Virtual Assistants: Collaborate As You Delegate

A variety of studies across different fields has shown that a delegation is a powerful tool that, when used wisely, can produce positive effects through streamlined business processes and increased job satisfaction among employees. Leadership guru and best-selling author Peter Economy writes, “It is a sign of greatness when a leader has the ability to enable their employees to get things done. One research study showed that 53 percent of business owners believe that they can grow their business by more than 20 percent if they only delegate 10 percent of their workload to someone else. That’s huge.” We agree. 

Taking the time to adopt delegation as a business strategy can seem like a handful, all tasks considered. Start with big funnels and work your way down to more specific categories. For instance, you could first categorize tasks as Core and Non-core. What are the tasks that fall within your business's core competencies and what are the tasks that fall outside of it? You can funnel down further under these two main categories and then begin assigning task owners to each task. Putting in the time for this exercise may contribute greatly to strengthening your business’ organizational backbone. 

Granted, as small and medium-sized business owners, we understand that you may not have a big enough pool of employees to delegate the many tasks that growing businesses inevitably need to take on. Fear not, there are good alternatives to hiring additional headcount, our top recommendation being: Virtual Assistants. 

Virtual Assistants: think Siri, Bixby, or Alexa, only better

Simply put, Virtual Assistants (or VAs) are skilled and experienced service providers that work from a remote location. They may be freelancers, independent contractors, or employed by virtual assistant companies. 

Why collaborate with a Virtual Assistant? Let us count the ways

When grouping tasks that fall within your business's core competencies, you may find that those tasks that fall outside of it would require skills your current pool of employees may not necessarily have. VA pools typically cover a wide range of skill sets to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses. From administrative to creative tasks, information management to task management, collaborating with a VA allows your physical headcount to focus on the core processes of your business by giving the responsibility of the non-core processes to your virtual headcount. This means more resources poured into the former through savings gained by employing the latter. 

Now, just because a task or process isn’t part of your business's core competencies, doesn’t mean it isn’t as valuable. Every great business stands on the shoulders of people who are willing to do the seemingly basic, “too technical”, or mundane work and are willing to do it excellently. VAs are not only skilled in their areas of expertise, they are experienced as well. When collaborating with a VA, you can rest easy knowing that you aren’t handing responsibilities over to people who would rather be doing other things. VAs are happy to do the legwork needed to push your business towards greater success.

A Virtual Assistant’s tools of the trade

What follows is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a list that describes the range of skills VAs may have pretty well. 

Administrative tasks

Data entry, research, scheduling/calendar management, email management, travel bookings, customer support, basic bookkeeping, recruitment assistance and other general administrative tasks

Digital content creation

Digital marketing, social media management, graphic design, article/blog writing, vlog production, podcast editing and digital data compilation

IT support

Mobile/web development, web design, QA check and testing, tech support, software development and updates, app development and updates, and tech support

Click here for 50 Tasks You Could Be Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant.

Connecting with a Virtual Assistant

Have you thought about the possibilities that collaborating with a VA can open up yet? Oh, the places your small to medium-sized business could go. Naturally, you may be wondering just where to find VAs. There is a host of reliable websites that serve as virtual bulletin boards for these types of job postings. We’re so glad you’ve stopped by ours. Smart Virtual Assistants (or SmartVAs) is your one-stop virtual assistance agency specializing in Social Media Management, Website Development, Graphics and Logo Design. Check out our detailed menu of services here. Better yet, let’s have a chat! Click here, we’d love to connect with you and explore the ways that we can collaborate as you delegate.