and remote employees working for different companies in various industries. In fact, the global pandemic brought by the COVID-19 crisis has all the more increased remote jobs among many businesses across the globe.
With that, virtual assistance is one aspect that has quite risen in popularity and become extremely popular today. Companies tap these virtual assistants to work for them, whether for client service, email management, chat support, bookkeeping, scheduling, administrative work, and even IT-related tasks. However, there’s more to a VA than you might expect.
In this article, we will share more about a virtual assistant and why it pays to hire one for your business in 2021:
What a virtual assistant is
A virtual assistant (VA) is someone who provides assistance to an entity via the web. On a more specific note, a VA is contracted to perform a set of duties and responsibilities in a remote location for a particular business, such as bookkeeping and accounting, data entry and management, IT support, and administrative support. They can also do front-end services like inbound and outbound calls, email support, and chat support. Thanks to the advancements of technology and the impact of globalization, people can now work for businesses regardless of their location and time!
What a virtual assistant does
As explained above, there are a host of tasks that a VA can perform and accomplish. Below are some of the notable tasks that most VAs do:
- Scheduling: They are usually hired by a CEO, manager, or business leader to handle their schedules. These assistants will manage the calendar, set appointments, and communicate with various clients and stakeholders, whether via email or chat.
- Event management: They are contracted by a business to handle a business event’s organizing and managing. This includes planning, material acquisition, designing, communicating with vendors, and pulling off the business event.
- Social media management: They work for a company to manage its social media accounts. Whether on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, the assistant will create the profiles and maintain them in the long run. They will also go as far as posting and sharing content pieces and responding to customer queries, resolving issues, and addressing concerns.
- Reports preparation: They gather data and information from the business and come up with reports to be utilized by bosses for business presentation and decision-making.
- Basic digital marketing: They are sometimes acquainted with the basics of digital marketing. Whether through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, or content marketing, the assistant helps promote your products or services and market your brand.
- IT support: They can perform troubleshooting, site maintenance, and other technical support. While you focus on your main task and core competency, your assistant can take care of your online security, website, as well as your network.
- Personal tasks: There are other personal tasks that a VA can accomplish for their bosses whenever needed, such as booking a flight or looking for the best accommodation during business travels.
The benefits of hiring a virtual assistant
Given that the COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting industries worldwide, it is to hire a virtual assistant for your business. So if you want to keep your business up and running despite the contact restrictions, utilizing the digital platform and getting a VA onboard can make a world of difference in helping your business survive and thrive in the long run! Here are five valuable benefits of hiring a VA for your business:
1. Increase in productivity
If you’re a business owner or a manager trying to keep operations afloat, sometimes the work itself can be quite overwhelming. There are just many tasks to be done, from scheduling to communicating with various stakeholders to managing reports. As a result, some tasks are left unattended while a few others are compromised. This is where a VA comes into the picture to provide you with a helping hand. Ultimately, hiring one to work with you will help increase your overall efficiency and business productivity.
2. Focus on core functions
As a business leader or manager, you have a hierarchy of responsibilities to accomplish regularly. Of course, you have to prioritize your core functions, which is to manage your employees and grow your business. However, there will also be manual and repetitive tasks that you must accomplish. Instead of focusing on these yourself, you can let your hired VA do the job for you. That way, you can focus on your core competency and primary functions of growing your business!
3. Availability and flexibility
When you hire a virtual assistant(s) for your business, you stand to benefit from their availability and flexibility. This essentially means that you can immediately tap their talents whenever necessary because they can work round the clock or in shifting schedules. If you think about your in-house employees, they usually work in the nine-to-five shift, which can restrict your growth rate. On the other hand, VAs are highly flexible, where you can hire them during peak seasons or only when necessary. You can also get them on a project or contractual basis without the need to keep them during dormant seasons.
4. Saving money
Hiring a VA is much cheaper compared to getting a full-time employee. As mentioned above, you’ll only pay them on a contractual basis or per project. If you no longer require their services, you can simply end the contract and reactivate it in the future. But if you hire an in-house employee, you’ll have to pay them regularly even though they aren’t doing any work. You can also save up on a VA by not spending on office equipment, tools, supplies, and other office necessities.
5. Competitive advantage
It is safe to say that the remote job is now the future of the business landscape. As early as now, you must jump on the bandwagon and take advantage of the benefits of hiring a VA. Not only will they boost your business in terms of overall efficiency and productivity, but they will also give your business a competitive edge over other companies in your industry so that you don’t get left behind amid the changes!
Conclusion
At this point, you now know what a VA is and what they do. Most importantly, you now understand why it pays to hire one in 2021. As outlined above, you’ll be able to take advantage of the following—increase in productivity, focus on core functions, availability and flexibility, saving money, and competitive advantage. With all these benefits, you have all the right reasons to consider hiring a VA for your business today!
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