VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS VS. DIGITAL ASSISTANCE: WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU BE USING?

Virtual Assistants VS

Digital Assistance: Which One Should You Be Using?

All business owners, company directors or executives need a little help getting through their work day. It is estimated that the average office worker will spend at least two hours of their working day responding to emails, returning phone calls and actioning enquiries. This is where assistants step in - they can take care of administrative tasks, freeing up time, which allows workers to actually do their jobs without distractions.

In the good old days (and in many cases still today) businesses relied on Personal Assistants to help cut through the workload; an extra worker in the office providing an extra brain and an extra pair of hands to get the job done. The world today however, is constantly changing and new technology is being introduced at rapid speed, meaning that businesses now have greater options when it comes to workplace assistance. No longer do they need a physical body in the office to help reply to emails and to answer phone calls.

This is where virtual assistants and digital assistance step in.

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT?

Virtual Assistants are real people but rather than working in the office alongside you, they work remotely, often from another country. As they work remotely your primary means of

communication with them is via technology with them using a combination of online options such as email, sms messaging, Skype or chat services to accomplish the tasks that a personal assistant would. Basically a virtual assistant combines the best of the human element of having a personal assistant with the benefits of digital assistance.

Benefits of a Virtual Assistant:

Lower cost than a PA Usually freelance workers who typically have greater flexibility than office workers Higher availability than traditional assistants Do not take up office space Are humans capable of interpreting and understanding specific requests Add a human touch Able to interpret language Are able to multitask

Negatives of a Virtual Assistant:

They are humans who still have human needs like sleep, sick days, toilet and lunch breaks – essentially meaning that they are not available 24/7 May have potential scheduling conflicts They are humans requiring ongoing payment for services rendered

WHAT IS DIGITAL ASSISTANCE?

Digital Assistance is non-human help which is entirely virtual and which relies exclusively on artificial intelligence. Most of us who have a smart phone are already using digital assistance in some way. Aids like Siri, Alexa and Google Play are all forms of Digital Assistance.

respond to commands. For many everyday tasks such as scheduling events, making notes and searching for information, Digital Assistance can be very convenient and highly efficient. Because this form of assistance is non-human, it means that the service can be accessed any time of the day or night. The down side to this however is that because it is non human there might be challenges interpreting speech and understanding command phrases and questions.

Benefits of digital assistance:

Convenient One-off cost and no ongoing salaries No human needs Available 24/7 Low maintenance Difficulty understanding human speech Limited ability to interpret tasks or requests Not able to multitask Unable to manage multiple calendars Not human so will not provide empathy

WHICH ONE IS BETTER FOR YOUR NEEDS?

Deciding if your business would best benefit from a virtual assistant or digital assistance is a very individual and personal choice. You need to identify what it is that you need specific help with and weigh up the pros and cons of each option. You need to factor in what benefits you are likely to receive from a Virtual Assistant as opposed to Digital Assistance and compare these with the negatives that come with each one and work out the best fit for your specific business. It might even be that you use a combination of both.

Essentially the decision will come down to three main factors:

1.Cost 2.Convenience 3.Efficiency

When weighing up these factors, it is essential that you look at the actual value that your business will receive from each one. Having a Digital Assistant available 24 hours a day seven days a week is really convenient, but if your business involves specific communication that could prove to be challenging for a non-human assistant, the benefits you receive from the convenience of it might be overshadowed by the frustrations you feel by continued misinterpretation.

Ultimately, the decision of a Virtual Assistant vs. Digital Assistance will come down to which one proves to be the best fit for your specific business.