When you hear the term Virtual Assistant, your mind may think of the likes of Google Assistant, Google Home or Alexa. However, amongst the world of Virtual Assistants, there is a human equivalent that can also help you with reminders, manage your bookings, sort out your calendar and emails.
So, what is a human Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant (also referred to as a VA) is typically a self-employed individual or agency providing professional and personal administrative services to entrepreneurs and businesses. Amongst these services, many VAs also provide technical and creative support.
Generally speaking, most VAs work from their own home offices or their own business premises where they work with clients on a remote basis. However, there are some that will also work on site or at events when required.
What services do they provide? There are different types of VAs, offering a variety of different services. The largest pool of VAs tends to fall into the general administrative and PA category, where services include diary and email management, data entry, typing and research. However, as the industry has grown, there has been an increase in more advanced and technical support. From web design, IT support to social media management, brand design and marketing.
This is where you will also notice a variety of different titles other than VA/Virtual Assistant. Terms such as Freelance PA, Virtual PA, Online Business Manager, Social Media Manager, Web Designer, Marketing Consultant; these are all becoming increasingly popular with VAs niching into different areas of expertise.
How do they differentiate from an employed PA or office assistant? A VA is typically a self-employed individual, or an agency who are contracted out to provide support to clients in their area of expertise. As they are independent contractors and not an employee, it means the VA or the VA agency are responsible for tax, NI, benefits, insurance and legalities.
Another benefit of using a contractor over an employee is the flexibility of contracts. When working with a VA you typically purchase a set number of hours or time, meaning you are only paying for the actual physical time the VA is sat working. This also gives more flexibility at times of the year when your business may be a little quieter as you adjust the number of hours as you need.
Using a VA for a specific specialised area also means tapping into their area of expertise as and when you need that area of support. They have the experience and have funded their own training to call themselves an expert, allowing you to utilise their specialised services as and when you need them.
There are a lot of benefits of working with a Virtual Assistant and you can read about some of the reasons why you should hire a VA in our blog here.
If you would like to find out more about using the services of a Virtual Assistant, want to know more about what we do and how we could help, call us now on 020 3370 4075 to find out more.