Tag: virtual assistant advantages

Are Virtual Assistants Difficult to Work With

Are Virtual Assistants Difficult to Work With?

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You may be among the business people, who are still hesitant to hire a virtual assistant. This is probably due to the speculations that you would encounter a lot of issues in having one. For instance, you may think that virtual assistants would not be similar to office-based workers in many ways, such as in productivity or performance in general. This is understandable since not all entrepreneurs or executives are still open to the idea of remote staffing.

Despite technology advancements, there are still businesses, which are behind what is expected of them. They will still prefer to stick to their traditional ways than go paperless. However, if you are among these companies, do you think that your conventional operations are still benefiting you or it simply got you stuck where you are since the beginning? If it is the latter, then a change in your firm may be the solution for progress.

With companies considering the use of digital solutions for their operations, they become more competitive in their industries. Additionally, they tend to simplify their once difficult activities, such as sales and marketing.  As a result, they save more and earn more. Why deprive yourself of the same leverage opportunity?

The savings in hiring a virtual assistant is given, but in terms of the difficulty in handling one, the whole picture may still be unclear to you.

Primarily, you should know that virtual assistants are not less competent compared to office-based workers. The truth of the matter is, some of them are even office employees previously. In other words, they are aware of how things work regardless of the environment. Furthermore, if being qualified is what you worry about, then you should know that virtual assistants are not short in degrees or fields of expertise. Due to lots of experience, some could even handle both administrative and technical work simultaneously. Conclusively, you will not have an issue in working with them if performance is your concern.

Moreover, virtual assistants will never be difficult to work with since communicating with them could be seamless. You simply have to open doors to make this happen. Apart from e-mails, you can simply allow your VA to get in touch with you even through messaging platforms. You could also set up a conference or direct mobile calls, when necessary. Hence, seeing them face-to-face would not be even difficult to achieve.

In the instance of ensuring they do not abuse their freedom of working without you being there to supervise them in the flesh, then you could simply rely on an agency or a supervising company. This virtual assistant firm will allow you to have peace of mind since they will guarantee your VAs will be supervised accordingly. In other words, every minute you pay for will not be wasted.

Furthermore, virtual assistants have the initiative to report their progress frequently. This is to give you assurance that they are delivering what is expected of them.

For the case of time differences, a virtual assistant is honed to work based on the time zone of his or her client. This is how the online industry works in order to provide the employers the utmost advantage. If you want to work hand-in-hand with your VA even if it is nighttime on his or her end, then it could happen.

With the aforementioned facts above, would you still think that virtual assistants are difficult to work with? Hopefully, your doubts have now dissipated, and you are now ready to take in remote workers.

What Flexibility Means With Having a Virtual Assistant

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You would definitely encounter lots of businesses or individuals, who are hiring virtual assistants, to claim that they found the flexibility of a VA highly advantageous for their needs. However, you may have a vague understanding of this matter. You see, there are two primary things that could explain why a virtual assistant is versatile.

To begin with, a virtual assistant is flexible in terms of skills. In other words, you would not have an issue in having a well-rounded VA, either in terms of administrative or non-administrative tasks. Unlike office-based employees, virtual assistants are often necessitated to do various tasks for one client. One can be very helpful in clerical work, marketing, graphic design, and even website maintenance all at the same time. For certain, finding one is quite difficult if you are in a typical office setting.

The aforementioned setup is common among virtual assistants and their corresponding clients. This does not imply that the VAs are treated unfairly or being assigned with too many activities to handle. One can do a lot of things by simply dedicating specific time for each. For instance, there are scenarios wherein a virtual assistant would carry out social media management for three days a week and focus on administrative work for the remaining two days of the work week.

Another amazing thing about virtual assistants’ flexibility in relation to skills is how one’s educational background does not influence what they can do as a remote worker. Did you know that there are VAs at present, who finished an arts-related bachelor’s degree but can also handle IT work? This is pretty astonishing for some, but their experience outweighs their educational background. They become equipped with necessary abilities through working with various clients of differing requirements.

Apart from the skills point of view, a virtual assistant may also be flexible in terms of schedule or shift. There is none more adaptive to any culture or professional environment other than a VA. A client is never required to adjust to their VA’s time zone. Instead, it is the other way around. Despite the difference in location, a virtual assistant must follow the current time zone of his or her client. This is regardless of working on a night shift basis.

From the given facts, it is irrefutable that having a virtual assistant is a great benefit for someone, who needs an employee that could comply with most of his or her requirements. Virtual assistance successfully breaks down the limitations that are often met in an office-based setting. This is the reason why, soon enough, more corporate entities will come to appreciate the essence of hiring remote workers.

Never Misuse Your Privileges as a Virtual Assistant

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You are a virtual assistant, who has the greatest benefit of working at home. Thus, you do not have to socialize with a lot of people while working, helping you focus more on your tasks. Also, your family is near your reach, giving you fewer worries even if you are on duty. This gives you the security to attend to your loved ones, particularly in times of emergencies. Furthermore, you have the convenience of not battling with traffic – simply open your PC or laptop, and you are good to go.

There are many advantages a virtual assistant could have besides the ones mentioned above. Unfortunately, not all seem to take it into account. There are ones, who still end up in the ill-use of their privileges, which should not be the case.

If you are a virtual assistant, you have this benefit of asking for leaves as easily as possible. Simply imagine how less disconcerting it can be to know that you do not have to see the facial expression of your client when asking for approval.

