Back in the 1970s, every sizeable business had it’s typing pool which would churn-out a stream of template-based correspondence.
At a somewhat higher-level, the typical Secretary would attend meetings, take notes and generate the resulting paperwork directly.
As office-based computers automated most of the mundane tasks, the bog-standard copy typist largely disappeared and the Secretary evolved into the rather more ‘entrepreneurial’ Personal Assistant who was generally competent in handling all aspects of office administration.
The only problem was that highly-skilled PAs were difficult to find and the cost of hiring on a full-time basis put them beyond the reach of many small businesses.
Fortunately, the increasing power of the internet has given us the Virtual Assistant who can take-on most of the PA role with a few notable omissions such as making the coffee.
Virtual Assistants work primarily by phone and over the internet, using tools such as email, instant messaging and on-line diary management.
Most importantly, they can be hired by the hour.
Case Study
Amanda Wharton, who lives in Stockton-on-Tees, had around 20 years of secretarial experience when she became a victim of ‘downsizing’ just over a year ago.
As this was her second experience of redundancy, Amanda decided to set up her own business which offers secretarial and administrative services on a ‘virtual’ basis.
As luck would have it, demand for these services has been quite good so she has now organised a group of friends and former colleagues who are also available to work on a virtual basis for one reason and another.
Although Amanda’s company will happily take-on basic typing and data entry jobs, most clients tend to use them for rather more-challenging assignments:
Diary Management: Using the collaborative features of Microsoft Outlook, Amanda organises diaries and meetings for several Company Directors.
Sales Analysis: Working directly with sales figures submitted by email, Amanda collates these to produce a monthly sales analysis presented as an Excel spreadsheet.
Correspondence and Reports: As most managers now tend to generate their own letters, emails and reports, Amanda finds herself performing more of a ‘Quality Assurance’ function to ensure that outgoing correspondence is coherent, presentable and grammatically correct.
She also performs a traditional ‘secretarial’ role in dealing with incoming mail.
Basic Bookkeeping: Although Amanda is currently studying for an (AAT) accountancy qualification, this service is really aimed at the small business where there is not enough work to support a full-time book-keeper and not enough money to pay accountants’ fees for the basic functions of ledger posting, PAYE and VAT returns.The company’s bookkeeping services are currently based on Sage accounting software but spreadsheet-based accounts can be set up for businesses with simpler requirements.
Staff Training: Inevitably, the virtual model doesn’t meet every client requirement and Amanda occasionally finds herself ‘on site’ for the purpose of setting-up basic office systems and training local staff in the use of software such as MS-Office.
Providing a virtual service does require some adjustment of traditional working practices which is why Amanda recently found herself on a beach, in Fuerteventura, dealing with email correspondence in her bikini.
In the virtual world, there is no clear distinction between work and play.
More Information: www.totallyadmin.com
