Are you unsure if your business needs either a virtual administrative assistant or an office manager? If yes, then this article is for you. Read on and understand the various duties and major differences between the two roles.
Hiring an additional team member for any business is a big decision. The person assigned to handle the hiring process is responsible for identifying the specific business needs, creating a detailed job description, and scheduling interviews with multiple candidates. The whole process sometimes takes too much time. According to a blog published online by Wharton, the average hiring process lasts three to six weeks.
Investing time and resources to find the ideal candidate is important because business owners should feel confident that they can trust any newly hired team member. Moreover, productivity will improve if all the team members can rely on each other’s capability to accomplish delegated tasks.
If you have a growing business and thinking of onboarding additional team members, an office manager and a virtual administrative assistant are two of the most commonly sought-after talents. They can provide support to your company, while you focus on acquiring more clients and generating more income.
What Is An Office Manager?
JOB DESCRIPTION
An office manager is the person responsible for overseeing the daily operations of a company and its various departments. According to Indeed, the duties of a manager include communicating with department heads, relaying important information or policy changes from upper management, and implementing incentives to enhance employee productivity.
QUALIFICATIONS
Glassdoor said an office manager is expected to have attained a bachelor’s degree in business administration, communications, or any related field. Moreover, any managerial job position requires at least two years of work experience. A manager should have a professional background in an administrative or management role.
If you are a business owner planning to hire an office manager, you should look for the following skills:
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
- Detail-oriented to ensure tasks are completed thoroughly and correctly
- Exceptional problem-solving and analytical abilities
- Proficient in using Microsoft Office, and other necessary software and programs
- Leadership capability to manage challenges and oversee employees
TASKS
A manager can accomplish several tasks including overseeing and supporting administrative duties to ensure that the office is operating smoothly and counseling any employees struggling in their roles.
As a business owner, you can also delegate to an office manager tasks like answering phones, managing emails from clients and directing them to relevant staff, monitoring supplies and ordering new stationery, furniture, appliances, and electronics as required, and developing office policies and procedures, and ensure they are implemented appropriately, and managing the schedules of staff.
WORK ARRANGEMENT
An office manager typically works on-site. If you are looking for an employee who can physically come to the office to oversee daily operations and manage logistics, a manager is what you are looking for. They commonly work on hours aligned with the operating hours of the business.
What Is A Virtual Administrative Assistant?
JOB DESCRIPTION
A virtual administrative assistant is a person responsible for increasing overall productivity or streamlining processes in one specific area of your business. VAs can accomplish a broad range of tasks depending on the needs of your business, from administrative to bookkeeping to social media management.
QUALIFICATIONS
According to Indeed, virtual administrative assistants are expected to have attained a high school diploma or GED. However, in some specific roles, a bachelor’s degree is preferred. Depending on the level of difficulty of tasks to be delegated, the number of years of relevant experience required may vary from no experience to five years of work experience.
If you are a business owner planning to hire a virtual administrative assistant, you should look for the following skills:
- Excellent writing and verbal communication
- Exceptional organizational skills
- Ability to complete tasks with little supervision, and time management skills
- Must have a high-functioning computer, and other gadgets; and a reliable internet connection
- Strong attention to details
In order to provide the best service and competent administrative support, a virtual assistant must be familiar with the latest workplace technologies:
- VoIP
- Google Calendar, and other online calendar management and scheduling programs
- Hubstaff, and other tracking software
- Slack, and other instant messaging app
- Zoom, and other video conferencing apps
- Xero, and other accounting and bookkeeping software
- LastPass, and other password management programs
- Google Drive, and other file-sharing programs
- Hootsuite, and other social media management platforms
- Asana, and other project management software
- Google Trends, and other market research platforms
TASKS
Virtual assistants are commonly known for providing general administrative assistance. With their flexible skills and talents, VAs can perform several administrative tasks including answering phone calls, organizing files, and coordinating complex calendars. Other dedicated virtual assistants have specialized skills and professional backgrounds related to healthcare, education, travel and hospitality, and accounting and finance.
Different industries have different demands. An administrative virtual assistant in the information technology sector is commonly responsible for web development, website maintenance, and writing and testing the code for computer applications and software programs. In another industry, a virtual executive assistant for business related to personal services can provide calendar support, utilize Google Docs and Google Sheets for scheduling clients, handle booking appointments, process refunds, and manage social media accounts.
The healthcare industry has also been known to delegate repetitive and administrative tasks to virtual assistants. A virtual assistant with experience in healthcare can efficiently assist in medical coding, data entry, reviewing medical records of patients, translating information into codes for insurance processing, confirming treatments with medical staff, identifying missing or wrong information, and submitting forms to insurers for reimbursement.
Two other sectors that benefit from hiring virtual administrative assistants are Real Estate, and Accounting and Financial. Virtual assistants hired in these industries are skilled in conducting data entry and data quality research, creating expense reports and other financial documents, preparing payroll and customer spreadsheets, and coordinating meetings. Moreover, they can also perform bookkeeping duties, secure confidential information from clients, and utilize accounting software.
WORK ARRANGEMENT
One notable difference between an employee hired for office management and an administrative virtual assistant is the work arrangement. While an office manager works on-site, a virtual assistant does their job remotely. Moreover, virtual administrative assistants commonly work from a different time zone. Despite the remote work arrangement, an administrative virtual assistant still accomplishes their tasks in a timely manner.
Will Your Business Benefit If You Hire A Virtual Administrative Assistant?
Remote Raven offers offsite support to any business owner who seeks assistance with office management and wants to re-focus their energy on more important matters. The company has professional talent acquisition managers who thoroughly vet all candidates. Virtual assistants affiliated with Remote Raven are tech-savvy, possess essential skills, and are highly qualified professionals who can provide general administrative support and more. Depending on your specific support needs, Remote Raven can make the hiring process easier by creating a detailed job description and taking on the responsibility of finding the right virtual assistant for you and your business.
A professional administrative virtual assistant can take on several responsibilities including monitoring phone calls, managing travel arrangements, email management, web research, social media management, chat support, data entry, and other administrative support needs.
If your business needs an administrative virtual assistant, either as a full-time employee or freelancer, contact Remote Raven and start the process of hiring a virtual assistant today.
