Supporting your core team is key to an uninterrupted workflow and increased productivity. With a virtual assistant, you can delete many tedious tasks from your employees’ to-do lists. They can take over almost every admin function, in almost every industry.
Soon enough, you’ll be that much closer to your target revenue and business goals.
Meaning of a Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant (VA) is a remote worker responsible for the essential admin activities of an organization. They’re hired for business functions like executive support, basic bookkeeping, human resources, customer support, lead generation and others. Wondering how VAs help businesses? Virtual assistants solve major problems for you without consuming much of your resources. All you have to do is outsource tasks to a virtual assistant. They will take care of the rest!
Reasons To Hire a Virtual Assistant
Assistants have been supporting entrepreneurs and senior managers for decades. Today, the international BPO sector provides a range of offshore virtual assistant services. A B2B business owner shares that they “literally built [their] company from overseas high-level talent.”
So what’s in it for your business? Here are three solid benefits of hiring a virtual assistant.
Save Time
Outsourcing companies can set you up with a suitable virtual assistant within a week of registering. They also offer immediate replacements if you’re unsatisfied with your current VA. You don’t have to go hunting for a new one.
Once onboarded, virtual assistants take over all time-consuming tasks, making space for productivity and rest.
Reduce Costs
The average employer compensation of traditional employees in the US was $43.11 per hour in December 2023. On the other hand, virtual assistant rates from an offshore agency are significantly lower due to the difference in cost of living.
Since they work remotely, hiring a VA also cuts overhead costs like office space and equipment.
Grow Your Business
Whether you’re starting a new project or offering a new service, your business can often run into skill shortages. Upskilling your team with specialized VAs is a great way to adapt to changing trends.
And, handing over routine tasks to a virtual assistant will multiply the productivity of your in-house employees. So streamline everyday operations and invest your valuable manpower into making a profit.
List of Virtual Assistant Tasks
Effective delegation is the key to getting your tasks done efficiently. Investing time and effort in the initial stage is an easy way to reap the benefits of VAs later.Different types of VA services are available in the outsourcing market. Depending on the need, VA responsibilities range from low-skill supporting tasks like answering phone calls to high-skill tasks like marketing assistance.
Popular Virtual Assistant Tasks
- Executive Assistance
- Accounting Assistance
- HR Support
- Sales Support
- Digital Marketing Assistance
- Manufacturing Support
- Customer Support
- Technical Support
- Research Support
- Travel Support
Here is a comprehensive list of tasks you can delegate to your virtual assistant.
General Administration
General admin tasks indirectly support your company in generating revenue. Despite their routine and tedious nature, these indispensable duties are vital for all departments in an organization.
Wasting your core team’s time with these duties will eventually cut into your profits. So don’t disturb your office employees—delegate these general admin tasks to your VA.
A virtual assistant can easily:
- Handle phone calls.
- Write emails and create email templates.
- Delete junk emails.
- Categorize emails as per importance and subject.
- Use calendar management tools like Calendly to schedule meetings.
- Mark holidays and paid leaves.
- Take meeting minutes.
- Conduct in-depth online research.
- Set up an organized e-filing system.
- Organize important digital records like memos, correspondence and client reports.
- Make travel arrangements.
- Address employees’ administrative queries.
- Handle the client relationship management (CRM) software.
- Maintain inventory lists and product listings.
- Create PDFs and presentations.
Executive Assistance
The C-level executives make strategic decisions that take the business forward. Their leadership comes with high-stakes responsibilities. As such, helping them focus becomes a priority for any organization.
Virtual assistants offer invaluable support to senior leaders. Here are the tasks you can offload to them:
- Coordinate projects.
- Follow up with team members.
- Monitor the progress of projects.
- Handle budgets.
- Draft standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- Research and create reports.
Accounting Assistance
Accounting is a technical department that requires the close attention of employees. Managing multiple accounts and invoices can become overwhelming for the department, especially during tax filing season.
A virtual accounting assistant can be leveraged to save time and increase the speed of financial operations. Here are some things they can do:
- Prepare general ledgers for bookkeeping.
- Create invoices.
- Record bills payable and bills receivable.
- Make expense reports.
- Prepare and file taxes for the business.
- Prepare balance sheets.
- Audit the company’s accounts.
- Manage cash flow.
- Budget and forecast.
- Reconcile bank statements.
HR Support
Day-to-day clerical work such as screening resumes can pile up and slow down the human resources department. A virtual assistant can support HR executives and ease their burden.
