“People will create the jobs of the future, not simply train for them, and technology is already central. It will undoubtedly play a greater role in the years ahead.” Jonathan Grudin

 

Virtual Assistants are often linked to artificial intelligence tools like Google Assistant, Siri, or Alexa, to name but a few.

However, a virtual assistant can also be a living, breathing person. They are people that you don’t interact with face-to-face. In business terms, a Virtual Assistant helps you with your day-to-day tasks while working remotely. For example, you might have a business based in France, Johannesburg or Pretoria but hire a virtual assistant that is located in Cape Town.

Virtual Assistants (also known as “VAs”) are independent contractors who provide administrative skills to clients.

In the current economic climate, all companies are on the look-out for new ways to cut down on costs and overhead expenses while increasing productivity and revenue.

Business growth requires capital! Hiring Virtual Assistants is becoming more popular as more companies make use of the internet and cloud-based technologies for their daily operations, focusing on task-specialised work, and therefore substantially reducing their capital needs.

Not only is hiring a virtual assistant noticeably less than hiring a full-time employee, as you do not need to provide the same benefits that you would for full-time employees, no medical aid or taxes, but also you do not need to provide office space or office equipment, therefore saving on the total costs to a company per year.

Another advantage of hiring a virtual assistant is the flexibility to contract only for the services that the business requires. Depending on the agreement the client pays per hour, per project or on a retainer basis. In contrast full-time employees in a traditional office must be paid for a fixed number of hours per day.

With an increase in work stress and the exhaustion of a daily commute taking a toll on people’s health, allowing employees to work flexible hours will bring about lots of benefits for the business.

Companies are leaning towards virtual assistant services, challenging traditional workspaces, to ensure optimum productivity while giving their employees a work-life balance they can enjoy.

“Over the past decade, a rising number of young professionals, primarily from the United States and Europe, have leveraged the use of technology to work remotely. A forecast of employment trends by the World Economic Forum called flexible work, including virtual teams, “one of the biggest drivers of transformation” in the workplace, while a Gallup poll found that 37% of respondents have already worked virtually.” – 17 Stats About Remote Work in 2018 by by Brie Weiler Reynolds, Senior Career Specialist 

While the Virtual Assistant Industry is still considered to be in its infancy in South Africa, it is growing daily, and globally the Virtual Assistant Industry is predicted to reach $1.8 billion by 2021.

“According to the World Economic Forum’s “Future of Jobs 2018” report, nearly 50% of companies think automation will lead to a reduction in full-time workers as early as 2022, but 38% expect to extend their workforce to new productivity-enhancing roles. In particular, companies stated they expect to “expand their use of contractors doing task-specialized work” and “engage workers in a more flexible manner,” including remote workers.” Predictions Related to Work Flexibility and the Future Workforce by Brie Weiler Reynolds, Senior Career Specialist 

Following global trends many South African Businesses, Entrepreneurs, Influencers and Start-ups have realised that in order to get ahead of the competition, they are hiring a professional Virtual Assistant to help with the day-to-day tasks, leaving them the time to do what they do best – market and grow their companies!

Are you ready to disrupt your traditional working environment?

 

 

Talk to the team at VCS – More Time for YOU – we are Executive Virtual Assistants that can assist you!  Fill out our contact form HERE!