Tag: why hire a virtual assistant

How to Make the Most Out of Having a Virtual Assistant

How to Make the Most Out of Having a Virtual Assistant

Having a virtual assistant at this time is one of the smartest moves an entrepreneur or an executive would do. With the advancement in technology and easier means of working regardless of your location or time zone, having a remote assistant is no longer a problem. 

In truth, there are tons of benefits that you could reap by having a virtual assistant, which you could start with flexibility. Meetings or even coordination about tasks would no longer be limited to seeing each other personally. Even if you are traveling around the globe, you can relay your thoughts, ideas, and requirements to your VA with ease.

However, in order to make the most out of having a virtual assistant, there are things that you should try to practice. The following are just a few:

Get rid of your menial tasks first. If you are new to having a remote assistant, the best thing to do first is getting rid of your so-called ‘menial’ tasks. These are activities that take much of your time every day, but can actually be handled by your assistant, which will free up your schedule for more important business matters.

Some business people are too hesitant to assign tasks to their VA, which is normal, so considering the menial tasks as a start would be a smart idea. Once you have seen that your virtual assistant is working efficiently with the initial activities you have assigned, you would have a better assessment on what other tasks to disseminate in the near future.

Work with them side-by-side. To reap the utmost advantages of having a VA, it is best to have them with you during your working or operational hours. Flexibility may be considered the best option by others, but if you want to be assisted well enough, then the virtual assistant should at least be reachable whenever you need him or her.

By having your VA work during your operational hours, even if there are urgent matters at hand, you will be assisted. Furthermore, coordination would not be delayed. Flexible schedule may keep your virtual assistant from clarifying some things, which could in turn hold off the completion of certain tasks.

Additionally, working alongside your VA may also help you observe his or her work performance much more effectively.

Give sufficient time for adjustment. Every virtual assistant has the right to have enough time adjusting to their new work environment. If you will rush a VA to have the know-how of everything in your business immediately simply because he or she is experienced, you may encounter issues going forward.

Bear in mind that your operations may differ from that of your VAs’ previous employers’. Furthermore, even if you may be using software applications that your virtual assistant is proficient at, you still need to convey your expectations clearly.

By giving a reasonable adjustment period, you would be able to support your VA from working effectively in the long run. It is somehow your means of orienting them on what your business goals are.

Be open to correcting their mistakes. There are entrepreneurs or executives, who simply decide to give up having a virtual assistant after a single mistake and not allowing him or her to correct it. 

If you want to make the most out of having a VA, treat them as a typical office employee, who may err from time to time. With proper guidance and correction, he or she would improve by seeing mistakes as their learning curve.

Moreover, if you do not present the errors done by your virtual assistant, it would be difficult for him or her to even keep up with your standards or requirements. Guessing what should be done is not the way to go in having a VA.

Allow learning of new skills. You should not limit your virtual assistant to doing the same things in the long run. If you would allow him or her to learn new skills, which are beneficial for you, then it is a good move. 

For instance, instead of allowing your VA to work on administrative tasks solely, you should also be open to the possibility of getting help in advertising or sales. This is in consideration to getting the nod of your virtual assistant and assuring that his or her workload is still fair.

Instead of getting more and more people to do tasks separately, an efficient VA can get a lot of things done with sufficient time, resources, and support.

From the provided practices, you would realize that a virtual assistant could be the independent contractor or employee that could fill in the gap in your operations. All it takes is to carry out the said steps and you would be able to get the most efficient assistance you could find.

A Thanksgiving: What to Thank For in Having a Virtual Assistant

In line with the Thanksgiving holiday, which is being celebrated in a number of countries, it is a good thing to discuss what to thank for in having a virtual assistant. With the recent development in staffing, there is no refuting that more employers are appreciating how valuable it is to have remote workers. Instead of being skeptical about it, they are now welcoming a team creation out of virtual assistants.