Here are some tasks VAs can do:
- Screen candidate resumes.
- Recruit new employees.
- Take care of the onboarding process.
- Manage payroll.
- Manage relationships with employees.
- Approve leaves.
- Register employee grievances and take them forward.
- Verify and manage employee records.
- Plan employee engagement activities.
- Set reminders for birthdays and anniversaries.
- Take exit interviews.
Sales Support
The sales department undertakes a crucial business function—lead generation. However, sales executives are burdened by repetitive admin tasks like updating customer databases and organizing deliveries.
When you delegate sales activities, you can increase conversions dramatically. Here are some sales tasks you can hand over to a virtual sales assistant:
- Make cold calls.
- Send cold emails.
- Capture leads.
- Follow up on leads.
- Do research and market analysis.
- Prepare sales reports.
- Do social media sales outreach.
- Manage the CRM.
- Create sales presentations and proposals.
- Train new sales staff.
Digital Marketing Assistance
The digital marketing team efficiently drives sales and expands your reach. A virtual digital marketing assistant will help in creating engaging campaigns and promotions.
Here is a list of services offered by them:
- Create effective marketing campaigns.
- Track campaign performance.
- Maintain online community engagement.
- Understand and implement online analytics.
- Create brand awareness.
- Assist in pay-per-click marketing.
- Research keywords.
- Do competitive analysis.
- Promote the business through SMS, location-based, proximity and in-app marketing.
- Write and send email newsletters with tools like Mailchimp.
- Research, set up and manage affiliate programs.
- Write content for blogs, guest posts, websites and advertisements.
- Create engaging images and descriptions for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn.
- Respond to social media comments.
- Reach out to influencers and coordinate influencer marketing.
- Assist in search engine optimization (SEO) best practices like hashtag optimization, keyword research, meta descriptions, backlinking, etc.
- Repurpose content for multiple platforms.
Manufacturing Support
The backbone of a product-based organization is the manufacturing department. Managing the warehouse team and the production machinery are some major duties of the manufacturing staff.
A virtual assistant can take over the general tasks of this department. Some of their tasks are:
- Manage the warehouse personnel.
- Update machinery software.
- Plan out production unit workflow.
- Ensure smooth supply chain management.
- Deal with procurement.
- Manage the inventory.
- Control production.
- Do accurate capacity planning.
- Ensure safety and compliance.
- Conduct production research and development (R&D).
Customer Support
Global companies find it challenging to handle customer support inquiries from multiple nations. Because there are time zone differences, 24/7 live call and chat support can be impossible with employees in just one location. And in-house services aren’t budget-friendly to begin with.
Hence, hiring a remote customer support assistant can be ideal. Some of these customer support duties are:
- Be available 24/7.
- Respond to live chat messages.
- Answer customer calls.
- Respond to customer emails.
- Resolve replacement and refund requests.
- Collect feedback and testimonials from customers.
Tech Support
Most organizations have gone digital. This increased dependence on cloud computing means that both employees and clients will inevitably face technical issues.
For this reason, a virtual tech support assistant can be hired to resolve any hardware or software issues. Here are the services offered by a tech support virtual assistant:
- Install and configure hardware and software.
- Diagnose and troubleshoot technical issues.
- Identify hardware, software and network solutions.
- Listen to customer tech challenges and provide solutions.
- Follow up with clients and collect feedback.
- Test new technologies.
- Conduct regular electrical safety checks on equipment.
- Ensure data security.
- Create and distribute user manuals for the technical equipment.
Travel Assistance
If your work requires you and your team to travel often, it’s best to get a virtual travel assistant. They will make sure all arrangements are in place on time.
Here’s what a VA can do for you:
- Research travel destinations.
- Organize an itinerary.
- Find the best flights, car rentals and hotels.
- Book travel insurance for all parties.
- Register for events such as conferences and trade shows.
- Inform your clients or colleagues about your travel plans.
- Manage administrative tasks on your behalf while you’re away.
- Manage your schedule to accommodate travel plans.
- Assist you remotely during your trip.
Research Assistance
To keep up with emerging industry trends, you need regular research. However, there is a sea of primary and secondary information available on the internet today. Sifting through the information, organizing it and conducting more surveys—all these steps make research time-consuming.
Consider delegating the following tasks to a virtual research assistant:
- Conduct market research.
- Collect primary data through surveys and interviews.
- Collect secondary data through Internet research.
- Do comparative research.
- Create presentations and documents.
- Summarize and analyze data.
