A few years ago, Virtual Assistants were unheard of. Even two years ago when I started as a VA, I was asked “You are a what?”
Fast forward to 2020 and Virtual Assistants are taking on the world. The world is faced with a pandemic and now even companies who would never have considered a VA, are looking at their new world with new eyes and new ways of spending their resources. Time and money being the most prevalent. It has been shown that people can work from home and still get their work done, giving more faith in this system by producing the same results.
Smaller companies who do not have the desire nor the capital to rent office space can hire an Executive VA to assist with numerous tasks. This helps reduce overhead and HR costs as time bundles can be agreed on without having to deal with the stresses of employing permanent employees and adding to their head counts. It will be very interesting to see how many companies evolve into virtual offices in this new world of ours. I for one would also like to know the positive environmental impact this could have.
The list of tasks an Executive VA is able to assist with is tailored specifically to each client. Below we look at 5 of the most common areas of assistance we are asked for.
5 Ways A Virtual Assistant Is Essential To A Virtual Office
Let’s be honest, if you’re running your own business and putting all your time and energy into making it a success, mundane administrative tasks don’t sound very attractive and although time consuming, they are imperative to running a successful business.
Depending on the type of company, these tasks can include:
Diary Management
Managing your diary as well as for other team members. Scheduling, rescheduling or cancelling meetings can at times be challenging. Having an Executive VA do this for you takes the pressure off the organizer and makes meetings take place with no issues.
Meeting Management
Preparing agenda’s, information packs and compiling attractive presentations also requires you to spend a considerable amount of time to do these right! An Executive VA who has these skills can produce high quality work on your behalf. They can also help by taking and distributing minutes allowing you to get back to work.
Travel Management
Shopping around for a good deal on flights and accommodation takes time and patience. There are so many websites available these days and one has to find and compare prices to make sure you are not over paying for something and that you are travelling within your means.
An Executive VA is able to do all the research for you, they can make flight and accommodation bookings on your behalf and arrange any transfers or other travel requirements you may have. They can also ensure that deposits, if required, are paid in time and apply for visas if necessary. An added bonus is that you don’t have to rush or be disrupted in your day to check in online, this can also be done for you.
Company Representation
An Executive VA could be the company’s point of contact and working within the agreed parameters and proxies allows the VA to make executive decisions so that owners and team members can do what they do best, run their business. The VA can focus on building client and stakeholder relationships for the company while always being available to your customers.
Administration
One of the most important fundamentals in any business, however, still one of the most mundane parts of the job for any boss.
Following up on payments, making online payments, logging urgent calls are all small tasks but can take up valuable time. An Executive VA is able to assist with these tasks as well as other perhaps more valuable tasks such as compiling databases and reports, doing market related research, reconciliations and generally be the go-to person to ensure all stakeholders are on the same page and ensuring clear communication between all of them at all times.
The list literally can go on and on… and the benefits to you and your company can too!
