Are you or your team bursting at the seams, overwhelmed with administrative tasks or projects?
This is a common situation if your business is at the growth phase, an exciting but potentially stressful time when there is so much to do. That’s why looking into whether you should use a virtual assistant vs a personal virtual assistant to delegate some of the work is a savvy move.
You may not be ready for a new permanent employee yet, but you know that having:
- An extra person on board would take those tasks or projects off your plate that you or your team don’t have time, or expertise, for.
- An additional person would make a huge difference to how fast or how successfully your business grows.
You’re looking into the difference between a virtual assistant vs personal assistant, to help you decide when you should hire a personal assistant or whether you only need a virtual assistant.
In this blog post, you’ll discover the key differences between a personal assistant (PA) and a virtual assistant (VA) and which one may be best for your specific needs.
What is a Virtual Assistant vs Personal Assistant?
What is a virtual assistant?
- A virtual assistant in the UK works remotely on a self-employed, freelance basis, providing routine administrative, technical, or creative support to a business.
What is a PA or executive assistant?
- A personal assistant can work in-person or remotely. They are embedded within the business’s day-to-day operations and provide administrative support doing VA tasks in addition to more responsibility such as executive support, event planning, office management, project management and even personal lifestyle management.
- A PA sometimes performs the role of Executive Assistant, providing strategic support and trusted partnership to senior executives.
Why Is the Difference Between a Virtual Assistant vs Personal Assistant Important?
If you own a small business or are a senior director in a growing business, managing time and resources is critical.
The decision between hiring a virtual assistant or a personal assistant can affect your company’s efficiency and budget.
Understanding the difference between a virtual assistant vs personal assistant can help you decide when you should hire a personal assistant or when you only need a virtual assistant.
Most small businesses say that admin tasks eat up a significant portion of their time.
Choosing the right virtual personal assistant can free up hours each week, allowing you or your team to focus on growing the business, rather than being bogged down by day-to-day tasks.
“Designated packages have provided our company much needed flexibility and reliability depending on our business requirements, all of which are important in order to maximise efficiencies on our time management, especially when dealing with projects of such scale.” – Romain Pottier, COO, KOKO.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant (VA) in the UK is a remote worker who provides administrative, technical, or creative support to a business.
They typically work part-time and freelance, handling routine tasks like email and inbox management, scheduling meetings, and social media scheduling.
They do a range of tasks such as:
- Calendar management and scheduling
- Inbox management
- Technical and creative digital marketing support
- Data entry and customer service
- Research and basic project coordination
What virtual assistants do is offer flexible, cost-effective support that can be scaled up or down depending on workload.
A virtual assistant, although invaluable to a business, is not an integral member of the team.
Is Personal Assistant the Same as Virtual Assistant?
In addition to having the specialised skills and experience to deliver the same tasks as a virtual assistant, a personal assistant also has the skills and qualities to provide:
- high-level administrative support to business owners, and company executives and directors
or
- personal lifestyle management for executives, high-level professionals and private individuals and their families.
Business Environment
In a business environment, a PA works closely with the leaders in the company or the solo business owner, working either in-person or remotely.
They handle critical tasks such as managing schedules, liaising with stakeholders, and ensuring smooth business operations.
In a business, a personal assistant can deliver the tasks of both a virtual assistant and a PA.
A role higher than a personal assistant is an executive assistant.
An experienced PA can perform an executive assistant role, acting as a trusted business partner to senior people or the business leader, providing crucial strategic support and managing processes to make the business run smoothly.
Personal Lifestyle Management
In a private environment, a personal assistant can manage family diaries, coordinate travel arrangements, and manage personal activities for the busy executives or private individuals and their family.
Is a Personal Assistant or Virtual Assistant Self-Employed?
- A personal assistant can be self-employed, working a set number of hours each month, or hired as a permanent employee.
- A virtual assistant usually works freelance on a self-employed basis for a set number of hours each month.
- When self-employed, both types of assistants typically work with more than one client in their schedule. They control the spread of those hours across the week, while ensuring the work is delivered to agreed deadlines. However, if you need a VA or PA to be available at specific times, for instance, answering customer calls or emails, you can include this in the brief to form part of the agreement.
- When a PA is a permanent employee, they would be contracted to work on specific days and hours of the week or of course, you can recruit a full-time PA.
