Still a new concept, Express Employment Professionals looks into remote staff and virtual assistance and why you should make use of them.
Move over traditional PAs. The new-age VA is here. And for those of you who have never heard of a virtual assistant (VA), or have heard of VAs but have never thought them beneficial, keep reading this article as we set out to explore what exactly a VA is and the benefits of hiring one.
Otherwise known as virtual professionals, these administrative assistants can do more than just admin. They work remotely, work their own hours or the hours needed by their client. They’re the traditional in-office assistant or onsite secretary in digital form – performing a multitude of tasks as well as specific tasks which are based on specific skill sets and expertise. Hired as independent contractors, VAs in general work for themselves as well as companies who become their clients and can have multiple clients at once. With flexible schedules and rates, they are the affordable option for those who need extra professional hands to help without having to outlay high salaries or rent for office space to hold staff members.
From PA to VA: The VA does everything from A to Z
Virtual assistants, as their obvious name suggests, assist. As stated by balancecareers.com, “Virtual assistants need to be able to do everything for their clients they would do in the clients’ office, only from their own home or shared office space. Virtual assistants must factor in additional costs for their business, including purchasing and maintaining their own office equipment and marketing to attract new clients.”
A qualified, trained and experienced VA needs to have a standard of skills and competencies, with additional expertise a plus. From marketing, bookkeeping, admin, appointment scheduling, making phone calls and managing email accounts etc — the VA provides timeous assistance no matter the industry or niche the business is in. Whether hired for a long period of time or only for a set contract period – the VA is available as and when you need it.
Explaining the skillsets of a VA, balancecareers.com, states, “Many of the skills needed to be a virtual assistant are the same as the skills needed to be an administrative assistant or secretary and include:
Superior organizational skills: VAs have to be organized to keep track of assignments for different clients.
Communication skills: Since they work remotely, VAs have to be adept at communicating by email and phone.
Tech savvy: The best VAs have a wide range of computer skills and are proficient at the most commonly used software programs.
Multitasking: VAs need to be comfortable jumping from one task to another as individual clients make new requests.”
A VA is NB when you need SOS assistance ASAP
When it comes to a virtual assistant, the benefits are unlimited. From HR, finances, onboarding and actual assistant – benefits are seen from the remote office desk to bigger picture business aspects. So why hire one? Listed below are bigger picture benefits for your business:
- Boost your business’s productivity
- Protect your work time by managing your schedule
- Help you get to all business all the time with reminders
- Help you scale your business and ensure growth
- Help you to run your business while they take care of the personal aspects
- Help you plan your business for the future and take it to the next level
- Help you to free up your time by taking over some of your mundane tasks
- Allow you to broaden your business clientbase, product, services and offerings
- Help your business to get organised and daily operations to run more smoothly
- Benefits that come with their skill set or specific qualifications and the application thereof in your business
Express Employment Professionals has launched an online platform where you can books VA’s – or as we like to call them, Express Virtual Assistants (EVAs) – in just a few clicks. EVA was born out of a need that we at Express Employment Professionals – leading staffing provider in South Africa, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Botswana – came across while servicing our clients. We realized that business owners struggle to get the expert skills and knowledge they need to grow their business, in an affordable way.
We have various EVAs who specialize in various fields. Whether you need an administrative superhero, or some- thing a little more specialized, we’ve got you covered! And the best part is, you can book them per hour – it’s like online shopping for superb candidates!
Now you know what an EVA does and their benefits – book a multi-talented VA now!
Achieve your business goals by seamlessly adding a virtual assistant to your dynamic team with a click of a button. No paperwork, no hiring, no fuss. Our EVA’s at Express Employment Professionals specialise in multiple skills depending on your needs. From PA & Executive Admin; Admin & Secretarial Support; Customer Service; Sales & Marketing; as well as Finance & Accounting, visit eva.co.za to book you very own EVA.
