Do you ever forget what you need to do for the day? Perhaps your business is slumping, and you are struggling to know why. Are you so focused on that mundane task that you cannot focus on your business’ growth?
Virtual assistants and their productivity can help your business. But how can you boost productivity with a virtual assistant?
What Is a Virtual Assistant?
Virtual assistants (VAs) are people who usually do administrative work such as invoicing, email management, and scheduling. These tasks may be easy, but they can be exhausting if they go unnoticed and accumulate. VAs have recently ventured into specialty work like copywriting, social media management, etc.
VAs usually work in remote locations with flexible schedules, meaning they can work anytime and anywhere. They can be hired directly or with an agency. They also typically have years of experience in office work before venturing into being virtual assistants.
Learn more about Virtual Assistants.
9 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Boost Business Productivity
You might have doubts about this new trend in the labor market. But why should you hire a virtual assistant?
Here are nine ways virtual assistants can boost your productivity:
1. Better Time Management
A great reason to hire a virtual assistant is for better time management. Virtual assistants can help you with time-consuming tasks like checking emails or doing accounting.
You might forget to put something important on your calendar because you have a lot of tasks. This further optimizes your workload so you can focus more on what work you need to do.
2. Better Work Organization
Having a lot of work can create clutter at your desk and in your mind, making it hard to decide which tasks to prioritize. Virtual assistants can help you organize your work.
A virtual assistant can boost productivity by optimizing your schedule. You also do not have to worry about mundane tasks such as scheduling your daily work and answering emails.
3. Expertise in Particular Fields
If you find it hard to compute your profits and monthly payments, a virtual assistant specializing in accounting can help you do the math. Virtual assistants are experts in their niches, such as social media management, accounting, and content creation.
In addition, virtual assistants boost productivity by letting you do what you do best in your work. If someone with expertise can do it for you, you do not have to worry or push yourself about computing those bills or managing your social media pages.
4. Lets You Focus on More Important Projects
A virtual assistant’s productivity can let you do tasks that need more attention. When you have a virtual assistant, you’ll have someone to handle your emails and segregate the unimportant to those needing your attention.
Losing focus on your priority tasks, like scaling your sales team, is primarily caused by work that does not need your full attention. Virtual assistants can do those mundane tasks for you, so you do not have to stress out on them anymore.
5. VAs Are Cost-Effective
The cost of hiring a virtual assistant doesn’t only boost your business’s productivity. It also helps you gain more profits in the long run. VAs usually work from home. Because of this, you do not need to rent office space for them, allowing you to save on the cost of providing them with a workplace.
You would give in-house employees regular salaries and other benefits, which may cost more than a virtual assistant. Meanwhile, a virtual assistant can be called whenever you need one, thus making it cost-effective as they only work for you at a given time.
Learn more about Why VAs Are Cost-Effective.
6. They Can Multitask
Multitasking can be daunting, especially if you manage a large company. Virtual assistants who are proficient in multitasking can lighten your load and help you handle tasks efficiently.
Delegating other tasks to a virtual assistant does not mean you will not multitask. However, a virtual assistant’s productivity can help you handle your tasks better, as you can delegate some workloads to them and reduce the things you need to work on.
7. VAs Help You Manage Emails and Messages
Are you getting tired of scrolling through endless messages in your inbox? Virtual assistants can help you sort through all the emails and messages. They can also check your spam folders so you can see if you have missed any important emails.
Most companies and small businesses hire VAs to manage their messages. You may not know, but you might have unopened essential emails that you overlook. By hiring a VA, you can ensure that the messages in your inbox are answered and sorted based on their level of importance.
When hiring a VA, it’s importan to protect yourself against scams and fake job listings. Find out how to spot and prevent virtual assistant scams.
8. Minimal Need for Onboarding
You can expect virtual assistants to know about the work you will delegate to them. You only need to give them an overview of how you do things, making it easy to onboard them.
Most virtual assistant portals also check applicants’ profiles before they pitch their proposals to you. This saves you time when thoroughly checking the VAs’ qualifications. All you need to do is see if they are a good fit to help you with your work.
Also Read: 5-Minute Virtual Meeting Games
9. Helps You Achieve Work-Life Balance
We all need that perfect balance between hustling at work and having quality rest. A virtual assistant can help you achieve that balance. Using a virtual assistant can ease the workload, allowing you to accomplish that well-deserved rest after a hard day at work.
Burnout can sap your motivation to work, thus further reducing your productivity. VAs can help you do the tasks you feel will burn you out. As they are experts in handling those tasks, you only need to monitor what they are doing so you can do those fulfilling tasks.
Did you know that you can delegate calendar access in Outlook to your VA to further boost your productivity?
Are Virtual Assistants in High Demand?
Yes, statistics show that virtual assistants have been in high demand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to LinkedIn, the drastic increase in social media and Internet users drives the need for virtual assistants.
The potential $25.6 billion in the virtual assistant market is a compelling reason for companies to start hiring virtual assistants. There is no doubt that virtual assistants and their great productivity are trends that will not disappear for some time.
A virtual assistant’s productivity also makes the business more productive. It is because they help businesses allot their time, money, and energy to doing tasks that can make the business thrive. Thus, VAs are an attractive way of gaining more profit and a better reputation for your company.
Thinking about hiring a VA? We have a list of businesses that needs a virtual assistant to help you with your decision.
How Do You Work Effectively with a Virtual Assistant?
Here are some tips and tricks on how to work with VAs efficiently:
1. Always Have Open Communications
Open communication can boost the productivity of your virtual assistants. Communicating with them can help them get used to how you do things. Also, check in on them regularly and their work progress so they don’t feel left out.
Having an open line of communication ensures that your VAs understand the delegated work correctly. This leads to a more efficient workflow, which in turn gives you more profit in the long run.
Are you managing a team of VAs? Remote workforce consulting can help you ensure that they’re being productive.
2. Assign Work Effectively
Virtual assistants have their expertise in work, so you must know how to delegate work to them appropriately. A VA may be flexible with working on mundane tasks, but they may also have niches they can work with. Use their specialities so they can work effectively for you.
You should also train your VAs in specific niches. This way, you can further boost the productivity of your virtual assistants, allowing you to gain more profit. Find out the most in-demand virtual assistant services here.
3. Use Work Management Tools
A virtual assistant’s productivity will heavily depend on what tools you use. Many productivity tools can help you communicate and organize your work with your VAs. The good news is that some of these tools may already be available on your devices.
Slack, Notion, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams are examples of apps for virtual assistants. You may need to pay minimal fees to utilize some of these apps fully. But if you are only starting to hire VAs, the free versions of these apps may be as good as the paid options.
Forbes also has a List of Ways to Work Effectively With a VA.
You Need Virtual Assistants in Your Business
Virtual assistants can handle those simple tasks that you may forget. There are so many reasons why virtual assistants can give you the boost you need for your business.
Better time management, more organized workflow, and genuine work-life balance are only some of the things you and your business can achieve if you hire virtual assistants.