There are various reasons why you should be well pleased for deciding to hire a virtual assistant. To give you a few, which will remind you that your gratitude is laudable, here are the following:

Utmost Convenience. There is no invalidating the fact that having a virtual assistant would provide you a high level of ease in different aspects. One good example is being assisted everywhere you will go. Even if you are someone who travels a lot, with your remote assistant available to communicate anytime and anywhere, you would not lose any needed help.

As long as you have the platforms to use, internet connection, and gadgets necessary, you can get in touch with your virtual assistant conveniently. This means if you need urgent appointments to set, travels to schedule, or rooms to book, you are all set.

Accessible Skill Diversity. A typical virtual assistant has various skills to offer. This is brought upon by his or her experiences that were obtained through open opportunities online. Unlike office-based work, most remote projects or positions are open to anyone willing to be trained. As a result, a virtual assistant can easily gain more knowledge and skills to offer as his or her years in remote industry increase.

Flexibility. Since a remote worker is usually based in his or her home, there is no problem if the work schedule has to be changed instantly, whenever necessary. This is regardless of the virtual assistant following a different timezone to that of the employer. 

Most virtual assistants can even work on a night shift basis to keep up with the operations of a company based in an area, which can be 12 hours behind.

High Level of Commitment. Since there is a high level of convenience on the end of the virtual assistant, he or she has no further reason to go on frequent leaves or absences. Being at home and near his or her family would make a remote worker more motivated to report for work. 

Productivity would certainly increase, as well, given the much-needed work and life balance can now be achieved by any virtual assistant. Imagine being able to take care of your loved ones just a few steps away from your office.

Small Business Friendliness. A virtual assistant could be the best answer for small businesses looking into gearing up for expansion without having to suffer from too much labor cost. For instance, by hiring a remote worker, you can already have customer service without having to deal with office space and lots of taxes.

The provided benefits of having a virtual assistant are unquestionable reasons for you to give thanks. With this development in the employment system, running your business is more trouble-free without having to compromise your much needed growth.

Why Virtual Assistants Are More Effective at Work

Why Virtual Assistants Are More Effective at Work

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Previously, most companies shunned the possibility of allowing their employees to work from home. For them, this scheme will never be effective. First and foremost, they care about the fact that there is no physical supervision being done. They believe that staff are best monitored when being seen. Apart from that, the said companies were not open to welcome technologies that could make collaboration with employees easier anywhere and anytime.

Due to the pandemic, the tide has turned. One could say that it became a change that has been imposed to all companies. Instead of a choice, businesses had no option but to let their people report from home. This is to prioritize safety without jeopardizing their operations.

Truth be told, it can be said that all companies have now realized that their employees or now, virtual assistants, have become more efficient in what they do due to their home-based setting. However, if you are still among the unconvinced few, here are reasons why virtual assistants are more effective at work:

No More Traffic Mood Breaker. Anywhere you may be, you would likely encounter traffic on your way to the office. This is regardless of having your own car or not. Furthermore, this can happen even if you jumpstart your day early.

According to clinical psychologist, Carla Manly, traffic is one of the external stressors that could have a ripple effect on your schedule for the day. She also added that stressful commute can result to mood changes, which will make your brain respond more negatively.

Hence, commuting to work could make or break your mood for the day. If it is the latter, expect that an employee would not perform well at all. He or she may even disrupt the harmony in the organization by showing signs of irritability.

Closer to Family Is Always Better. There is nothing better than being close to your loved ones regardless of being committed to your work. This became somewhat impossible for some people due to being based in the office or a more distant area.

However, with the work setting of a virtual assistant, your loved ones could only be a room away. This allows an employee to spend more time with his or her family, giving him or her more motivation at work.

More Comfort Means Better Productivity. Working from home is the greatest comfort an employee could get. Regardless of what you wear and where you sit, you can carry out your tasks, as long as you have your PC, laptop, mobile phone, or any other office device.

