virtual assistant (VA)

A virtual assistant( VA) is an independent contractor, a freelancer who works on a job-by-job basis from their home office or a shared office. Virtual assistants work for multiple companies and for a wide variety of industries. They often have years of experience working for companies.

For companies, virtual assistants have the advantages that they are only requested when needed, their costs are easy to calculate, they do not appear on company payrolls, consequently the company does not have to pay social security contributions, and they do not have a workstation in the company. They must be flexible and are given specifications that ensure that the order is completed on time. To collaborate with the companies, they can access databases or platforms with cloud computing.

Virtual assistants exist for many jobs. This starts with accounting, continues with administrative tasks, touches on marketing and acquisition, and extends to constructive and supervisory tasks. On the web, there are portals offering jobs for virtual assistants. In addition to human assistants, chatbots - programs that simulate human conversation - are also used as virtual assistants.