- Do data mining and keyword research.
- Help with research on ChatGPT.
Creative Services
In today’s global economy, you can delegate creative tasks to skilled virtual assistants with expertise in their fields.
Upgrade your team with the latest industry knowledge. Outsource services like podcast production and YouTube video editing to a virtual assistant.
Here are some more examples:
- Design branded graphics using tools like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign and Canva.
- Edit photos in tools like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.
- Edit YouTube vlogs and other videos using tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve.
- Research and communicate with video sponsors.
- Write captions and upload videos.
- Edit podcasts and other audio files using tools like Adobe Audition, Audacity and GarageBand.
- Transcribe audio and upload podcast episodes.
- Create podcast artwork.
- Write scripts and show notes.
- Create animations using tools like Adobe After Effects, Adobe Animate and Animaker.
- Support post-production for all kinds of media.
- Track online promos and affiliate links.
Writing
A company’s content marketing conveys its vision, story and services. Virtual assistants can churn out engaging content promoting the various departments and services of your business.
Some of their duties are:
- Ghostwrite case studies and booklets.
- Write LinkedIn posts.
- Create effective marketing emails.
- Write content for training courses.
- Research relevant topics or events.
- Write scripts for videos.
- Edit and proofread texts.
Arts and Entertainment
Hiring a virtual assistant creates more time to polish your skills as a performer. Arts and entertainment companies can also offload a variety of general admin and field-specific tasks to a virtual assistant.
Here’s what a virtual arts assistant can do for you:
- Research gigs by location, date and availability.
- Organize auditions, rehearsals and screenings.
- Compile a robust list of professional opportunities.
- Set reminders for special events.
- Plan travel itineraries.
- Book airlines, hotels and rental cars.
E-Commerce Support
The booming e-commerce market offers a golden opportunity for companies to expand their customer base and drive business growth. A 2021 report by Insider Intelligence projects exponential growth in e-commerce sales, with the market value reaching $8.14 trillion by 2026.
However, creating and maintaining a seamless e-commerce experience comes with its share of time-consuming tasks.
The best way forward here is to hire a virtual e-commerce assistant who can take on a variety of tasks, such as:
- Set up an e-commerce platform for your business with Amazon Seller, Shopify or AliExpress.
- Create, manage and update your e-commerce catalog.
- Streamline the order processing service.
- Handle product sourcing.
- Manage inventory.
- Ensure timely logistics and shipping.
- Write and update product descriptions.
- Post product listings.
- Interact with customers.
- Record transactions and order processing.
- Compile invoices for taxes.
- Issue returns and refunds
Virtual Receptionist Service
A new lead interacts with a company’s receptionist first—making the receptionist the primary voice of the company. Thus, it is beneficial to polish this first impression.
Hiring a virtual receptionist saves space and time for your organization. A virtual assistant can deal with the following tasks easily:
- Answer calls 24/7.
- Schedule appointments.
- Transfer calls to respective departments/employees.
- Communicate with multilingual clients.
- Take personal calls for executives as well as employees.
Personal Assistance
If you want some relief after a long day at your demanding job, you need a personal assistant.
They can take over every task on your to-do list and make free time for you to relax. With time, you can even trust them to handle tasks involving sensitive information.
Do take time to identify where you need the most support. A virtual assistant cannot help with tasks like picking up your kids from school. On the other hand, an in-person personal assistant might be exactly what you need.
Here is a list of responsibilities of a virtual personal assistant:
- Manage your personal calendar.
- Book home maintenance appointments like house cleaning, landscaping, etc.
- Make personal purchases like gifts for friends and family.
- Pay recurring bills.
- Assist with personal accounting.
- Find flights and hotels for vacations.
- Make dinner reservations.
- Buy movie and concert tickets.
- Assist with personal projects.
Public Relations
In the new media age, individuals and organizations must closely monitor how information gets out to the public.
Controlled distribution of information can take place with the help of a virtual assistant. Here is a list of tasks a virtual PR assistant can do:
- Manage crisis situations for minimal damage.
- Create and execute disaster recovery plans.
- Monitor media reports.
- Manage press releases.
- Organize press conferences.
- Schedule media interviews.
- Create and distribute content.
- Handle social media content creation.
- Attract brand sponsorships.
- Plan for business events.
Real Estate
From builders and real estate agents to homeowners and investors, all key players in the real estate industry are integral to the economy. But uploading listings, applying for permits and hosting open houses can soon become exhausting.
