For the past decade or so, virtual assistance has seen a large rise in popularity. Virtual assistants offer a wide array of skills, and they can cater to your needs in ways office-based administrative assistants can’t. VAs can do regular office-related tasks like email management, bookkeeping, and schedule tracking as well as the more IT-related tasks like network management, social media management, and lead generation. Though not all virtual assistants have the same skill set, they still offer a lot of services you can’t get with office-based ones.

Due to their diverse skill sets, chances are there is a virtual assistant out there for every company. From large corporations to small startups, there are virtual assistants in nearly every business sector. More often than not, they can cater to your needs, and more. In 2017 especially, there was a boom in virtual assistance. Many companies saw the need for one, and virtual assistants all over the world got busier and busier. But there are still some companies out there that are hesitant to hire one. From their viewpoint, virtual assistants can be a risk considering they work offsite, and it can be difficult to monitor and guide their work.

Hiring in-house assistants can take more time and money to train and hire.

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But there is a reason why virtual assistance gets more and more popular every year. For a lot of people, the benefits of hiring them far outweigh the risks, and they are relatively more affordable to hire compared to an office-based worker. Some companies are seeing the benefits of getting a virtual assistant in 2020, and we lay out some news in virtual assistance here.

What’s happening in the virtual assistance scene?

In any field or industry, it has been accepted that implementing smart strategies, as well as properly managing time and resources are the two most important factors for success. But in this day and age, despite the fact technological marvels are happening at a fast pace, business owners and companies are getting even busier. They have more things to do, and efficiently managing time is almost impossible for them alone. This is partially the reason why virtual assistants are getting more popular.

They have the skills and experience necessary to do tasks normal assistants can’t, and they have proven to be able to handle jobs effectively and quickly. For this year, there has been growing competition in online businesses, and more and more people are taking the risk in becoming entrepreneurs. Because virtual assistants are so effective and helpful especially to small businesses, they will become even more in demand here on in. Having a virtual assistant can streamline the work process to the point it flows almost flawlessly, and for a business that just started, this is crucial.

Virtual assistants are also gaining popularity due to blogging. The digital landscape is currently experiencing a trend where blogging is being acknowledged as one of the most effective strategies in content marketing. Virtual assistants are also useful in this, as they can be trusted to handle the scheduled posting of the content, as well as updating the plugins and WordPress itself. A lot of companies have already taken the chance to have virtual assistants create content themselves, showing just how varied their skill sets can be.

Presently VAs come from the younger end of the spectrum, but that may change within the year. A lot of stay-at-home parents who don’t have the luxury of being able to commute to work in the morning are discovering the benefits of working from home as virtual assistants. Aside from them, some retirees are also choosing to start working again as virtual assistants in order to have something to do, or if they feel their pensions are insufficient to support themselves.

A popular thing to consider when thinking of how to increase sales and ROI is cost cutting. A lot of businesses try to cut down on office expenditures and other aspects of the business, where laying off workers are usually the last resort. This is one reason why lots of startups have taken to immediately hiring virtual assistants instead of in-office administrative staff. They are relatively cheaper compared to the latter, and their working times are flexible because some of them already work thousands of miles away. Experts have even calculated that choosing VA services can achieve around 40% savings in business expenditures, and this is only the beginning.

This is only for this year. The demand for virtual assistants is only going to get even higher, and their skill sets will also widen accordingly. Writing skills, video editing, and content production in general is emerging in virtual assistance, and it might even be a matter of time before they become standard skills to be found in a virtual assistant.

Why you need a virtual assistant

So seeing all of the trends and accomplishments in virtual assistance, it is already clear why it would be advantageous for you to consider hiring one. Here, we lay out some additional reasons why you will find a virtual assistant useful.

1. You can increase productivity, as well as avoid the possibility of burning out

There are times when work is just too much, and you wish you could just quit. This is especially true for some business owners who just started out. Owners of companies like these usually do different roles because they are still trying to do as much as possible when they’ve just begun their business. But no matter how good you are at what you do, you are going to need a break every once in a while. Investing in virtual assistants will get you that much-needed break. When you have someone helping you in various tasks, this will give you more time and energy to divert into other pursuits.

2. You can get more while also saving money

Though it has been said before, it is still worth repeating: despite virtual assistants having a wide skill set, they are still relatively more affordable compared to office-based employees. Let’s face it, there are always going to be needed resources for companies that have cheaper alternatives

3. You can hire virtual assistants only as needed

Despite emphasizing just how much productivity a virtual assistant can achieve, they can also be the ideal candidates for jobs that require a low volume of work. There are companies who need some help with a bit of work, but they don’t really need someone who works full time, and there aren’t many part-timers for these kinds of duties they need. Or there are also times when certain seasons you have dire need of help, but there are months where it’s slow and you don’t need assistance anymore. In come virtual assistants. You are free to adjust the hours you need them in a week or a month. You can even suspend their services for certain times, and then make use of their services again in the future. This kind of flexibility is hard to find anywhere else, and sometimes, this is exactly what a company needs.

4. You can make use of their services 24/7

Most of the time it’s no longer enough to have somebody work in the usual nine-to-five shift. A lot of companies have customers depend on them at all times of the day and week. A solution to this kind of predicament is to hire a virtual assistant who is in a different time zone. Many companies who offer customer or technical support during their daytime hire virtual assistants to cover the night shift. This is a win-win situation because the virtual assistant you are hiring will still be working during their daytime, which will ensure there is no drop in performance due to lack of sleep, and your own employees won’t be hurt with the arrangement as well.

5. You’re already behind

One thing you need to remember about virtual assistants is that some companies have been making use of their services for many years now. These companies have been reaping the benefits, getting more work done, while at the same time saving more money, and are spending more time in other ventures. Several other companies realized the same thing you are realizing now, and they immediately went to action. This does not mean you should just go ahead and hire a VA out of nowhere even if you have no work to give it.

You still need to assess if there is a certain part of your company that would benefit with the assistance of a virtual assistant. Because of their flexibility and ability to adapt, there usually is something in your company a virtual assistant can improve. Just make sure you have the VA do what you need, and they will make sure to do more than what you expected of them.