What is a virtual assistant – and how can I help you?

Definition: A virtual assistant is an independent contractor who provides professional administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients remotely from their home office.

Let’s face it, in the last 18 months, the Covid situation threw a lot of workplaces into disarray. How does a business or NPO continue to operate successfully while maintaining Covid protocols?

One of the few good things to come out of this pandemic is that in South Africa we started to catch up with the rest of the world, realising that it is possible to conduct a fair amount of business virtually from home.

Suddenly meetings were being conducted on Zoom, admin staff were sitting in their pyjamas at home updating databases, and teachers were teaching their math’s class online. And although there was a lot of trial-and-error times, we survived, and it has started to change the way we go about our daily work lives. Workplace SA has realised that work is not a place, it’s about getting the job done, wherever that might be! 

A virtual assistant can be an important piece in your business staff puzzle, and here are some of the reasons why –

Cost-effectiveness. Businesses are having a tough time. They are not always able to employ a full-time permanent staff member, but sometimes really need that extra help! With an on-call virtual assistant, you only pay for the time it takes for that task to be completed, freeing yourself to get on with the important stuff.

Reliability. A virtual assistant runs their own business, so it’s just as important to them to get any task required done with time efficiency and accuracy, thus keeping their clients happy and productive.

Streamlined staffing.  As a business owner, you don’t have to be concerned about staff transport problems, annual leave, sick leave, lunch breaks and office space/equipment, enabling you to keep your overheads down while keeping your admin up to date.

Keeping you focused on the important stuff.  A virtual assistant gets all that extra time-consuming, yet necessary stuff done, so you can keep your focus on the important things – running your business! 

As Richard Branson says: “A business owner should work on their business, not in their business