COVID-19 brought about a huge change in the way that many people carried out their business activities. Social distancing and enforced lockdowns meant that, with many others, many office and administration-based employees were suddenly barred from going into their workplaces to carry out their normal work duties. Office buildings were suddenly silent and dark, streets were empty, and fear of the unknown gripped the world.
But life – and business – goes on and plans had to be made at very short notice to get around the lockdowns and keep the world turning as close to normal as possible. Thus, the home office and virtual office took on a whole new, and important, role in the commercial and corporate environments, keeping the wheels turning and enabling businesses to keep their heads above water.
Is there still a growing demand for these services?
Even though we have returned to normal routines since lockdowns ceased globally, there is a strong element of the pandemic that still exists. Whilst for many, working from home proved to be difficult and challenging, others found that it was advantageous. No more sitting in time-wasting traffic, spending increasing amounts on over-priced petrol and diesel, dressing in work clothes, and entering a real office space with colleagues who sometimes prove to be more of a distraction than a positive influence. Working from home has worked so well for some companies that they have continued the practice after the economy opened up again or opted for a mix of virtual/on-site employees, i.e., working from home for part of the week and at the office on certain days only.
What other services can be offered remotely?
This has also generated a rise in virtual administration and training services being offered to the corporate, commercial, hospitality and medical sectors. One has only to look at adverts for remote/virtual administration services to note that there is definitely a trend towards this form of office assistant, particularly in smaller companies whose workload does not call for full-time employees. Lockdown has brought home an important realisation – that there are some elements of running a successful business that CAN be performed off-site. With our high levels of load-shedding in this country, it has become more practical to delegate work to virtual administration services than to pay employees to sit twiddling their thumbs whilst load-shedding is in force. Virtual services allow businesses to pay only for the time spent working and not for enforced idleness. So much of our work is carried out on computers and via the Internet, and not all companies have the means to install generators or inverters to keep these all-important services running when the electrical power is out. Virtual assistants can work within their own predetermined schedules, especially if they have backup power in their home environments to cope with shorter periods of load-shedding. If they are at the mercy of the electricity supply, they can make up for valuable lost time outside of working hours, which is not always possible when working from an on-site office.
It’s a win/win situation for all
There is no doubt that having virtual services has many advantages over hiring full-time employees. Being a virtual assistant in whatever sphere – be it administration, sales, accounting, training, or support – places a high service delivery onus on the supplier to keep their clients satisfied and loyal. It also helps in getting free advertising through word-of-mouth referrals. By virtue of their job, virtual assistants must be self-motivated, consistent in their output and service delivery, disciplined and hard-working. They also need to be excellent communicators, thereby avoiding hiccups in understanding what is required of them, and when delivery is expected. They need to be basically independent thinkers, able to find short- or long-term solutions to problems they might encounter without necessarily involving their clients. It goes without saying that they need to be willing to add value to their clients by maintaining high standards of work, confidentiality, improvisation, meeting deadlines and producing positive results. It does not matter what sphere they work in – they need to be consistently professional, dedicated to delivering the service as expected, able to manage their time effectively and not prone to letting personal issues get in the way of their commitment to their clients.
Is this the right job for me?
It goes without saying that being a virtual assistant is not an ‘easy’, laid-back form of working if you are successful in what you do. Good virtual assistants are highly sought-after, and this comes with dedication and professionalism. This is not the job for someone who wants to work ‘as and when’ they need to earn an income. Whatever you might think, this IS a full-time job if you are successful, and if you are not achieving a good client base or consistently recurring work, then this is most assuredly not the job for you. “You reap what you sow”, as the proverb goes, so make sure you have the commitment for the job before you begin, investigate the market and the options available, advertise wisely and let the journey begin. For more information, check Uptasker’s articles on this subject.
