In these days of faster and faster internet, email, file transfer etc it is often better to use a skilled pa or secretary, providing online secretarial services at the end of a broadband and phone connection, rather than employing the equivalent staff on site. drivingschoolintoronto

Rising costs of full-time employees

Office costs are constantly rising, commuting is getting so difficult that staff frequently are arriving already exhausted and often late, whilst at the same time employers are getting increasingly bogged down with employment legislation, such that it can often be very hard even to get rid of inefficient people. At the same time, broadband and associated technology are getting better and more available all the time.

Real, not ‘virtual’ savings

Enter the Virtual PA, The Virtual Secretary or the Virtual Assistant. Skilled motivated people at the end of a broadband connection that you can switch on and (more importantly) off, as and when you require their services. No need to go through costly induction and interview procedures, provide costly office space, pension arrangements, or pay for several weeks’ holiday a year, not to mention sickness and also having to pay their National Insurance contributions and organize their PAYE.

Virtual staff usually cost less than temps

Obviously another effective alternative to permanent staff is to use a temp staff agency. You do admittedly avoid the commitment involved in employing people on a permanent basis and most temp staff are good – but this service doesn’t come cheap. However, most virtual PAs, secretaries and assistants work from home and you are ’employing’ them direct, on a self-employed basis. No problems with NI contributions, tax, pensions etc – you simply pay them at an agreed rate for what they do – they are responsible for their own tax etc.

What kind of work is done by Virtual Staff?

There are the obvious ones like copy typing, data entry, audio transcription (you just send a audio attachment to an email and they type it up), producing spreadsheets, proof reading etc etc. But many online secretarial services companies also will prepare PowerPoint Presentations and sometimes even desktop publishing, mail shots and graphic design. A small minority of virtual PAs and secretaries can even prepare Export Documentation and Letters of Credit for shipping. This is of course a specialized field and one which does require great attention to detail. temp-mail

Next time – think Virtual!

So next time you’re up against a deadline to produce a report, a vital quotation, a manuscript, minutes of a meeting etc etc, why not consider talking to a Virtual PA, Virtual Secretary or Assistant? And remember, it really doesn’t matter where you or they are because they are there instantly at the end of a broadband connection or the humble telephone!