Virtual Assistant Services List: What You Get and What You Do Not

Virtual assistants (VAs) have become popular due to their ability to reduce administrative costs, improve productivity, and free up executives’ time for higher-value work.

Unfortunately, many people hiring VAs use only simple virtual assistant service lists that often fail to explain the real scope of what virtual assistants actually do, and more importantly, what they do not do. 

This article explores what is typically included in a virtual assistant service list, what most lists overlook, and what differentiates executive-level support from typical VA tasks. 

TL;DR – Virtual Assistant Services List

A typical virtual assistant service list includes tasks such as:

1. Administrative support, including email management, travel planning, calendar management, and file organization.
2. Customer support, where a VA will respond to your customers’ inquiries, provide live chat support, and update customer databases. 
3. Project management and coordination, which involves organizing, tracking, and executing tasks to ensure successful project completion.
4. Research, which involves conducting market analysis, gathering data, and providing analysis to support the executive’s decisions.
5. Content creation and social media management that involve creating content to market your brand and interacting with users to ensure they understand the value your company offers.
6. Data entry and database management, which involve accurately inputting data into data management systems. 

Continue reading for an in-depth review of how these roles support executives to perform their strategic roles.

What to Know Before You Hire a Virtual Assistant

Understanding what VA services include is the key to choosing the best virtual assistant company for high-quality executive support. It also helps you manage expectations about the quality of support you receive and the impact on your strategic tasks.

Here are the essential points to keep in mind when looking to partner with a VA:

• Virtual Assistants Have Varying Skills: The term virtual assistant encompasses a wide range of professionals. Most people are familiar with virtual assistants that offer administrative support. However, some virtual assistants offer specialized support. For example, a VA may have marketing experience and can help you create campaigns that promote your business. 
• Communication is Crucial: Since virtual assistants work remotely, it is vital to establish clear communication protocols to ensure seamless information flow. Determine the communication tools your VA should use. For example, you can use Slack for urgent messaging and emails for less urgent communication. 
• Time Zones: If you need real-time support, it is advisable to hire a VA in your time zone. On the other hand, if real-time support is not necessary, the time zone can vary, helping your business achieve 24/7 productivity. In the event of a significant time difference, you must establish a minimum overlap period to accommodate meetings and check-ins.
• Security and Confidentiality: VAs often handle sensitive information, including customer data, financial records, and internal documents that can harm a company’s performance if leaked. Therefore, once hired, ensure the VA signs an NDA and a strong service agreement that addresses confidentiality, data protection protocols in line with regulations such as GDPR, and data access protocols, including password management.
• Tasks Clarification: Create detailed job descriptions outlining the specific roles your VA will handle. This will significantly reduce friction between you and the VA, especially if you intend to partner with them long-term.
• Establishing Fit: Ensure the VA you intend to hire is proficient with the executive assistant tools you use in your business. That includes communication tools such as Slack, work management tools such as Asana, and customer relationship management tools (CRM) such as HubSpot. Additionally, you should provide a paid 1- or 2-week trial period to assess the VA’s work ethic, communication style, time management, and task mastery.

Virtual Assistant Services List

VA services are ever evolving to adapt to changes in executive needs and technological advancements. As such, it is essential to stay up to date on them so you know what to expect.

The following breakdown highlights what’s typically included in these services:

1. Administrative Support

Administrative tasks are the foundation of most virtual assistant services. A typical VA will help you: 

• Schedule your meetings and appointments
• Get your email inbox under control
• Organize digital files
• Prepare reports and documents
• Create presentations
• Plan traveling logistics
• Provide meeting reminders and follow-ups

Handling these tasks helps executives and business owners stay organized and focus on strategic work.

2. Customer Support

A VA can help you handle customer communications to enhance and maintain your brand’s image and to build a loyal client base. 

Some of the customer service tasks you can delegate to a VA include: 

• Responding to support emails
• Handling live chat inquiries
• Processing customer feedback
• Managing support tickets
• Updating customer databases

A VA who handles customer support professionally will shorten response times to customer inquiries, thereby improving customer satisfaction.

3. Project Management and Coordination

A VA can help you organize, track, and execute tasks starting from project initiation to its completion. Some of the roles a VA can undertake include:

• Monitoring progress using project management software
• Coordinating communications between team members
• Setting up meetings and providing regular updates 
• Maintaining and storing project documentation 
• Preparing milestone reports

Essentially, a VA ensures nothing falls through the cracks during the project implementation while executives and business owners focus on core responsibilities.

4. Research

The best VAs undertake research and report writing roles to support their executive’s decisions. 

The research could focus on the following areas:

• Market research
• Competitor analysis
• Vendor sourcing
• Product comparisons
• Data collection

Additionally, your VA could use the research findings to prepare briefing notes, so you don’t join meetings with stakeholders blindly.

5. Content Creation and Social Media Management

VAs with experience in digital marketing can help you create blog posts, social media posts, videos, newsletters, and other marketing materials to boost engagement with your online audience. 

Other related tasks a VA can perform include:

• Blog formatting and publishing
• Email marketing setup
• Basic SEO research 
• Content calendar management
• Editing and proofreading content

This VA role is especially essential for brands that rely on social media to generate leads and direct prospective clients to their websites.

