Administrative Outsourcing Glossary

Secretarial services predate Virtual Assistance by more than a few years. Although the latter is an evolution of the former, it is important to understand that the concepts are uniquely distinct from one another. The fundamental difference between Virtual Assistance and secretarial services is the business model and platform of service delivery. In Virtual Assistance, the continuous relationship is key.

Foremost is the idea that while secretarial services are involved in the business of task-oriented work where they don't know the client or his/her business well, and only work together on a one-time or occasional project basis, Virtual Assistants are personally involved in ongoing, deeply collaborative relationships with their clients.

Below are some definitions to help you understand some of the related fields and terminology that often appear to be the same as Virtual Assistance, but are actually quite different. Being an informed consumer will help you look for exactly the kind of service provider you need.

Freelancer

A freelancer is someone who provides occasional, transient services, and often has not formally set up an actual business. Freelancers typically work a regular job, and only provide their services doing sporadic project work. A freelancer's interest and commitment is more along the lines of "making extra money on the side" to supplement their primary employment income.

A drawback here is that without an actual business in place, a freelancer's commitment and interest or continued support beyond the project is often transient as well. It's difficult for business owners to establish any meaningful, long-term investment in a freelancer because the minute the freelancer's life/interests/priorities/circumstances change, he or she disappears or becomes unreliable.

Personal Assistant (or PA; related to Concierge/Errand Services)

A personal assistant is another kind of service provider that is often confused with a Virtual Assistant. While personal assistants may or may not work on an ongoing retained basis, their focus is on personal or concierge type errands rather than administrative services. This is the professional needed when you want your dry-cleaning picked up, your gift shopping done, a wine researched or restaurant reservations made, for example. It is not typical of Virtual Assistants to provide this scope of personal service as they are not related to business or administrative work.

Secretarial Service

This business model can be compared to a print shop, where work is project-based and "dropped off" either virtually or at an actual brick-and-mortar office to be completed on a one-time basis. "Projects" and "tasks" are the operative words here. These businesses are usually either solo operated or staffed businesses with several employees. Often, they are also very highly specialized. Example: Transcription services where nothing but transcription/word processing is the focus. The difference here is that the service is a line-item commodity, rather than the more valuable, across-the-board administrative support that a Virtual Assistant provides.

Telecommuter

Unlike Virtual Assistants, a telecommuter is an employee (also called remote worker) who works for a company from home providing services to the company's clients (not their own). Sometimes telecomuters are workers for virtual staffing or "team VA" businesses, which are just like brick-and-mortar temp agencies. Telecommuters are legally subject to the employment laws and employer tax obligations of the land.

The drawbacks with telecommuters, again, are that they are working for someone else—not you. You have no real relationship with them. Their loyalty is to the company paying them, and the minute their interests/priorities/circumstances change, the equity that has been built into their knowledge of your business and operations evaporates into thin air and you have to start over with someone else. Additionally, you won't commonly find the higher calibre of skills and knowledge, not to mention commitment, in a telecommuter that you would in a Virtual Assistant.

Another hazard is that sometimes telecommuters are erroneously paid like independent contractors. Business owners who make that mistake expose themselves to very real, costly consequences by not following the letter of the law when it comes to working with and paying employees. Don't make the mistake of thinking you are going to hire an under-the-table virtual employee you don't pay taxes on. If you expect to work with someone like an employee, you are legally required to pay them as such, and that includes all the required employer obligations of Social Security, Medicare, unemployment, workers' compensation, etc.

Virtual Staffing Agency

This model is similar to a temp agency, there being no real difference except that the workers are virtual, rather than onsite. In this model, the business attracts the clients, and the workers perform the work. Right now, these businesses pay their workers as independent contractors. However, it is foreseeable in the near future that they will be required to classify their workers as employees and deduct and pay appropriate taxes.

In this model, project work is often involved although some agencies offer a sort of "pseudo" relationship on a retained basis. Drawbacks here are that workers are commonly underskilled and underpaid, and are beholden to the company and not the client. Most are only interested in making "a little extra money" and not running their own business, and therefore offer business owners no real investment or commitment.

Virtual Professional

Sometimes also called virtual consultant or virtual associate. This is a generic, umbrella term used to denote any kind of professional who happens to work virtually. So while web designers, bookkeepers, Virtual Assistants, etc., may all fall under the uncategorized term of virtual professional, not all virtual professionals are Virtual Assistants, which is its own specific niche designation of administrative experts.

Virtual Assistant (or VA)

Virtual Assistants are administrative experts in the profession known as Virtual Assistance. They specialize in providing ongoing administrative support to clients they work with in long-term, collaborative relationship. Virtual Assistants are typically solo operators, sometimes partnerships, who work primarily on a retained basis. This is due to the closely collaborative nature of the relationship which is necessary to evolve the efficiencies, understanding and intimate familiarity with their clients' businesses and goals.

This model is the best choice for administrative pros who want to be self-employed practicing the administrative work they love without the people management and larger resource headaches that project-oriented services inherently require.

Virtual Assistants are the best fit for clients who don't have the time, space or large enough workload for employees, but still want and need someone to be their right-hand; someone who can get to know them and the business, and can proactively contribute to achieving objectives and getting things done beyond simply performing tasks. True Virtual Assistants operate on this platform. This is their chosen profession and they run legitimate, fully committed businesses.

Ready to Work with a Qualified Virtual Assistant professional?

You start by seeking the service of a qualified Virtual Assistant professional, of course! Find yourself a great Virtual Assistant today, and go from struggling by yourself to getting things done and thriving on the road to success. Here's to getting your relationship with a fabulous, qualified Virtual Assistant professional off to a great start!

All of these services are completely FREE for you to use.

SURVEY: What Are Your Administrative Challenges? >>

Rate It!
Was this information helpful to you? Give us your rating: