How a virtual administrative assistant helps you get the job done

Managing a business is hard work, even for seasoned entrepreneurs. The number of responsibilities you have to juggle can quickly become overwhelming. In a small business owners survey conducted by Gallup, 70% of the respondents reported working at least 50 hours per week.

Fortunately, it no longer has to be the case for many entrepreneurs. By hiring the services of a virtual administrative assistant, business owners can accomplish more tasks with less work on their part.

Roles of a virtual administrative assistant

Virtual administrative assistants have training and experience to aid businesses in their daily non-essential tasks. These specific mundane tasks include:

Taking phone calls

Virtual administrative assistants can take incoming calls or place phone calls on behalf of their clients. They help screen their client’s calls and allow them to work with fewer distractions.

Appointment scheduling and travel arrangements

Besides calendar management, virtual administrative assistants can also schedule and follow up on client meetings. More so, they book appointments and take charge of their clients’ travel arrangements.

Customer service

A virtual administrative assistant can also perform customer service functions like customer support. Some VAs are also experienced in handling customer complaints, answering inquiries, and more instead of hiring in-house.

VAs these days perform a broad range of tasks according to their client’s needs. Other VA roles may include social media management, email management & filtering, creating reports, and more.

Daily remote office tasks

Virtual assistants manage repetitive daily tasks such as organizing calendars, maintaining and updating files, answering emails, and more. Some remote admin assistants may also perform accounting roles like bookkeeping, payroll, and preparing invoices

When should you hire a virtual administrative assistant?

Outsourcing administrative assistants undoubtedly helps growing businesses in a lot of ways. However, it can be overwhelming when some organizations need to outsource this role.

Leading BPO firm MVP Asia Pacific can guide you in searching for admin and virtual assistants that could fit into your company’s operations.

Outsourcing a virtual administrative assistant is very useful when:

Loss of productivity

As a business grows, so do the volume of tasks and responsibilities. It explains why larger companies have several administrative employees within the organization. The lack of skilled staff can significantly affect an organization’s daily productivity.

A recent study shows that remote employees are more productive than in-house employees. It eliminates the need for daily commutes. Remote work allows employees to control their time more, making them more productive.

Lack of financial capacity to hire new employees

It is pretty understandable for startups and small businesses to lack enough financial resources to hire new employees. In-house employees usually tend to get overworked, leading to burnout.

Outsourcing virtual administrative assistants is a significant step in the right direction. It does not only help expand an organization’s capacity, but it is also a viable way to save on costs.

For non-core routine tasks

Routine tasks take away a lot of valuable time within the organization. Remote admin assistants allow business leaders and in-house staff to focus on more essential tasks. They also give the entire in-house team more room to plan out their next steps in improving their overall business.

Why you should hire virtual administrative assistants

Now that we have explained what administrative assistants are and when’s the perfect time to outsource, allow us to describe the “whys.” Hiring virtual assistants is necessary because:

Boosts productivity

Remote admin assistants help organizations to get work done effectively and at a much faster pace. VAs today are more equipped and skilled to cover a broader range of tasks. Therefore, giving growing companies more time to focus on their business core.

Flexibility

Virtual administrative assistants work on flexible schedules, especially when hiring a remote admin assistant in a different time zone. It allows businesses to operate over extended hours or complete a specific task before the clients’ working day starts.

24/7 Customer support

When hiring VAs from different countries, clients can use time zone differences to their advantage. Outsourcing VAs allows them to perform customer support over extended periods.

Achieve work-life balance

Having a reliable remote administrative assistant helps a company achieve a balance in life. VAs do not just give organizations more time to work. It also gives them more time off from work.

Hiring a virtual administrative assistant helps companies reduce their overhead costs. What’s more, VAs do not require training, office space, and other resources needed for the job.

Qualities of a good virtual administrative assistant

When hiring a virtual administrative assistant, it’s important to ensure that the assistant you onboard shares the same outlook and commitment to your business. Otherwise, you may end up sinking resources into a venture with minimal returns.

Below are some traits you should look out for when hiring the services of a virtual administrative assistant.

Good communicator

Good communication is a must when dealing with remote employees, and a virtual administrative assistant is no exception. Being able to communicate effectively helps you and your assistant stay on the same page.

It minimizes the risks of errors occurring due to miscommunication or misinterpretation and ensures your orders are carried out the way you want.

Good time management skills

The tasks you’ll offload to your virtual administrative assistants will often be time-consuming, like data entry, email, and calendar management.

Thus, it’s imperative that your virtual assistant can effectively manage their schedules and allocate enough time to finish their work in a timely manner.

Has a keen eye for details

Keen attention to detail is another vital skill for a virtual administrative assistant. These virtual employees work remotely and with minimal supervision. That’s why they must be detail-oriented and have a good sense of noting any important information.