A virtual assistant (typically abbreviated to VA, also called a virtual office assistant) is generally self-employed and provides

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients remotely from a home office. Because virtual assistants are independent contractors rather than employees, clients are not responsible for any employee-related taxes, insurance or benefits, except in the context that those indirect expenses are included in the VA's fees. Clients also avoid the logistical problem of providing extra office space, equipment or supplies. Clients pay for 100% productive work, and can work with virtual assistants, individually, or in multi-VA firms to meet their exact needs. Virtual assistants usually work for other

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...

es. but can also support busy executives. It is estimated that there are as few as 5,000 to 10,000 or as many as 25,000 virtual assistants worldwide. The profession is growing in centralized economies with "

fly-in fly-out Fly-in fly-out is a method of employing people in remote areas by flying them temporarily to the work site instead of relocating employees and their families permanently. It is often abbreviated to FIFO when referring to employment status. This is ...

" staffing practices.

Pay and salary

In terms of pay, according to Glassdoor, the annual salary for virtual assistants in the US is $35,922. However, worldwide, many virtual assistants work as freelancers on an hourly wage. One recent survey involving 400 virtual assistants on the popular freelancer site Upwork shows a huge discrepancy in hourly pay commanded by virtual assistants in different countries.

Modes of communication

Common modes of communication and data delivery include the Internet, e-mail and phone-call conferences, online work spaces, and fax machine. Increasingly virtual assistants are utilizing technology such as

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...

and Zoom, Slack, as well as

Google Voice Google Voice is a telephone service that provides a U.S. phone number to Google Account customers in the U.S. and Google Workspace (G Suite by October 2020) customers in Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switz ...

. Professionals in this business work on a contractual basis and a long-lasting cooperation is standard. Typically 10 years of administrative experience in an office is expected at such positions as executive assistant, office manager/supervisor, secretary, legal assistant, paralegal, legal secretary, real estate assistant, and information technology. In recent years virtual assistants have also worked their way in to many mainstream businesses and with the advent of

VOIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...

services such as Skype and Zoom it has been possible to have a virtual assistant who can answer your phone remotely without the end user's knowledge. This allows many businesses to add a personal touch in the form of a receptionist without the additional cost of hiring someone.

Types

Virtual assistants consists of individuals as well as companies who work remotely as an independent professional, providing a wide range of products and services both to businesses as well as consumers. Virtual assistants perform many different roles, including typical secretarial work, website editing, social media marketing, customer service, data entry, accounts (MYOB, Quick books) and many other remote tasks. The virtual industry has changed substantially as it attracts others new to the field. Virtual assistants come from a variety of business backgrounds, but most have several years' experience earned in the "real" (non-virtual) business world, or several years' experience working online or remotely.

Dedicated virtual assistants

A dedicated virtual assistant is someone working in the office under the management of a company. The facility and internet connection as well as training are provided by the company, however not in all cases. The home-based virtual assistant worked either in the

office sharing Office sharing is a concept that allows companies who own or manage an office, that have redundant office space to share or rent the workstations or self-contained units to smaller companies looking for flexible workspace. This creates revenue for t ...

environment or in their house. The general VA are sometimes called an online administrative assistant, online personal assistant or online sales assistant. A virtual webmaster assistant, virtual marketing assistant and virtual content writing assistant are specific professionals that are usually experienced employees from corporate environment that started to set up their own virtual offices.

In popular culture

Virtual assistants were an integral part of the 2007 bestselling book ''

The 4-Hour Workweek ''The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich'' (2007) is a self-help book by Timothy Ferriss, an American writer, educational activist, and entrepreneur. It deals with what Ferriss refers to as "lifestyle design", a ...

'' by

Tim Ferriss Timothy Ferriss (born July 20, 1977) is an American entrepreneur, investor, author, podcaster, and lifestyle guru. He became well-known through his ''4-Hour'' self-help book series—including ''The 4-Hour Work Week'', ''The 4-Hour Body'', and '' ...

. Ferriss claimed to have hired virtual assistants to check his email, pay his bills and run parts of his company. "..if you have a virtual assistant, let them go through your email and respond when necessary"

References

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External links

International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA)

UK Society Of Virtual Assistants (SVA)
Office and administrative support occupations Telecommuting