A virtual real estate agent can ease the pressure and yield results faster. Here are a few of their tasks:
- Upload property listings on real-estate platforms.
- Schedule appointments with potential clients.
- Hunt for properties.
- Schedule open houses.
- Place bids.
- Manage rental property.
- Handle mortgage brokers.
- Look for investors using marketing tools.
Healthcare
Healthcare agencies can now deliver personalized healthcare to individual patients virtually. A VA can communicate nutritional requirements, medicine reminders and much more.
Here are more tasks a virtual healthcare assistant can perform to support patients and doctors:
- Schedule appointments.
- Set vaccination reminders.
- Locate healthcare facilities near patients’ residences.
- Order medication and over-the-counter products.
- Manage patient records.
- Verify insurance and process claims.
- Support medical coding and billing.
- Handle patient inquiries and correspondence.
- Facilitate virtual consultations.
- Update notes in patient charts.
- Communicate with patients in remote regions.
Hospitality
A virtual hospitality assistant is a multilingual individual who can be available for your guests 24/7. This continuous availability will be appreciated by you and your guests, especially during the tourist season.
Here are some of the major tasks performed by them:
- Attend reservation inquiries 24/7.
- Make reservations and bookings virtually.
- Offer multilingual support to guests.
- Log room service requests.
- Process digital check-in and check-out.
- Manage hotel operations.
- Perform hotel guest analytics.
- Manage hotel inventory and place orders.
- Collect feedback.
Legal Services
Law firms run at full throttle throughout the year, with lawyers making rounds of courtrooms and government offices. This creates a stressful schedule for lawyers and decreases their work-life balance.
Reducing this admin burden would help lawyers focus on winning cases. A virtual legal assistant can help here. Here is a list of tasks they perform:
- Create filing systems for document management.
- Proofread legal documents.
- Carry out general administrative tasks.
- Conduct legal research for domains like corporate law, family law, immigration, trusts and estates, etc.
- Prepare memos and agreements.
- Write discoveries and pleadings.
- Collect information by conducting interrogatories.
Finance Agencies
As a financial advisor, you know best how much money can be saved and made by hiring a virtual financial assistant.
They ease up the workload of the core employees by taking over non-core tasks. Besides this, they are trained in dealing with general tasks in the finance industry.
Here is a list of duties you can assign to a virtual financial assistant:
- Process insurance filings.
- Manage equity.
- Broker equity trade.
- Assist financial advisors.
- Assist in financial planning.
- Help in investment management.
- Plan retirement strategies.
- Strategize tax optimization.
- Assist with estate planning.
Event Management
Organizing events is super stressful. A virtual assistant can help you fix small issues and find a way around bigger mishaps.
Ready to enjoy your events? Delegate the following tasks to your virtual event management assistant:
- Plan corporate events and retreats.
- Research venues, vendors, caterers, decor providers, floral artists, speakers, performers, musicians, etc.
- Book accommodations, flights & car rentals.
- Meet visa requirements & apply for visas on time.
- Apply for permits.
- Create marketing materials for events like flyers and ads.
- Coordinate printing and mailing invitations & thank you cards.
- Manage RSVPs.
- Record expenses.
- Ensure events stay on budget.
Architecture and Construction
Architecture is a rewarding profession, but this field comes with its share of demanding work.
From specialized tasks like material research to non-core tasks like document filing, virtual architecture assistants can take many items off your to-do list.
Here are more tasks they can perform for you:
- Generate leads through social media and websites.
- Research materials for their suitability in projects.
- Support CAD drafting and design.
- Coordinate projects.
- Edit images and assist in post-production.
- Ensure quality control.
- Maintain procurement efficiency.
- Ensure energy efficiency and sustainability of projects.
- Manage subcontractors.
- File and update documents.
- Apply for building permits with the government.
Education
Whether you are a vocational training institute, a university or an online course creator, you can delegate tedious tasks like maintaining your digital learning system to your VA.
The education industry shapes the minds of future generations. To be able to do this effectively, you can assign the following tasks to your virtual education assistant:
- Offer guidance on course inquiries.
- Handle the registration process.
- Prepare and update course materials, lesson plans and worksheets.
- Create, manage and update the learning management system (LMS).
- Help with citations and formatting.
- Assist students with their grievances.
- Improve communication between students, faculty and staff.
- Plan educational events, such as conferences, workshops and seminars.
- Update public resource materials.
- Manage fee submissions.
Software Development
The software development life cycle is long and complicated. In addition to their core programming activities, most software engineers are expected to do fringe tasks like code testing and updating documentation.
