It may sound like something from the 1970’s TV show Tomorrow’s World, but Virtual Assistants are definitely a reality of today’s world. Despite the use of the word, ‘virtual’, these PAs are real life people. Some offer so much by way of assistance that they have been granted the title, ‘Super PA’. So what kinds of things may a Super-PA or Virtual Assistant do in a day?
What is a virtual assistant?
Virtual Assistants are employed by businesses, and sometimes by individuals, for PA style assistance. Virtual PAs work remotely, doing your organizing for you from their own home or hot desk. Often, the Virtual Assistant and the person who contracts them will speak on the phone, even if they never meet. As they are employed by the hour, it’s up to the PA to do an amazing job or they risk not getting more work. Not only does this sort of service save employers significant amounts of money, but it also allows workers to work flexibly around other commitments, notably childcare or studying.
Putting the super in Super-PA
The term, Super-PA comes in when we are talking about amazingly efficient PAs who can organise every tiny detail of your life or business for you. The most super, super-PA will be able to handle practically any job asked of them, although they would not be expected to do jobs that require specialist skills such as bookkeeping or marketing unless their profile states that they are happy with this.
The role of a virtual PA can vary greatly. Some are employed by busy working parents to do things like book family holidays, order gifts and organize parties. Other times they are booked by businesses that need a PA at short notice for a one-off event or short time period, but don’t require a full time in-house PA. Virtual PA services from companies such as https://www.mushroombiz.co.uk/homepage/services/virtual-pa/ can simply take calls when you are busy or can be contracted for a full range of PA services.
The rise of the virtual assistant could have been forecast long ago, as the need for flexible working and ad-hoc assistance has become more commonplace. As for the Super-PA, someone who can help organise every detail of your life – it’s no longer just in the imagination of some futuristic boffin on Tomorrow’s World.