I am sure you have all heard of the boom in home based secretarial services, more likely to be known as a Virtual Assistant these days. With virtual offices and outsourcing becoming the way of the future, there are many benefits to utilizing these services and we should be aiming to keep business local.
A recent book released by Timothy Ferriss titled ‘The 4-Hour Workweek: escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich‘, has sparked a lot of conversation around outsourcing of secretarial and administration tasks. Problem is that a lot of these jobs seem to end up overseas.
The Age recently reported that Pfizer was adopting the ‘Office of the Future’ which enables their employees to send their job to offices in India via the click of a button, where someone will review the work and send a quote to complete. The employee can then weigh up the pros and cons and choose to outsource.
It makes a lot of sense. Employees who’s time could be better utilized bringing work into the business are now freed up from having to format documents and prepare presentations, for which they have often not been trained. There have been numerous reports on the increased work load and stress levels of employees who are left to take on more and more work when a colleague resigns. Business is not replacing staff - just redistributing the work to existing staff and hoping they will work harder to meet the deadlines. This may not be a problem, if the work they are given is what they are qualified to do.
According to The Age, Pfizer’s senior director of organizational effectiveness, Jordan Cohen, discovered that Pfizer’s employees spend 20-40% of their time on four activities: creating documents, manipulating and analyzing spreadsheets, scheduling meetings and researching.
Benefits of Outsourcing your Work
• Home secretarial services are usually run by experienced PA’s who run their own business so they are similar to you in that they want to produce a quality product and create a favorable reputation.
• Your time is free to concentrate on building your business and reputation - be out in the marketplace, not behind the desk doing administration tasks or overseeing staff.
• You don’t have to pay for associated costs of on-site administration staff, such as office furniture and equipment; floor space, sick leave; annual leave; workers compensation premiums; someone sitting there when there is nothing to do. This is particularly attractive if you are just starting your business and don’t want to overcapitalize (one of the top ten reasons that sole businesses fail in the first 12 months).
• Only need to use a VA on an as needed basis – you don’t have to be locked into long term contracts.
• No agency fees when you need to fill an admin/secretarial position – just send the work out.
• Correspondence and reports can be sent via email using digital files or scanning a document.
• Often the work can be completed faster than on-site as your assistant will not have constant interruptions of the phone ringing and staff asking questions.
• By using a local VA, you are building a network in your own neighborhood. Remember the old saying “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. Your VA will be receiving work from a variety of local business people and may be able to help you build your network.
• Using an external consultant may increase the options for completing a task. For example – you may not have a program that could be very handy to improve photos to insert in your presentation or report, but your VA does. This will help your documents look professional and stylish.
Thanks to technology, there aren’t many tasks that you could not outsource to a virtual assistant. Some even keep an eye on your email while you are out of town or on holidays, they will phone and diaries appointments for you or even do your telemarketing. If you’re a manager or small business owner, it may be time to rethink how you are having your administration tasks done. Why are you sitting at your computer late at night trying to catch up on correspondence and reports?
There are many excellent virtual assistants locally who are qualified, experienced and willing to take on the tasks. It may take time for business to adopt the idea of an off-site assistant but it is a simple solution for a small business or sole trader looking to save costs.
The answer to reducing your stress and improving your productivity could be as easy as checking the web directories and local papers for a virtual secretarial service. Contact them and discuss your needs. You could be helping yourself to a reduced work and stress load and it could be the beginning of a long and happy relationship that will keep your business growing and profitable.
Marie has over 20 years experience as a Personal Assistant to large private practice, corporate businesses. She has vast experience in all areas of administration - transcription, databases, slide presentations, report writing, general correspondence, resumes, large jobs and small. She recently decided the catchphrase of the past few years was worth listening to and provided herself with a work/life balance. Now Marie runs a Virtual Assistant business from home and is able to help others run their business smoothly without traveling too far from home.
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