Virtual Office Assistant in a Business: A Boon or a Bane?

In a globalized economy, business sectors and individuals are finding ways to cater their products and services to any country where they can possibly get. Some business-minded people would hire an assistant, either personally or virtually, to get their ideas crossed. Some would prefer to hire a personal assistant so that they can check their work anytime they want. However, some would get an assistant through the internet without the hassle of going through an exhausting search for anything they need for their job. Thus, virtual office assistants come into existence. But what do virtual assistants really do? Are they worth the risk of letting your jobs, either confidential or not, be managed, maintained, prepared, or done by anyone you are not even aware of? Do virtual assistants get your job done better, or do they just make it worse?

To answer these questions, it is first important to be familiar with the term virtual office assistant. A virtual office assistant refers to a self-employed contract individual who offers administrative, creative, or technical services. It may also mean dealing with similar tasks of an office secretary or manager, but performing them from a home office, using one’s own computer equipment, software, phone, and Internet connection. The task of a virtual assistant is to manage, maintain, transcribe, prepare, and handle any job that people do in their day-to-day lives. They may even take care of the bills and schedules for a person’s appointments or meetings. In other words, virtual assistants could help organize the unorganized. However, some issues may arise when hiring a virtual assistant. A few disadvantages of having virtual office assistants may include less personal communication, overreliance on technology to communicate, and personal discipline on both parties. Yet, these can be ignored if a client and a virtual assistant find time to work with each other and gain their trust. Moreover, both parties need to be assured of a job well done and well-compensated work.

Having familiarized ourselves with the term virtual office assistant, its tasks as well as its advantages and a few disadvantages, it would then be safe to infer that virtual office assistants can be of great benefit to an individual, a business, or any industry.

This was written during my training for a virtual assistant position in Lapu-lapu City. I did not pursue the training simply because there was no salary for a couple of weeks or more.