Research shows that the Global Intelligent Virtual Assistant industry’s worth may hit $19 billion by 2025. But who are virtual assistants, and what do they do? Virtual assistants are remote workers who are hired to provide professional administrative services to clients on behalf of a business. Among small businesses, virtual assistants are increasingly being employed to manage some aspects of operations. The need for a virtual assistant (VA) may arise in a company, depending on its growth phase and work demands.
If your business is beset with huge piles of admin duties that overload your workforce, you don’t have to do it alone. Outsource some of your business tasks to virtual assistants, and spare yourself the overwhelming duties. Assistants can perform a variety of business tasks such as bookkeeping, email replies, call answering, and social media management. Top entrepreneurs have unanimously agreed that the employment of virtual assistants has some advantages to it, and here are the top seven of them.
1. Specialists will handle your work
As the well known sayings go, a jack of all trades is a master of none, and teamwork makes the dream work. To build up a great business, you will have to partner with a team of dedicated staff and employees. However, your team may not have all the requisite skills to handle every aspect of your business. Definitely, you will need a specialist to man some tasks. Virtual assistants do that fine because most of them specialize in one thing. By hiring virtual assistants, you’re not only saving yourself time but you’re also getting things done. From another point of view, virtual assistants may also save you money because they have their own set of equipment and office spaces. Channel your energy into what you’re good at and leave the rest to virtual assistants.
2. Work can be done faster without overburdening your staff
Time is money–so how can you make more time?
Speed is vital for the quick growth of a business. But you don’t have to overwork your employees simply because you’re hell-bent on achieving immediate success. VAs can work faster and get the job done within short periods. This means you can meet project deadlines without wearing out your hardworking employees.
3. You can work on more projects
VAs are not there to take your job away. As the name implies, they only assist you to sail through routine tasks that are way time-consuming and repetitive. For instance, a business owner may not have enough time to be posting updates on their social media handles. That said, some of your customers may be reaching out to you through social media. A savvy businessperson who understands the power of social media will not ignore social media engagement. Assign some trivial tasks to virtual assistants, and focus on the most pressing duties. This can go a long way to increase your ROI, partly because you will be investing your skills in other areas of the business. A virtual human assistant can be paid a salary of $100 per month or even far less than that.
4. Takes boring tasks off your table
Have you ever felt like you are fed up with doing monotonous business assignments? You’re probably not alone. It’s hard to persuade your mind to perform tasks that don’t just appeal to you anymore. If this is exactly your case, your best bet is hiring virtual assistants. These are people who don’t get tired of their jobs because they love them. When you hire a VA, you don’t manage them; they manage themselves away from the geographical location of your business. The advantage here is that VAs can manage your projects excellently without being supervised. A professional executive virtual assistant may not complain about too much workload or too little tasks. Focus on jobs that interest you the most, and allow virtual assistants to take over the monotonous assignments.
5. You can run several businesses
Imagine a businessperson who runs two different businesses side by side. It’s going to be tough for them to attend to the wave of calls that will be coming in from every angle. One missed call is likely to ruin your relationship with a business partner. Conversely, one answered call can also land you a high-paying client. In all, you have to understand that every part of your business deserves good attention. Dividing up your energy and time to work on two separate but equally relevant projects, is tantamount to a successful operation. The fear is that you may end up missing some opportunities if you don’t hire an assistant from companies like Virtual Headquarters. Their professional call answering service can relieve you of your busy schedules. Surprisingly, live phone answering rates for virtual assistants are relatively affordable, and their services will pay off massively. Customers who hit up your phone lines will speak to attentive virtual assistants; they will listen to the voice of a real receptionist who will answer all inquiries appropriately.
6. Ramp up productivity
Things like uncertain weather conditions are some of the contributing factors to absenteeism. Even if they manage to make it through the unpredictable weather, you still have to pay them for hours they didn’t work. Driving through the congested early morning traffic also takes away the productive times of your in-house workers. The truth is there is no guarantee that your traditional employees will always report early to work or even at all. These small losses can greatly hinder the growth potential of your company. On the other hand, if you outsource specific tasks to virtual assistants, they won’t waste away precious hours with one thing or the other. Many virtual assistants can work from the comfort of their homes, and your business will experience growth when you enlist the services of committed virtual assistants. Most VAs are passionate about their jobs, and they’ll do everything they can to give you value for money.
7. You only pay for work done
Businesses have their peaks and valleys. Accordingly, the need for more hands-on the wheel also varies throughout the seasons. Virtual assistants provide the convenience of hiring workers as and when the need arises. Since VAs are independent contractors, you can negotiate flexible task schedules with them. This will eliminate the economic burden of you having to always pay employees even when they haven’t been that productive.
As the saying goes, “half-done jobs deserve no pay.” Unfortunately, it’s hard for some employers to cut down the costs of their businesses because the laborer deserves his wages. One recent study on the productivity of some 1000 Australian companies found out that 43% wished they had a way to reduce organizational meetings. Also, 54% admitted that negative attitudes at the workplace contributed to their non-productivity. There was also some proof that a percentage of employees’ salaries were losses for their employers.
When you compare these statistics to virtual workers, the benefits speak for themselves. VAs have their own time-tables for work and breaks, and there are no lengthy meetings. Equipped with their own hardware and software, virtual assistants make it easy for employers to structure their work effortlessly. Last but not least, negative work ethics are not characteristic of virtual assistants, mainly because they only deliver results. They strive to get your tasks done in due time; your success is their great achievement.
The bottom line is virtual assistants are the best work companions to business owners who are usually too busy to run all the tasks by themselves. So, if you’ve been thinking about easing the pressure on the general operation of your business, look no further than virtual assistants.