Niche Focused vs. Multi-Skilled VAs… Which is Best?

Choosing to work with a virtual assistant and offload some of your more time-consuming tasks could be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make for your day-to-day working life.

However, in order to ensure you’re really squeezing the most value from a support service like this, it’s important to make sure you’re bringing in the best type of virtual assistant for you and your business. What many don’t realise is that there’s no such thing as a ‘standard’ VA; there are many different types of VA that you could work with. 

What to Consider When Choosing a Virtual Assistant

There are many things to consider when choosing what type of virtual assistant to bring onboard, and one of the most important considerations is skills and expertise.

Some organisations choose to work with virtual assistants who possess very niche skills; they are highly experienced and focused in specific areas of business. For example, if there is an urgent need to have more resources in customer service during a very busy period, working with a service-focused virtual assistant obviously has clear benefits. 

But is a niche-focused virtual assistant always the right choice? While there are certainly advantages, many businesses will usually find that selecting a virtual assistant with multiple and flexible skill sets can help them to derive more value from the investment. 

Here are a few reasons why:

• Flexibility
  While you may hire a virtual assistant to help out with a specific project, you may find that new tasks pop up along the way that your VA doesn’t have the skills needed to complete with confidence. You may also find that, once a project has been completed, you could benefit from keeping your VA longer to assist in other areas of the business. While it’s vital that a virtual assistant has the specific skills needed for the tasks you initially have in mind, a flexible VA could bring more value in the long term.
  

• Cost 
  If you decide to bring in a different virtual assistant to focus on each specific task that you want to delegate, you’ll find that the costs of creating your VA team can build up quickly. In fact, bringing in a team of virtual assistants could end up costing more than making a permanent hire! When choosing a multi-skilled VA who can work on different projects, and across multiple areas of the business, you may find that you’re able to hire fewer resources than you first thought, especially if you manage their time effectively. 
  

• Consistency
  One of the biggest downsides of working with multiple virtual assistants with a niche focus is that each VA is different, and works in different ways. For example, if you bring in one VA for social media management, and one VA for customer service, you may find that there’s not much consistency in your tone of voice or communications between the two areas; customers have different experiences across different platforms. Working with one multi-skilled VA can completely eradicate this problem. 
  

• Communication
  Communicating with a virtual assistant who has experience in just a single area of business can be challenging if you’re not especially well versed in that specific area. To communicate effectively in this instance, it may be necessary to involve different leaders from different areas of the organisation, who can all communicate messages to VAs skilled in their own area. Working with a virtual assistant with a broader knowledge base, you may find it easier to share ideas with your VA efficiently. 
  

• Productivity
  Ultimately, the most significant benefit of working with a multi-skilled VA is productivity. Possessing many different skills and talents, a multi-skilled virtual assistant is more likely to bring end-to-end value to each project and task set, contributing right through from start to finish for a completely seamless approach. While a niche-focused VA may be able to provide greater input into specific areas, sticking points and delays can occur as one VA hands off to another, and so on, impacting overall productivity.

What’s Best?

Every person - and every business - will have different needs, preferences, and requirements, and the most important thing of all is to work with a virtual assistant who’s the right fit for you. In some cases, this may mean working with a virtual assistant who is highly skilled in a very niche area of business. And in other cases, it may mean working with a virtual assistant who comes from a broader background. However, if you’re unsure which option to choose, it’s always worth starting out with a multi-skilled VA who has the experience and flexibility to take on a wide range of tasks as required.