Without making much effort to prepare for the day physically, virtual assistants would find it a leisure to work, making them more productive.

An extensive international research done by Ipsos and Steelcase’s Workspace Futures Team showed that over 10,000 office workers lose around one hour and 30 minutes of productivity due to distractions, one of which is discomfort.

Being at Home Means More Safety. With the ongoing pandemic, there is no denying that it is much safer to work at home. Virtual assistants have this privilege to gain comfort while working without compromising their health.

From transport to the office, there is no assurance of protection even if you follow the safety protocols against the COVID-19 virus. No matter how careful you are, a short exposure to a positive person could still happen, especially in an office. Just by touching the doorknob, telephone, document, or any surface, you could be infected.

With the guarantee of safety, remote workers feel more at ease and retain a positive attitude while at work.

Fewer Distractions Mean More Results. Though virtual assistants are also required to work in teams, there will be fewer distractions when at home. One good example is being able to concentrate on your task at hand without worrying about noises around you.

Moreover, if you are a person, who hates gossip, constant conversations with co-workers, and even clutter, you will execute your tasks well if you are based in your abode.

Did you know that shoulder tapping is one of the most common office distractions? This is confirmed by most programmers in Quora when asked about their most common distractions during the working day.

Setting your home workspace that is free from as many distractions you could imagine would undoubtedly help you seize the day, every day.

With the aforementioned reasons why virtual assistants are more effective at work, you will definitely know why more and more companies are adopting the change. Sooner or later, work results would certainly be their concrete reason to let go of the doubt in the efficacy of employing virtual assistants.

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.

Can You Assure Professionalism From a Virtual Assistant?

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Oftentimes, businessmen or professionals in need of assistance with their work find it easy to hesitate in hiring a virtual assistant. This is understandable, especially if it is a fairly new concept for them. However, this common misconception about virtual assistant being an ineffective choice of employment should be debunked. There are many reasons why, and you could start with the utmost professionalism offered by virtual assistants.

There is not much of a difference. Did you know that even business people could attest that there is very little difference in terms of hiring a local-based employee and a virtual assistant? This is due to the fact it is simply true. You could say that the most apparent discrepancy between a VA and an office employee is the location of their workplace. The former is at his or her home, whereas the latter is at your company headquarters.

VAs do not need much of an adjustment. Most virtual assistants have years of experience working in an office-based setting. Thus, it is rather incorrect to assume that they are not aware of how things work in a company.

Furthermore, one cannot deny that once a VA is on board, he or she has to follow rules and regulations, which they have complied with previously, as well. Obviously, there is nothing much to worry about in terms of their adjustment. Once again, the major difference is where they will work, which is at their home.

Virtual assistants are used to a fast-paced environment. Most projects or work required in an online setting is subjected to a deadline. You could be certain that despite the urgency of tasks in your workplace, you would not encounter the VA faltering or complaining. Why? This is due to the fact they are used to such a situation, wherein they have to manage their time effectively to assure submission of work without missing the completion time. This can also be attested by the fact VAs work on an hourly or per-project basis.

Communication can still be seamless. If you worry about the coordination proper, then you should know that communication can still be seamless with a virtual assistant. With the advancement in technology, you have tons of options on how to communicate with your VA – e-mail, voice call, video call, or message. Relaying information, assigning a task, or even conducting a meeting is undeniably easy.

Virtual assistants also guarantee that the said communication means will not be affected throughout their shift given they use a stable internet connection. Should there be a cut-off, a backup is just right the corner.

Absences or late reporting should not be an issue. With the convenience offered by their setup, virtual assistants are less likely to report late or miss their work. This is regardless of their schedule, particularly if it is a night shift one. This keeps you from worrying about delayed projects or missed deadlines. Take note that office-based workers often report late or miss work due to their issue with the difficulty of transportation.

With the aforementioned facts, there is no refuting that hiring a virtual assistant could be your easy solution to common problems you encounter with your employees.