You can streamline your workflow with a virtual software development assistant. Here are some tasks they can do for you:
- Conduct code testing.
- Identify and fix bugs.
- Write documentation.
- Do API Integration.
- Conduct UI/UX testing.
- Assist in project management tasks.
- Do code refactoring and code cleanup.
- Develop WordPress websites.
Fitness and Wellness
The fitness and wellness industry has experienced a boom after the pandemic. More and more people are joining wellness camps or hiring personal fitness coaches.
A virtual fitness and wellness assistant can ensure the well-being of clients as well as coaches. Here is a list of tasks you can delegate:
- Find potential clients through lead-generation strategies.
- Pitch to new leads through emails.
- Register clients and manage their health records.
- Develop health plans for clients.
- Log client data after every workout session.
- Track progress to make reports.
- Manage payments and invoicing.
- Publish educational materials about personal health.
- Create and manage online courses and online live sessions.
- Facilitate professional development of coaches.
- Keep you updated with the latest developments in the industry.
- Organize seminars for health coaches.
Motivational and Public Speakers
Public speakers are powerful changemakers. They deliver moving speeches that influence and motivate the masses. Workplaces, schools and colleges all regularly collaborate with motivational public speakers.
With such demand, the everyday tasks of speakers can pile up. Hire an experienced VA so you can focus on delivering quality content.
Here is a list of tasks they can perform for you:
- Write cover letters to prospective leads.
- Look up opportunities as per location and availability.
- Respond to inquiries from event coordinators promptly.
- Register bookings.
- Write and edit scripts.
- Branch out for media coverage.
Chefs and Restaurants
The restaurant industry has bounced back quickly from the pandemic lows. It’s the go-to choice of people on weekends and special days. So an experienced helping hand is required in the food and beverages industry.
A virtual restaurant assistant proactively takes charge of multiple tasks, including:
- Conduct food cost management and analysis.
- Order ingredients and other items.
- Manage logistics such as sound, guest list and invitations for special events.
- Publicize events through social media and online promotions.
- Manage back-end food delivery logistics.
- Offer live support to customers and delivery agents.
Talent Agencies
Performers build successful careers with the assistance of talent agencies.
To effectively serve a large client base and smoothen operations, talent agencies can offload their general admin and field-specific tasks to a virtual assistant.
Here are the responsibilities of a virtual talent agency assistant:
- Prepare audition and casting schedules.
- Pitch and submit audition clips on casting platforms.
- Mail confirmations or replacement notices to talents.
- Handle contract negotiations with casting teams.
- Coordinate with casting directors and producers.
- Arrange travel plans including transportation, hotel reservations, meals, etc.
- Review scripts.
- Manage public relations (PR) of talents.
- Facilitate career development of talents
Sports Agencies
From coaches to athletes, all parties involved in the sports industry can benefit a great deal from hiring a virtual assistant.
VAs can take care of your admin tasks, letting you focus on building strength and physical competence in your sport.
A virtual sports assistant can:
- Send out selection trial notices.
- Coordinate road trips including transportation, hotel reservations, meals, etc.
- Find health trainers for athletes.
- Respond to inquiries.
- Acquire sponsorships.
- Secure media partnerships.
- Do personal branding of athletes.
- Handle athletes’ social media accounts.
- Produce press reports for distribution.
- Promote the agency through online ad campaigns.
Nonprofit Virtual Assistant
Nonprofit organizations serve many domains including education, disaster relief and environmental sustainability. Humanity’s holistic development rests on the shoulders of nonprofits.
To improve the quality and effectiveness of their missions, nonprofit organizations can hire a virtual nonprofit assistant.
Here are the tasks they can help you with:
- Manage the nonprofit board.
- Assess the fund requirements for specific initiatives.
- Organize online fundraising events.
- Keep track of monetary donations and donors.
- Maintain a database of material donations.
- Reach out to regular donors and ensure a smooth process.
- Promote the cause through social media.
- Maintain financial records.
- Onboard and manage volunteers.
Conclusion
To scale your business, you need to segregate critical profit-generating tasks from secondary tasks.
Leveraging a virtual assistant for your time-consuming admin tasks is a clear path to success. Zenius helps you find a skilled VA with ease.
Exceptional talent from India can seamlessly become a part of your team. We take care of the recruitment and training process, freeing up your time even before you’ve started working with the assistant.
Our transparent, hassle-free process will make sure that the virtual assistant will be an asset to your company from day one.