The 21st century has experienced several changes. From smartphones, social media, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), to blockchain, and beyond. The advancement has shifted the professional world completely when it comes to hiring resources. Many companies nowadays prefer to hire a virtual secretary rather than a full-time employee, especially small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups. But who are they, and why are their demands going upwards?
This blog gives a comprehensive guide on why you should consider hiring a virtual assistant for your business:
Table of Contents
What is a Virtual Secretary?
A virtual secretary or a virtual assistant is a highly skilled professional who can cater to several business requirements. It can be managing your day-to-day administrative workload, managing finance or bookkeeping, scheduling appointments, data research or handling social media. These professionals work remotely and cater to your business needs.
What are the Skills of a Virtual Secretary?
Hiring a virtual secretary can assist you in managing various tasks. They go through multiple training sessions regularly to keep up with the changes in trends and meet the diverse needs of businesses. Following, we have listed down a few skill sets:
#1. Administrative Support:
Administrative tasks may vary company to company. Overseas VAs primarily focus on drafting and sending emails, organizing calendars, scheduling meetings, making travel arrangements, and assisting in research.
#2. Voice & Live Chat Support:
Good customer service is the foundation of great customer relationships. Virtual secretaries are capable of offering excellent telephone and live chat support.
#3. Financial Assistance:
For small businesses, VAs can assist in bookkeeping, payroll support, accounting software management, and more.
#4. Marketing Assistance:
Without the right marketing approach, businesses can’t grow further. Hiring a virtual secretary can help businesses with search engine optimization, managing social media, and email marketing automation.
#5. Specialized Services:
Business demands can vary depending on which industries you belong to. VA Talks understands your unique needs and helps you find and hire the right virtual secretary for your business.
What Perks do You Get When You Hire a Virtual Secretary?
We live in a generation where consumers want fast and reliable service. Whether it’s communication support or project delivery, many businesses believe it’s a far more reasonable option to hire a virtual secretary. And here is why:
a) Easy on your pocket
Hiring in-house staff is expensive when you lack the budget. It’s not just paying the salary; you need to consider the employee benefits and equipment costs, as well as the high office rents. Virtual secretaries work remotely, thus there is no need for paying a large sum on rent or purchasing devices, electricity, and internet bills. Plus, you can hire a virtual secretary on an hourly basis. No work, no pay, no paid holidays, or other incentives, just compensation for the hours they have worked for you.
b) Boosts your work productivity
Virtual secretaries are experienced professionals who can keep up with your work pace. Working with tech-savvy, AI-powered virtual assistants can reduce the time required for managing manual tasks. They are aware of all the time-saving hacks and automation, given their experience in the field to complete tasks faster without errors. It frees up time for you and your team to focus on more important and decision-making endeavors.
c) Helps you maintain work-life balance
Startups and entrepreneurs have endless dreams but zero time. Managing finances, overseeing administrative tasks, and meeting up with clients, all while planning expansion strategies, can be overwhelming. And there are so many hours in a day, and straining yourself will only lead to burnout. Why take all the stress yourself? When you can hire a virtual secretary to look after the repetitive tasks, so you have the time to rest, spend some quality time with your family and friends, and make better decisions with a calm mind.
d) Stay updated with regular reports
Are you worried that you won’t be able to track the progress if you hire an online personal assistant? What if we tell you that you will get a weekly report on your work progress? Most virtual secretaries keep track of what they are doing. By checking the reports, you can get a good grasp on what tasks you want to prioritize, in which order, and assign them accordingly.
e) Flexibility to scale up or down
Another perk that is hard not to mention that comes with hiring a virtual secretary is flexibility. Has the workload and the number of projects increased suddenly? No biggie, talk to your VA, and they will work for the extra hours whenever you need. Feel like work has become slower? You can just reduce the number of hours.
How to Hire the Right Virtual Secretary?
From above, it seems like hiring a virtual secretary is a very lucrative option for business owners. And the answer is yes, but somewhat no. It’s because you need to hire the right virtual secretary, or it may end up being a disaster. Here we’re breaking it down for you to a few major important points that you can’t dare to miss:
Tip 1: Define your needs & budget
What skills are you lacking, and how much are you willing to spend on it? It’s better to have an idea of why you need to hire a virtual secretary and budget to avoid paying for unnecessary services. The best way to find out your requirements is by keeping notes on the tasks you and your team do and checking the time needed to complete them.
