How Do I Choose A Virtual Assistant
| There are an increasing number of small and start-up businesses that are turning to Virtual Assistants to provide hands on support for their businesses. The profession has been around for more than 20 years but demand for services is rising steeply as businesses discover the huge range of benefits and flexibility of using virtual support. As the profession is unregulated, anyone can set themselves up as a Virtual Assistant. That means businesses have to carry out thorough checks to ensure that they employ the services of a reputable Virtual Assistant. This guide has been designed to give small and start-up businesses a better understanding of the Virtual Assistant profession and the checks to carry out if they are considering virtual support. What exactly is a Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant is someone who can provide a range of services to support businesses. They work remotely from their own office using their own equipment. A reputable Virtual Assistant will be member of one or more of the representative bodies reflecting their commitment to upholding quality standards. The experience and expertise of Virtual Assistants varies widely so research is needed to ensure that any prospective virtual support can meet your business needs effectively. Virtual Assistants can work on one-off projects or provide support on an ongoing basis including providing valuable call answering services ensuring that new business opportunities are not missed. A virtual office provides all the benefits of a physical office without the additional staffing, equipment or location costs. In general, Virtual Assistants charge between GBP18 and GBP30 per hour for their time, with some charging more. What are the benefits of using a Virtual Assistant? There are many benefits to using a Virtual Assistant: Their status - they are not an employee so you have no employer liability in terms of paying an annual salary, National Insurance, holiday or sick pay Flexibility - they can fit with the needs of your business exactly, providing support for ad hoc projects or on a long-term basis as and when required Growth - there is more scope for businesses to expand with a safety net by outsourcing tasks as and when they need to. It also means that there is more opportunity to call on support when work comes in, rather being forced to turn the work down because resources are unavailable Cost effectiveness and budget management - with Virtual Assistants you only pay for the time you use. This is important for small and start-up businesses so that they can track expenditure and change their plans accordingly Business profitability - for all businesses time is money. Often, it is cheaper for business owners to outsource tasks to a Virtual Assistant rather than do it themselves (because their own charge our rate will be more expensive than that of the Virtual Assistant). So, it makes more sense for business owners to use their time to focus on growing their business and looking after customers. Specialist skills - Virtual Assistants bring a wealth of skills and experience. Businesses can save both time and money by using the services of someone who can do a job quickly and efficiently Space - as Virtual Assistants work from their own office you do not need to think about desk space or equipment. What types of services do Virtual Assistants provide? Virtual Assistants can provide a range of services, including: typing - of business and official correspondence, legal documents and contracts, minutes, mail shots, dissertations, manuscripts, CVs, transcription (from tapes or digital files) travel arrangements - comprehensive domestic and international itineraries including car hire, flights, train travel and accommodation; provide maps and directions internet research - research and reports of findings and recommendations diary management - planning of business meetings and conference calls; providing helpful reminders for important dates business liaison - call minder service, message taking, filtering emails, contacts database management project support - act as administrative coordinator for a variety of projects, e.g. arranging courses, workshops, change of address cards personal life management - plan and organise grand celebrations, theatre bookings, restaurant reservations, receptions, invitations, Christmas card distribution, holidays, weekend breaks, collate quotes for home/car insurance renewal, research that special product or gift, organise cleaner, gardener, handyman etc. Where can I find a reputable Virtual Assistant? Personal recommendation is always a good start when you are seeking expert help or to outsource work. What information should I check before employing the services of a Virtual Assistant? Virtual Assistants vary in their expertise and experience. A reputable Virtual Assistant should, however, adhere to strict standards in terms of professionalism and quality. The following checklist will help you to make an informed decision about whether the prospective Virtual Assistant adheres to those standards and would be able to meet the needs of your business. A reputable Virtual Assistant will: be able to provide references/testimonials for previous work have personal indemnity insurance have processes and systems to ensure client confidentiality be registered with the Data Protection Act have a professional looking website and business cards etc have risk management procedures in place to protect their business and yours have separate home and work phone lines have business security processes, procedures and systems in place put in place contracts for any work to be undertaken be a member of the relevant professional bodies undertake study and training on an ongoing basis to keep their skills up-to-date be happy to provide timesheets for any work undertaken. How to get the most out of your VA There are a number of steps you can take to help ensure your working relationship gets off on the right foot and progresses smoothly. Suggestions include: agreeing in writing the nature of the work to be carried out, the specific activity, timescales, time inputs and the respective fees ensuring any contract makes clear the arrangements for billing and any other costs that may be incurred any changes to the agreement should be noted in writing to avoid any confusion later agreeing how activity will be recorded and reported agreeing specifics regarding confidentiality and security agreeing in advance availability (office hours etc). How else can I tell whether a Virtual Assistant is right for my business? Websites, business cards and email addresses are a good indicator of the level of professionalism of the Virtual Assistant. If they do not look professional then you should check carefully the processes and systems that they have in place and whether they can support your business needs. In addition, cheapest is not always best. It is better to seek the services of a Virtual Assistant who has the necessary support systems and personal indemnity insurance, but may be a bit more expensive, than someone who can provide cheap services without those reassurances. |