Due to this, there are some, who take advantage of this and make it a habit to be off-duty, stating various reasons relative to the matter. You should never establish such personality, for it will be your peril one day – easy dismissal from your job. Remember, your absence even in a day is already a great loss to your client. Many tasks will be delayed and your client may be off track, for you will not be there to assist him or her.

On the other hand, there are virtual assistants, who tend to abuse their privilege of having stagnant hours in a day. As a result, they do activities unrelated to their work, risking them in missing the urgent requests of their client. Be reminded that even if your client does not provide you work that would fill in your hours for the shift, this does not mean that he or she will never need you at unexpected times. In truth, the said hours are meant for you to stand by, specifically for emergency requirements.

Thus, if your client sends you a missive, you should at least be as responsive as possible. Remind yourself that you do not have work at those idle hours. This means that you have all the time in the world to attend to your client’s concerns.

Another good example of this matter is when a virtual assistant does not even set up a conducive workspace. As a result, whenever he or she speaks with his or her client, the latter would hear unnecessary background noises, resulting in distraction. Be reminded that even if you are home, you should at least keep your environment free from such, especially when communicating with your client. This will appear very unprofessional. Even if they understand you are at home, keep in mind that you are working and you should act like one.

Indeed, there are virtual assistants, who become less appreciative of their benefits as a home-based worker, but this does not mean you should be one. There are many ways to become an effective one, such as by starting to appreciate the advantages you got on hand.

Communication: A Key to Effective Virtual Work (VA’s Perspective)

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Virtual work has now been considered as a better alternative to office-based work due to many factors. Let us begin with the difficulty of traveling from one place to another. There is no denying that most virtual assistants chose to work from home since commuting from their home to office have only been excruciating for them. You cannot blame them to complain. Just imagine your day being consumed by being on the road for hours!

Another factor that makes being a home-based worker more advantageous is the ability to be near your loved ones. Working in the office has taken this privilege at an unlikely level – mothers not being able to rear their children or fathers not being able to witness their children grow. Is that how life should be? Apparently, no.

However, no matter how you consider virtual work your future, you should have to consider a lot of things to make it work. Now, we will focus on communication. Neophytes in the home-based work industry would think having an employment online will be the same with working in the office. No, it will not be entirely the same. In truth, it is more sensitive and requires more commitment.

Let us go back to why communication is one thing you have to focus on while being a virtual worker. Truthfully, without it, you will not even be able to get a job online, more so in keeping your occupation.

To make it clearer for you, given below are top reasons why communication should be the foundation of your home-based work:

It is what your client depends on to make everything work. Without communicating with your client, you will not even get to know him or her better. Plus, the work that has to be done or his or her requirements will not at all be disclosed.

Since he or she will not be able to work with you in the flesh, what he or she will rely on is the messaging platform you will use. This could be e-mail, Skype, Messenger, Viber, Zoom, or anything that you could think of being used to communicate virtually.

It is what makes you worth being paid. Without communication, you will not be able to inform what you have accomplished. Remember, not all clients have the time to check what you have finished in a certain shift immediately or regularly. They depend on what you report to determine what you have done for them or their operations in a day.

It is what keeps you a reliable employee. Communication will always give you the chance to prove that you are a reliable virtual worker. How? By opening up about something that is not right with the tasks you are working on. By making your client aware of improvements that could be applied to their systems. By admitting your pitfalls and assuring that you will be better in the future.

If you will analyze it, you can say that without communication, no virtual work would even be on your plate.

The question now is, how could you improve communication with your client? It is simple: maximize the use of the messaging platform you are currently utilizing to be in connection with him or her.

Whenever you are reporting or logging out, inform him or her. Report whatever you have accomplished in a day. Ensure that he or she is updated with his or her future appointments. Keep him or her aware of your project’s progress. Voice out what you think should have made the proposal better.

There are too many ways you could improve communication while working online. As stated above, MAXIMIZE it.

What Makes Virtual Assistants More Reliable

What Makes Virtual Assistants More Reliable

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There are various businesses and individuals that are still hesitant to obtain support from home-based workers due to a variety of reasons, which include lack of trust, zero experience, and fear of failure among others. Far from their expectations, Virtual Assistants are actually more reliable than office-based workers in many aspects.

To explain further, here are factors that make Virtual Assistants more dependable:

Versatility

You can question the flexibility of a Virtual Assistant either in terms of skills and working schedule. Simply imagine having a VA, who could do both administrative and non-administrative tasks simultaneously. This may surprise you, but this is a norm among VAs.

In terms of reporting time, VAs are used to adjusting according to their client’s timezone. In other words, regardless of the differences in locations, you will not have to worry about keeping up with your operations and deadlines.

Extensive Experience

VAs are meant to jump from one type of work to another. Since the freelancing industry shows no barriers on what you can try as a job, VAs were given the freedom to gain experience in any field (e.g. sales and marketing, administrative work, IT, real estate, e-commerce, etc.)

Internationally Inclined Work Ethics

If you are worried about getting a VA due to the differences in culture, then you should know that a typical VA has to work with clients based in another country. It is not often that a VA has to cater to a locally based company.

This can be proven by how fluent they are in communicating in English and quick in adjusting to a new environment.

With the few aforementioned aspects, you will no longer be able to deny that VAs are indeed exceptional. This is why soon enough, they may even take over a large percentage of office-based companies.