Tip 2: Screening & interviewing candidates
Once you have an idea of what you want, you need to start the screening and interview process. Talk to different candidates, check their portfolios, experience, and expertise, and see if they can meet your unique demands.
Tip 3: Explain your expectations & KPIs
There might be some rules and regulations that you and your teams follow. During the discussion, let your virtual secretary know your expectations, including goals, deadlines, and KPIs, so there is no confusion from the beginning.
Tip 4: Test skills with a trial task
This way you will know their capabilities. You can test them based on:
- Communication skills: Check whether they can speak fluently in your customer’s language and tone. Also, it’s important to note whether they can communicate effectively with your existing team members.
- Organization skills: This is a non-negotiable skill. Most virtual assistants have received professional training to stay organized and handle tasks with responsibility.
- Time management: As you may pay the online personal assistant hourly, how efficiently they manage their time is very crucial.
- Technology: With the progression of technology, almost every business uses some technologies. Choose a VA who has expertise in using multiple technologies.
Where to Find a Virtual Secretary?
Now that you have the answer to all the “what” and “how,” the question is where to find a reliable online personal assistant? There are different freelance platforms where you can personally reach out to individuals. You can also ask for referrals from your family or friends. But we believe that consulting with a virtual assistant agency like VA Talks will be the best option for you. Why, you may ask, and the answer to that is efficiency.
We have a vast pool of professionals all around the world to help you connect with the right individuals. We understand your requirements and help you meet the experts most suitable for your jobs. Our experts get a thorough brief; they can get started from the first day.
Best Practices when Working with a Virtual Secretary
A virtual secretary can only give their best if they have access to the right information and environment. Let’s take a look at the best practice to utilize VA to their full potential, shall we?
i) Set up Effective Communication Channels
Communication plays a vital role as virtual assistants work remotely. You need the right tools for real-time communication. Platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or WhatsApp allow you to quickly share your crucial information, no matter in which corner of the world they are. For a more formal and longer communication, email is more appropriate.
ii) Using Project Management & Collaboration Tools
Project management tools like Asana, Trello, or ClickUp allow virtual assistants to organize, track, and manage their work. Depending on the size of your team, you can use these tools to improve team collaboration with virtual assistants and in-house teams.
iii) Provide Regular Feedback & Performance Reviews
Virtual assistants are professionals who have the capability to upskill themselves. However, you need to provide them with genuine feedback and performance reviews. It will help them to identify their mistakes and improve them. But please be gentle when sharing your reviews, as everyone makes one.
iv) Maintain Data Security & Confidentiality
When working with a virtual assistant, you will be sharing sensitive information about your clients and company. Thus, it is absolutely essential to maintain confidentiality and data security. You can ask them to sign NDAs or your terms and conditions for peace of mind.
Conclusion
We sincerely hope you now have a clear idea of how you can . Virtual assistants are valuable assets for your company who are dedicated but not a liability. We at VA Talks promise to connect you to virtual assistants at a reasonable rate without hidden fees. Schedule a discovery session today to hire a virtual secretary!
FAQs
Q.1. How much does a virtual secretary typically cost?
Virtual assistants offer multiple services, including administrative management, bookkeeping, marketing support, etc. What services you are taking can change the fees you need to pay. Reach us to get a customized quote.
Q.2. What tasks can a virtual secretary handle?
Online personal assitants at VA Talks can handle various tasks, including:
Virtual assistants offer multiple services, including administrative management, bookkeeping, marketing support, etc. What services you are taking can change the fees you need to pay. Reach us to get a customized quote.
- Managing calendars and scheduling appointments
- Social media handling
- Search engine optimization
- Research
- Bookkeeping
- Payroll support, etc.
Q.3. Can I expect 24/7 assistance from a virtual secretary ?
Yes, you can hire a virtual assistant agency for 24/7 support. Most agencies are available to provide assistance whenever you need it.
Q.4. What’s the best way to ensure confidentiality with a virtual secretary?
We believe the best way to maintain confidentiality when hiring a virtual secretary is by asking them to sign NDAs. You can put your own terms and conditions to stay assured.
