Virtual Assistant or Project Manager...Define the Differences
Kathy Dobson
With outsourcing on the rise today, it is very easy to confuse the job descriptions of outsourcers who will be working for you. For instance, some people are confused whether they need a project manager or a virtual assistant. This is very common since project manager duties overlap those of a virtual assistant. In order for you to distinguish whether you need a virtual assistant or a project manager, read on.
Project Manager Duties
Basically, the role of a project manager is to oversee all the goals, milestones, and processes of the project to ensure its timely and cost-effective completion. As the facilitator of the project, you can expect a project manager to wear many hats.
Duties of a project manager include setting up and running meetings, planning and execution, preparing reports and presenting it to the management, determining required resources, assigning tasks, and interviewing candidates. From these tasks, it is quite obvious to see that a project manager needs to communicate all the time in different forms.
But a project manager's duties go beyond doing. A project manager has many duties, not the least of which is that he must be able to think and motivate others to complete their jobs. Apart from this, he must have an open mind so he can learn new things that will help improve their business processes and maximize their human resources.
Virtual Assistant Duties
A virtual assistant, on the other hand, is considered as an independent contractor that offers specific services to your business. Often, a virtual assistant functions just like your secretary, but they carry out the tasks you assign from a home office, using their own computer, phone, and internet connection.
A VA's duties may include managing customer and contact lists, taking care of the billing and accounting issues, creating and sending out e-newsletters, dealing with setting appointments, handling correspondence, handling client questions and transcribing business documents. You can also hire virtual assistants with a specific skill set such as content generation, link building, website set up and design, etc.
For seamless work relationships, a virtual assistant must be a team player, be determined to see his clients succeed, have a basic understanding of the different business processes into play in their organization, be willing to accept and correct mistakes, and have good organizational and grammar skills.
By knowing the specific duties a project manager and a virtual assistant have, the distinction between their roles become clearer. Your current needs will determine if you need a virtual assistant or a project manager. The question you need to ask yourself is if you need to hire some assistance in certain areas of your business or if you want/need someone to manage your other outsourced workers.
Your answer will reveal to you which outsourcer you need to hire that would be a benefit to your business.
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