Reliable internet is enveloping the globe, and businesses have realized that they no longer have to bring an employee into the office to get work done.
The trend of working remotely did accelerate recently owing to the pandemic that forced companies to pause and re-evaluate their employee’s physical placement and accessibility against their input and productivity. But after everyone settled in, employers identified the benefits that it can bring to their business and the improved work-life balance for their employees.
However..Virtual Assistants had identified that years ago.
Virtual Assistants have existed since the advent of technology that allowed for remote work, but it took a global virus outbreak for them to receive the much-due recognition.
Simply said, a virtual assistant is an assistant who works virtually. They have their own office set-up, so you can call them your typical off-site employee with the benefit of more flexibility with regard to the demands of a business and its working hours.
VAs are an adaptable workforce choice for companies of all sizes and the bonus is that they come with reduced overhead costs. The employment duration of a Virtual Assistant might range from part-time to permanent full-time, depending on the responsibilities you decide to delegate to them.
The most typical tasks for virtual assistants are administrative ones, but they can also help with any other needs the company has, whether they are general or specialised.
How does hiring a Virtual Assistant to optimize your business operations?
The well-known advantages of hiring a Virtual Assistant do indeed start with your calendar being lighter and you having more time to focus on the vital processes to grow your business.
A Virtual Assistant can handle a wide range of duties, out of which managing several tasks simultaneously and ensuring that business leaders receive the best help possible for their circumstances are just the tip of the iceberg.
Virtual Assistants have been strongly recognized as indispensable assets across industries of varying natures as well as needs in the departments of administration, operations, marketing, branding and advertisement, and more.
Although VAs are adept at a wide range of tasks, others specialise according to the sector in which they work.
Here are the top ¬ business processes of 2022 where Virtual Assistants improved operations beyond measure-
E-COMMERCE
Time is a valuable resource when running a business, especially those that are routine. Everyday duties can prevent you from concentrating on fresh prospects and potential development areas. Moreover, you and your team will have more time to devote to high-impact strategies if you hire a virtual assistant to manage your administrative tasks.
To keep your store’s user experience high-quality, consistent customer service is crucial. Virtual assistants may assist you with a limitless range of tasks, including-
- Customer or vendor support
- Order fulfilment
- Returns and refunds tracking
- Invoicing
- Store or inventory management
- Product upload and description writing
- Influencer/partnership outreach
- Social media, feedback and promotions management
INSURANCE CREDENTIALING, BILLING, ELIGIBILITY & VERIFICATION
Healthcare facilities are known for their commitment to providing high-quality patient care. A focus that frequently prevents the administration from keeping up with the small but important tasks that must be completed. They all probably need to be completed yesterday.
Many of the details of running a healthcare practice can be handled by an administrative or virtual assistant. Each facility has its own requirements and so, understanding the abilities of a VA will help you hire the best resource for your needs. Whether it is to help your company with the grunt work like data entry and scheduling or for more complex and tedious tasks like-
- Credentialing and network enrollment
- Patient eligibility
- Insurance verification
- Appointment scheduling
- EMR/EHR update and maintenance
- Medical authorizations, billing and coding
Virtual Assistants working in the healthcare industry are mostly HIPAA-certified or, at the least, HIPAA-compliant.
HUMAN RESOURCES
As businesses scale up, they need qualified professionals in their teams to keep the firm running. But it can be challenging to keep operations and administrative requirements running smoothly. If you’re leading a fast-paced setting and your employees have to multitask between their roles. .
And since hiring full-time, on-site support workers is not always an option and it certainly is not an economic option; bringing in alternatives is a much-needed step to prevent employee burnout (or worse, a walkout) when it comes to-
- Job posting or job ads management
- Scheduling interviews
- Corresponding job requirements, contracts and onboarding formalities
- Maintaining applicant and interviewing-candidates tracking system
- Database management for employee files and records
- Employee payroll tracking and management
- Employee attendance tracking and reporting
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customer Support is as important for brand reputation as it is for customer satisfaction. It is a known fact that having an in-house team to handle your company’s customer service needs can be expensive as well as time-consuming. Cue: Virtual Assistants to the rescue again.
Instead of being responsible for hiring, developing, and managing an internal customer care team, entrust the customer support responsibility to a Virtual Assistant or a team of VAs. Virtual Assistants are known to grasp procedures quickly and strongly. So all you would really need to do is give them the scripts and resources and they can assist you in dealing with-
- Phone, email and chat support
- Directory assistance support and message handling
- Helpdesk support
- Market research & survey
- Monitoring user conversation
Therefore, If your business relates to any of these sectors, now would be a good time to consider delegating tasks to a professional Virtual Assistant to prevent your business processes and employees from being overwhelmed and getting past the hurdles of things slipping through the cracks. Moreover, you can then focus on what you do best and grow your company to the level of success you know it is capable of!