8 Suitable Tasks to Assign a Virtual Assistant
CEOs are only able to devote about 43% of their time to core agendas every day. The rest of their time is spent on repetitive tasks. This is where a Virtual Assistant shines.
Time is a limited resource that needs to be managed and organised. With full schedules day in and day out, CEOs, organisational leaders and managers rarely have enough of it. A Harvard Business Review study revealed that CEOs are only able to devote about 43% of their time to core agendas every day. The rest of their time is spent on various other internal and external organisational tasks that can be repetitive and time-consuming. This is where a Virtual Assistant (VA) shines.
A VA’s job is to give their client the freedom to work on tasks only they can do. They take on the routine duties and tasks that don’t drive you towards your main organisational goals, helping to ensure that your time is used efficiently. This article will help you see which responsibilities you can offload.
Here are 8 tasks you could ideally assign a VA.
1. Email Management
Email is the ultimate form of communication for a businessperson. Your inbox is a treasure trove of opportunities, reminders, deadlines, promises made and “urgent: read now” emails. But none of them will get the required attention if your inbox is in disarray.
Having a VA can make all the difference. They can help you organise your inbox, prioritise your emails, and as they grow to understand your tone, even respond to emails for you or send routine communications to members of your organisation and investors alike. With such tasks off your hands, you will no longer have the guilt or anxiety of sifting through a stack of unread emails to get to the ones you want. With the right VA, your inbox will look like a well-organised closet.
2. Calendar Management
Unlike your inbox, your calendar is a direct reflection of how your time will be spent. It helps to remind you of the things that demand your attention at a certain time. Sitting with a VA and planning your schedule allows you to not only make a conscious effort to organise your time, but it also trains the person responsible for keeping you accountable to do just that. In no time, they will be managing you like a pro, ensuring you have a seamless flow across your personal and professional commitments. No meeting nor anniversary nor business dinner will get missed again!
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3. Presentation Creation
Ideas are one thing; presenting them in a way that is palatable to its recipients is another matter. With a creative VA, you or your team can have more time for ideation without worrying about the visual output. You can lay the foundation with your ideas and vision and your VA can continue building upon them by creating visually appealing and engaging presentations that are suitable for different audiences.
4. Research
Research plays a crucial role in a leader’s daily activities. To remain on top of your game, you need to be abreast of the relevant issues and trends within your industry. However, because of how much information there is to consume, this can be a laborious process. As an organisational leader, there is absolutely no time for you to fall down internet rabbit holes.
Instead, you can call on a resourceful VA to do the groundwork for you. By gathering information from various sources and summarising the salient points for you, your VA can bring industry news to your radar, conduct competitor analysis, or help you prepare for high-risk conversations. With the research off your hands, you have more time to focus on the things only you can do.
5. Social Media Support
Gone are the days when only celebrities needed to pay attention to their online brand. These days, almost all founders, CEOs, executives and managers have a digital presence, and this has proven to be beneficial in supporting their businesses or organisations. This doesn’t mean you need to start mimicking viral TikTok voice overs or dances — though you can, if it’s relevant to your brand. However, a VA can help you build your professional brand on your desired social media platforms. They can support you in updating your online profile, creating posts to show and grow your brand and by interacting with the people who follow you.
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6. Traffic Management
Managing multiple teams working on different aspects of a project can be an extreme sport. In an effort to push for results, communication between teams can break down. As a traffic manager, a VA can convey information and track progress between teams. In this role, they can also be given the responsibility of holding individuals and departments accountable. This will take the weight off you and reduce your involvement to reviewing reports and approving decisions.
7. Sales & Customer Service
What have you been wishing you could do more of to improve your customers’ experience? Perhaps quicker responses to leads, inquiries and queries? You can implement these minimal tweaks that deliver maximum rewards with a VA who can help refine and improve your sales and customer service. Invest even more into this part of your business by having a designated person to enhance the experience of your customers. An extra set of (virtual) hands gives you the room to streamline your processes and find more prospects.
8. Invoice Management
As you reel in those customers, you’ll need to track how your money is being spent. It’s a necessary task for every business, but it can be incredibly time-consuming. Your business can benefit from having a VA manage your invoices. You can delegate tasks like following up on outstanding invoices or compiling receipts and creating expense reports. Not only will this keep your finances more organised, but it could improve your cash flow and ultimately give you more time to make more money.
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Other Admin tasks
In general, administrative tasks can be tedious and time-consuming. Such duties are ideal for a VA because they can be done virtually. These can include taking down and sending out meeting minutes, travel planning and booking, data entry, and proofreading (i.e. reports, presentations, newsletters). These types of routine tasks can be outsourced to a VA to free you up so that you can focus on other critical priorities.
How to Hire a Virtual Assistant
Our Virtual Assistants are rigorously trained and highly skilled in handling all of the above tasks and more. If you are ready to reclaim your time by outsourcing some of your routine duties and administrative tasks, visit The ROOM to access a pool of world-class Virtual Assistants.
The ROOM is home to a highly specialised community of agile digital talent, connecting individuals and companies across the globe with the skills and resources they need to thrive in the new world of work.