By Kathy Dobson
Copyright
(c) 2010
http://www.empoweredoutsourcing.com/EmpoweredOutsourcing.html
With the explosion of business owners on the Internet, outsourcing is on the rise.
Without a firm description of Project Manager or virtual assistant it is very
easy to overlap the duties of these two positions. Whether you need a VA or a
Project Manager this article will help you distinguish between the two.
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 settingappointments, 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. Ask yourself if you need to hire someone
to oversee your projects and manage your other outsourced workers or if you just
need assistance in some areas of your business.
Answering
this will help to reveal which outsourced worker you need to hire that would best
benefit your business.