Whether you choose to hire someone on a freelance self-employed basis or as an employee, part-time or full-time will depend on the type of business you run, your business needs, and the goals for this role.
# 5 Examples to Highlight Virtual Assistant vs Personal Assistant
To bring to life the differences in a business between a virtual assistant vs a personal assistant, here are 5 different examples.
Example 1: Virtual Assistant for a Tech Start-Up
A tech start-up hires a VA to manage social media scheduling and respond to comments, assist with customer queries by email and live chat, and book internal team meetings, coordinating schedules between the founders and remote team members across different time zones.
The business benefits from the flexibility of remote support while keeping operational costs low.
Example 2: Virtual Assistant for a Freelance Consultant
A freelance consultant hires a VA to manage newsletter set-up and scheduling, sending invoices to clients and chasing payments, alongside responding to emails.
The VA handles these admin tasks, allowing the consultant to focus on client work. This flexible arrangement streamlines routine operations while keeping costs low.
Example 3: Personal Assistant for a Managing Director of a Marketing Firm
An MD at a marketing firm hires a PA to handle meeting coordination with clients, arrange international and local travel, and communicate with key stakeholders on confidential matters.
The PA manages the director’s calendar, ensures timely meetings with clients, and coordinates travel itineraries for conferences. This support allows the director to focus on growth strategies while leaving the administrative tasks to the PA.
Example 4: Personal Assistant for a Senior Exec at a Financial Services Company
A senior executive in a financial services firm hires a PA to streamline daily operations and keep professional and personal tasks in order. The PA manages internal meetings, coordinating schedules between multiple departments and ensuring that agendas are set and communicated in advance.
They oversee the executive’s client correspondence, prioritising emails and drafting responses for key stakeholders.
Additionally, the PA takes care of personal diary management, making sure personal appointments don’t overlap with work commitments. This level of support allows the executive to focus on strategic decisions without being distracted by day-to-day admin tasks.
Example 5: Personal Assistant for a CEO of a Global Consultancy
The CEO of a global consultancy firm hires a personal assistant to handle critical executive tasks, ensuring the smooth running of daily operations.
The PA manages complex travel logistics, including booking flights, arranging accommodations, and coordinating itineraries for international business trips, ensuring the CEO’s travel runs without a hitch.
The PA schedules high-level meetings with clients, stakeholders, and board members, often navigating different time zones and busy calendars.
They act as a gatekeeper, managing the CEO’s inbox and prioritising urgent matters while filtering out less critical communications. The PA handles confidential business communications, such as drafting sensitive emails, preparing reports, and coordinating with legal teams.
Their discretion and organisational skills ensure that vital information is handled securely and efficiently. The PA’s proactive management allows the CEO to focus on strategic decision-making and client relationships, while the PA takes care of daily tasks.
Example 5: Personal Assistant for a Senior Exec at a Financial Services Company
A senior executive in a financial services firm hires a PA to streamline daily operations and keep professional and personal tasks in order. The PA manages internal meetings, coordinating schedules between multiple departments and ensuring that agendas are set and communicated in advance.
They oversee the executive’s client correspondence, prioritising emails and drafting responses for key stakeholders.
Additionally, the PA takes care of personal diary management, making sure personal appointments don’t overlap with work commitments. This level of support allows the executive to focus on strategic decisions without being distracted by day-to-day admin tasks.
When should you hire a personal assistant vs a virtual assistant?
The main difference between a VA and a PA is the level of responsibility and how embedded their role is in the business.
VAs typically handle more routine or task-based activities. Whereas PAs can take on routine tasks as well as manage more critical, high-stakes tasks.
Personal assistants are more involved in the business on a day-to-day running basis, and can also be involved in the strategic side, acting as the right hand of the executive or business owner.
Are You Looking for Personal Virtual Assistant Services in Your Business?
Here at Designated PA, we have a team of hand-picked, experienced and skilled personal assistants who support entrepreneurs, leaders, and teams in start-up and growing businesses.
Their capability ranges from delivering daily, routine administrative and digital tasks through to running business operations, project management, and high-level executive and strategic support.
If you are thinking about hiring PA support, call Designated PA today on 020 7952 1460 or email info@designatedgroup.com and discover how we can provide the right-fit PA for your requirements.