Overview – A Virtual Assistant is Like “TaskRabbit” for Your Office

COVID has changed the way many of us work. The sudden shift from working in the office to working remotely from home was stressful at first. But most people found they enjoy it – and they are looking for opportunities to improve their experience further. Hiring a virtual assistant is one of those opportunities.

Virtual assistants can help you:

• Save time performing common office chores
• Increase your paid productivity by taking office tasks off your plate
• Ease the stress that comes from “not having enough hours in the day”
• Remain focused on your core business tasks and goals

It’s easy to see how virtual assistant services quickly pay for themselves. A virtual assistant is a TaskRabbit-like concierge service for your work life that keeps you productive and focused doing what you do best.

Welcome to the COVID World of Working Remotely

Millions of Americans this year were faced with a challenge. How do I suddenly go from the office environment I’ve known my whole working life to working remotely at home? It’s been many months now, so we may not remember the fear and anxiety we felt pulling up a laptop at our dining room table for the very first time.

Fast forward to today, and we’ve moved on to home offices – or at least home office spaces. We’re making it fun too with Zoom backgrounds and trading easy-to-make comfort food recipes through social media. For most of us, we can’t imagine ever going back.

Some will never have to. Companies such as LiveChat now call themselves a “remote-first” company – and their employees love it. Eighty-three percent said they preferred working at home rather than the office. Not surprisingly, digital-based companies such as Adobe and Microsoft are getting also into the act. But other, traditionally bricks-and-mortar companies are too including The Hartford insurance company and Raytheon BBN Technologies defense contracting.

Not only is this trend changing where we work, it’s changing how we work, too. Employees act more like entrepreneurs responsible for their own time management and maximizing their productivity. It opens the doors for new ways to help you increase productivity and time management.

One of those ways is hiring a virtual assistant.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

If you’re not quite sure what a virtual assistant is and does, you’re not alone. Adding to the confusion is the fact that VA services are so flexible, it’s often more helpful to say what a virtual assistant isn’t.

But let’s back up a second. Think of it this way. We all use the services of people every day, or at least from time to time. The drycleaners clean our clothes. Pizza delivery people – not to mention Uber Eats and other similar services – bring food to our doors. Maybe you have an accountant that helps with your taxes or a real estate agent who helps you sell your house. These are all examples of personal services.

The main differences between these services and a virtual assistant are:

• We interact with virtual assistants by phone, email, Zoom, or some other form of electronic communication
• Virtual assistants help with a wide range of office tasks, not just one

The easiest comparison is to personal concierge services popping up now like TaskRabbit. You can hire someone for lots of common tasks from getting groceries to putting together your IKEA furniture. Why not hire similar services for common office tasks, too? It’s convenient, and these services essentially pay for themselves because it frees up your time so you can focus more hours on the work that makes you money.

A professional virtual assistant is like TaskRabbit for your office.

How to Get the Most from Your Virtual Assistant When Working Remotely

Here are a few things that your virtual assistant can help you with:

• Conduct background research on a range of topics
• Manage your social media accounts
• Update your website and/or your blog
• Write a business letter
• Transcribe a document from an audio file you dictated or meeting you recorded
• Order office supplies
• Make restaurant or travel reservations
• Take care of your invoicing and billing

And so much more. As mentioned above, it’s more useful to talk about what virtual assistants can do for your home office than what they can’t do. It’s also more useful to talk about how virtual assistants can help change your work life for the better with your own real-world examples.

Elite can help. Our team of specialized, professional virtual assistants are available for your specific tasks as they come up. You get the helping hand you need – and only when you need it. That means no long-term commitments, no pressure to have to find them work to fill hours, and no need to hire additional office staff. Elite’s virtual assistant services are fast, convenient, and easy to use saving you time and money in the long run.

Let’s Customize Your Office Needs

Contact Elite Office Solutions today for a free consultation, and find out how a virtual assistant can help you. We’ll discuss your day-to-day activities and give you real-life examples from your own workday to show you where we can save you time on your admin, social media, marketing, and other office tasks. There’s no obligation and the phone meeting is free. Invest just 15 minutes of your time – and you could gain 15 hours of your life back or more every month by getting rid of the tasks that are eating away at your precious work day.

Elite Office Solutions can help you work remotely, not alone.  Call us at 800-977-8973 | 215-491-0400 or use our handy email form here. We’ll show you how a personal concierge service for your office will change the way you work for the better.