4 Reasons You Need to Add a Virtual Assistant to Your Team

Do you ever find yourself feeling like there just aren’t enough hours in a day? By the time you are done organizing your tasks and putting out all of the little fires that come with managing a business, there’s no time left for you to focus on the big picture tasks that are the root function of your job. Well, you're not alone in feeling this way. CEOs and small business owners alike are finding that they need a little extra help managing their day-to-day workloads so they can prioritize what really matters to the company. This is where virtual assistants have come in to save the day.

A virtual assistant is a freelance or contract worker who is hired to do anything you need to keep the business functioning, with a few obvious limitations. Gone are the days of hiring an assistant or secretary who works in-house on a full-time basis. Hiring a virtual assistant makes it easier than ever to find the help you’ve been looking for all while generating cost savings. Here are 4 reasons you need to add a virtual assistant to your team.

Saves Time

The whole point of hiring a virtual assistant is to make your life easier. They can take care of whatever you need to get done that day that you simply cannot be bothered to do yourself. Most managers choose to delegate the easy tasks that take little training to complete. These tasks include answering phones, setting up appointments and meetings, sending thank yous and flowers, running errands, and even managing your schedule to keep you on time throughout the day. The job of each virtual assistant will vary by company and what each day has in store, so it is great that these workers are hired on a contract basis to provide greater flexibility in their workload.

Perfect for Entrepreneurs and Startups

If you are an entrepreneur undertaking a new journey with limited resources and funds, adding a virtual assistant is a cost-effective way to give yourself a hand. Since they don’t come to work every day on a full-time schedule, you only have to pay them when they are helping you. This can be one reoccurring day each week or one week at a time. The flexibility that virtual assistants provide promotes the business while also being conscious of the fact that they won’t always be needed. A perfect example of this is with the blogging industry, which has been growing immensely in recent years but not at a fast enough rate that these social media moguls need a full staff to help them. Thus, they contract out whatever they can’t do themselves and take things one project at a time, hiring whoever they need to get that specific job done.

More Inclusive

Just because you are hiring someone on a freelance basis does not mean you are getting the last pick of the litter. As more people are living longer and placing a greater emphasis on work-life balance, there’s a multitude of reasons people are opting to work from home. Lots of new moms are creating an office space at home to earn an income while still keeping up with their children. Also, many retirees are choosing to become virtual assistants. This generation of seniors is a more active group than ever before, wanting to work to stay social and active. They are a community of experienced, hardworking employees who are just looking for a little something to continue their sense of purpose. Truly, having these experienced workers on your team could be even more beneficial than hiring a recent grad with a shiny MBA.

Bigger Candidate Pool

In past years, if you wanted to hire an assistant, you were limited to the people in your area, which could cause some problems. For example, let’s say you wanted someone to do basic tasks, but still have some form of background in the high-end tech industry you’re in. Well, your hiring options were pretty slim. However, virtual assistants can work from basically anywhere in the world, widening your pool of candidates and closing the gap of skills previously lacking. A simple LinkedIn search will pull thousands of qualified candidates in seconds, making sure you’ll find the right candidate for the job. Truly, whatever you need to get done, there is a virtual assistant out there willing to help!