Why You Need A Virtual Assistant?

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A virtual assistant can help you with your daily tasks and help you to save on time, cost and effort. Read this blog post to find out why you a need a virtual assistant.

As the owner of an enterprise, you are constantly dealing with the core business functions, leaving you with little or no time for the “small stuff”. However, the small but vital stuff, like keeping a track of incoming mails, hunting for a new office printer or updating the database with business leads can place your organization above your competitors. This is why you need a virtual assistant.

Read this blog post to find out more about virtual assistant and how to get started with outsourcing to a virtual assistant.

Who is a virtual assistant?

A professional who offers administrative and support services is known as a virtual assistant or VA. A virtual assistant works remotely and can handle anything and everything from one-time projects to invoicing or creating presentations. Since the virtual assistant would be working remotely, you will not have to worry about allocating an extra office space. Communication with a VA usually takes place via conference calls, instant messaging, video chats or email.

With the help of a virtual assistant is someone you can juggle all your tasks with ease. For instance, if you have to make urgent travel bookings, create a PowerPoint presentation and set up appointments with colleagues, while managing your daily tasks, it could get tedious for you. But this will not be the case with a virtual assistant, as a VA can assist you with all of the above tasks, saving you time and worry.

How to get started with a virtual assistant?

Before you start hunting for a virtual assistant, it is important to write out exactly what tasks you want to be completed within what time frame. This will give you a better idea on how many hours of your work you need and the required skill sets of a VA that your work will require. If a large majority of your tasks are related to bookkeeping, you will need to look for someone with skills in bookkeeping. If you require customer support, you will have to find a virtual assistant with excellent verbal skills. This is a benefit that comes with hiring virtual assistants. You can find a specialist for the exact work that you require.

Once you have selected your ideal virtual assistant, it is time to get started. Here is a checklist on how to get started.

  • Start with small and non-critical tasks – Start by delegating minor tasks. Even if the virtual assistant has ample experience, it is best not to hand over a critical assignment right away. By initially outsourcing smaller tasks, you can evaluate the best way to communicate with each other, when the stakes are low. You can find out if the virtual assistant is able to understand your project description and work accordingly.
  • Work on a process for communication – While some like to have weekly calls with their virtual assistant, there are others who will communicate only for specific projects. Regardless of the communication channel you prefer and the frequency you choose, you and the virtual assistant will have to work on a process for working together and communicating during the process.
  • Be clear and specific – If you want your virtual assistant to send you a short list of venues for an event you will be conducting, by Wednesday, is that first thing Wednesday morning or end-of-the-day Wednesday? Are you expecting a short list of three venues or a dozen of venues? Do you want to pros and cons to be included for each venue? It is best to be very specific with your virtual assistant and not leave room for assumptions.
  • Start using the cloud for storage – When you store all your reports and work on the cloud, you can access them even if the virtual assistant is not available. You can choose from Dropbox, Box or Google Drive to name a few.
  • Request for feedback and suggestions – After the completion of the initial project, you can ask the virtual assistant if they have any concerns, complaints or comments. You could also ask the virtual assistant to give you suggestions on how to handle a task in a better manner. Communicating with the virtual assistant can help you find out the hidden abilities of the virtual assistant.

Do you require assistance with your daily tasks? Find out how a virtual assistant can help you.

Did you like reading this post? Would you hire a virtual assistant or hire an in-house assistant? Let us know your views by leaving a comment in the box below. We, at Outsource2india love to hear from you!

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