6. Data Entry and Database Management

Many businesses rely on virtual assistants to input and update records or manage databases. Some of the tasks that fall within data entry include:

• Updating CRM systems
• Spreadsheet maintenance
• Contact list management
• Data migration
• Report compilation

These tasks may seem simple, but finding a VA that has a keen eye for detail is vital to ensuring data accuracy.

What the Virtual Assistant Services List Does Not Tell You

Virtual assistant service lists often highlight the primary VA roles, but often leave out what they can’t do, or that it will cost you extra to access some benefits.  

Here is a list of things virtual assistant services do not tell you:

• The Actual Client-to-Assistant Ratio: VA services lists rarely disclose how many clients the assistant you hire is currently supporting, and how many they might support in the future. This means you might end up onboarding an overwhelmed VA, resulting in ineffective support. 
• The VA’s True Experience: A simple service list may not highlight their years of experience, industry-specific knowledge, and intangible skills, such as problem-solving and communication, which usually impact the quality of support you will receive.
• Response Times: Service lists often claim that their VAs are available 24/7 and respond within minutes, which is unrealistic given that they will be supporting other principals simultaneously.
• Hidden Costs: On paper, VA services often seem affordable, but this is until you factor in additional costs for accessing “premium features,” such as after-hours support and faster response times.

Executive Assistant Services That Go Beyond a Typical VA List

Executive assistants often operate at a higher level than the standard VAs. They are proactive and provide strategic support to multiply their executive’s performance. 

At ProAssisting, we call these EA roles performance multipliers because they help executives focus on strategic roles while also reclaiming their time for better work-life balance.

Below is a list of executive assistant services that are often not provided by traditional VAs:

• Business Partner: You can empower your EA to learn about your business, including how you think and how you’d make decisions in different contexts. This makes your EA the perfect person to share your business ideas with and request their unique perspective.
• Chief of Staff: As an executive, you’ll always have multiple stakeholders looking to meet you. Unfortunately, you cannot give everyone an audience, which is where your EA serves as your chief of staff. They can function as your primary contact person, determining who can actually reach you, so that you aren’t overwhelmed.
• Scheduler: EAs have strong scheduling skills beyond basic calendar management (booking appointments). They can manage timeslots on your calendar, including shifting schedules based on changing priorities.
• Personal Assistant: The best EAs help their executives manage their lives outside work, so as not to interfere with their professional performance. This could include running personal errands, such as organizing birthday parties or planning family vacations.
• Project Manager: Exceptional EAs have the skills to oversee projects from start to finish without requiring your input unless it’s mandatory. For example, they can organize stakeholder retreats, including planning flights, organizing airport pickups, and making hotel reservations.

Need integrated executive support, while maintaining the virtual model?

Hire a remote executive assistant.

Our ProAssistants have at least 5 years of experience supporting executives and C-suite leaders at reputable brands such as Pandora, Oracle, and Comcast. Additionally, they can undertake up to 95% of the tasks done by in-office assistants, at 50-80% less than the hiring cost.

Schedule a one-on-one call to discover how our ProAssistants can support your strategic goals.

Finding the Right Remote Executive Assistant Company

Partnering with a company that provides the best virtual assistant services in an experienced Executive assistant involves evaluating specific business needs, service offerings, pricing, and client reviews. Conduct thorough research and consider trial periods before committing to a service. Read our guide on choosing the best virtual assistant company for more insights.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below are answers to common questions executives ask about virtual assistant service lists:

Are Virtual Assistant Services Suitable for CEOs?

Yes. Virtual assistant services are suitable for CEOs, as they can handle administrative and operational tasks, such as scheduling, email management, and research. 

However, many CEO needs EA support for integrated life management to help them reclaim their time. 

What Virtual Assistant Services Are Not Worth Outsourcing?

Virtual assistant services that aren’t worth outsourcing include high-level strategic planning and data handling involving confidential information.

These roles are better suited for executive assistants because they provide deep institutional knowledge that enables them to have a strategic impact on their principals’ performance.

Additionally, they have strong confidentiality skills and understand the significance of handling sensitive information discreetly.

What Should Be Included in a Virtual Assistant Service Agreement?

A virtual assistant service agreement should provide guidelines for the client-assistant relationship.

That includes a scope of work defining responsibilities and deliverables, payment terms (payment structure and frequency), communication expectations (response time and communication tools), and confidentiality clauses.

Conclusion

A virtual assistant service list can help you determine whether you need VA support and what to expect. However, do not forget that most VA service lists oversimplify the job descriptions and may fail to highlight their experience, availability, and the true cost of accessing premium support.

As such, busy executives and C-suites should avoid the risks and uncertainties that come with partnering with a VA. 

The alternative? Onboarding an EA who understands how their quality support drives strategic impact for the executive role. 

At ProAssisting, we help principals partner with remote executive assistants who have experience supporting CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs. Our model also allows you to scale your support to your executive needs, using ⅓, ½, or ⅔ of an EA’s capacity.

Book a free call to explore suitable support options for your executive role.