| Author Resource:- Lilach Bullock runs 2 full time businesses, asklilach providing virtual pa services & Virtual PA Training, helping people set up their own successful virtual assistant business. Lilach recently attended an Award Ceremony at Downing Street for best Mumpreneur. http://www.asklilach.co.uk. |
| Article From New Ezine Articles |
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Great Contribution of a Virtual Personal Assistant
| If you think that you can do limitless administrative tasks on your own without the aide of anyone else, then, you must be a superhero. If not, you cannot possibly do it or if you just did, your social and familial relationship is seriously inadequate. A balance of the different aspects in ones life is always a necessity so as to live a life that is full and satisfying. A virtual personal assistant can greatly help you to divide these administrative tasks so as to lessen the load of work that you have on your desk. The browsing of resource sites in the internet to seek the aide of a personal assistant is the best thing that one can do. This is not a draining task for you since you simply browse in the internet and find the sites that cater to such things. This is a convenient alternative if you do not have the time to read thick resume of applicants as well as the taxing interview of potential personal assistants that can take too mush of your time. They will simply do it for you and provide a personal assistant that can do loads of things for you for the reason that they are trained to be flexible and efficient in many ways. The hired personal assistants also have the proper qualifications that a personal assistant must have since they are screened thoroughly before they are even hired. They can perform a task from a difficult and complicated angle like decision-making and accounting overheads to the simplest ones like running errands for you. A personal assistant is trained to assist you in every way they can. They are prepared to do the typing, answering the phone, writing business letters, calculating expenditures, taking down important notes, making a schedule, organizing papers and many more. They should also possess a special ability like good communication skills and excellent interpersonal proficiency since they are the ones who will attend to the clients. Their impressive qualifications are also needed to keep up with you on your administrative tasks. Of course, all these credentials should be recompensed with a reasonable salary. Well, if you think that you have spent much on your personal assistant that is exactly untrue since having an assistant helps you to be more efficient in a high-speed time given that two heads are better than one. It will simply make you more effective and able to cover a whole lot of loads than you can ever think of. Therefore, a virtual personal assistant should be present in every establishment to provide organization and efficiency in a high-speed time. |
| Author Resource:- Matthew Stanton writes an article about Virtual personal Assistantand how it gives great contribution and benefits to you. Simply visit this site for information at http://www.personal-virtual-assistant.com/ar/virtual-personal-assistant.php |
| Article From New Ezine Articles |
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Hiring A New Assistant?
The online service industry boom may be a viable alternative for your apparent human resource needs. More and more small businesses and even larger companies are turning to virtual office assistants to handle their administrative tasks.
Does it sound too complicated or new-fangled? Well, there are good reasons to at least consider the option.
Let's take a look at a few of the benefits that a cyber employee has over their in-office counterpart.
-Insurance, taxes, and other benefits do not apply to most online service providers. They provide services as a contractor or freelance provider.
-Your relationship with the provider you choose is just that: service provider to client. Imagine having all your employees treating you as their favorite client all the time, doing their best work each time to ensure your repeat business Conversely, have you ever been dissatisfied with a project you asked your assistant to complete. It probably, wasn't feasible(or legal) for you to fire that person on the spot. Online you determine whether to continue that relationship by allowing them to work on future projects for you or not.
-It may not seem like a lot, but take a moment to think of all the capital you invest in each new employee you hire. Every extra phone line, data port, software license, cubic foot of office space, furniture, and anything else a person would need to sit in your office and conduct business reduces your bottom line.
Obviously, virtual assistants have some limitations. Online providers can handle just about any need that could arise. Consider that you may miss the personal aspects of working side by side with someone you know and trust. It's the human and spatial aspects that are difficult to duplicate online. Extraordinary technology exists for communication and collaboration. However, none of that can ever guarantee you that if you stick your head around the corner and ask for an opinion or some help, you'll get it immediately. Most likely they won't attend your office holiday party or join the softball team!
There are many different types of companies online that can help you run your business more efficiently. You can hire on a project basis. You can put an assistant on retainer. If you have administrative needs that aren't being met, you may want to consider your options before running into your local classifieds office, ad in hand.
Article Source: http://www.articlenorth.com
Dana Wallert is the owner of DW Office Solutions. Find out more about Dana and her virtual assistance solutions and sign up to receive her free monthly newsletter at www.dwofficesolutions.com
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