According to Investopedia, a virtual assistant is an independent contractor who provides administrative services to clients while operating outside of the client's office. A virtual assistant typically operates from a home office but can access the necessary planning documents, such as shared calendars, remotely. People employed as virtual assistants usually have several years of secretarial or office management experience.
A Virtual Assistant is mainly a personal or administrative assistant that is remotely working from your company or office. They work on their desired schedule, in the comforts of their home.
What can they do?
Well the question here is, what they can't do. They offer a wide variety of tasks and skills that they can do. From the very basic data entry and transcription to the complicated Web Design, accounting jobs and SEO. But some are only focused on one or two of the many things a Virtual Assistant can do. They can also do personal errands like appointment setting, calendar management, email management, hotel and flight bookings.
How are they different from the office based workers?
First, Virtual Assistant are freelancers. They can do many things at a time, or multitask. They can juggle 2 to 3 clients on their time, simultaneously because more clients means more income. That is, if they can do it in a very organized way.
Second, they are happier than the office based workers. They work on their own time, they can be with their family, their kids, their parents. Some studies show that working from home workers or being freelancers are more productive than the office based workers.
Third and lastly, they are cost and expense friendly on the employer's side. They don't occupy space on their office. They don't need the company's internet connection. They are not one of the consumers to their monthly electricity bill. If you are the employer, that would be more efficient, right?
Bonus tip 1: You can track your VA whether they are working on what you asked them to do.
Problems arising on the hiring of Virtual Assistants
Imagine if you are a freelancer and you have mastered a specific skill, let's say Social Media Marketing and Management. If that is your expertise or you have numerous past projects and clients with that skill, you would like to raise your hourly or monthly rate, right? That is one problem with Virtual Assistants, they are picky! They choose on what company to apply based on the skill needed and of course upon the consideration of salary.
Another problem is on the employer's side. Many small companies don't know where to find one. Or maybe some business owners don't know about Virtual Assistants in general. There are many sites to find VA's. One example out of many others is UpWork.
Where to find one?
There are many sites that offer the convenience of finding the right Virtual Assistant for you. One of many, and the most known, is UpWork. On this platform you can just sign up as the Employer and have a job post on the platform. You can input the desired skill you are finding in your very own Virtual Assistant. You can also negotiate the salary you offer them. To say it frankly, you can find cheap Virtual Assistants out there.
Two ways of finding the right VA for you: It's either you can view their profile and ask them to submit a proposal or just wait for proposals to be sent to you.
Other sites that can also be tried: OnlineJobs (Filipino freelancers only), Hubstaff Talent, and Outsourcely. They are basically the same. You input a job post and wait for the freelancers to come to you, or just find the best one you think you can work with.
Bonus tip 2: Most affordable Virtual Assistants are from the Philippines.
Conclusion
Hiring a VA is the most efficient thing you will do, as an employer. They won't occupy space, won't add to your electricity bills, and most of all they are the happy workers. A happy worker means a more efficient worker. They like what they do and they are doing the extra mile just to help you. What more could you ask for?
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