Virtual Assistant Description
A Virtual Assistant is simply someone who performs the same office duties that typical office workers perform, but does so from a remote location. This arrangement is very similar to telecommuting, but when using our services, there are some very important differences.
Virtual Assistant History
"Telecommuting" sounds like it might be a new concept, but actually the term was coined back in 1973 by a man widely credited as being the "Father of Telecommuting", Mr. Jack Nilles. Mr. Nilles used that term to refer to a proposed arrangement between certain employees in which the employees were granted the freedom and latitude to work from home (or a remote location), with certain obvious limitations. While this might sound like a somewhat "one-way relationship" in which the employee benefits at the expense of the employer, it was actually determined that in most cases, the employee was more productive, and the company benefited more. With no commute to face, employees felt better about their jobs, and were more productive to the employer. Furthermore, all of the extra costs associated with having an employee were no longer pertinent:
- The client does not have to have a bigger office anymore to accommodate additional employees
- The client does not have to have a more complex phone system to accommodate additional phone extensions
- The client does not have to provide additional office furniture (desks, etc.) for the employee
- The client does not have to provide additional computer equipment or software for the employee
- The client does not have to provide ANY benefits for the employee
- The client does not have to deal with employee turnover
Virtual Assistant Today
Today, of course, our Virtual Assistants are not "working from home", as was the case when Mr. Nilles originally coined the phrase. Mr. Nilles had not been exposed to the advent of the internet at the time, so he could not have foreseen all of the untold benefits the internet would bring to the business world as it relates to human resources. However, our valued clients are still able to enjoy all of the benefits mentioned above, in addition to enjoying significantly discounted labor rates. Because of recent advances in internet and communication technology, we are able to provide the same services traditional employees might otherwise receive from traditional employees, but at greatly reduced rates, and we pass those savings along to our valued clients, creating a truly win/win scenario in which all parties benefit!
One quick note here. The difference between a Virtual Assistant and Online Staff is negligible. While a Virtual Assistant generally refers to someone doing some form of office clerical work, "Online Staff" is a broader term referring to anyone performing online functions for our valued clients. Therefore, a Virtual Assistant would actually be one type of Online Staff. Please see our page on Online Staff for more details.
Clients can hire Virtual Assistants for a wide variety of tasks. They can hire our Online Staff for an even broader range of tasks. Please check out our Services page as well as our Case Studies for more details. Most people are pleasantly surprised at the ideas they get after looking at these pages! Check out the different types of services a Virtual Assistant can provide for you, and sign up today!
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