How often do you think about the future of your business?

Once, twice, maybe five times a day; What new products can you offer your clients; how can you improve your service; how can you stand out from your competitors. But how often do you think about your future staff? Who they’ll be; where they’ll come from.  Realistically it doesn’t cross our minds all too often, it’s a given we’ll find people.

However, with the recent events that have taken place, is the business landscape and the way we work inevitably going to change?

As many businesses begin to look for alternative ways to continue, many are also looking at ways to cut down on expenditure. Of course, pre-COVID 19, the popularity of co-working spaces was already increasing meaning business owners had less space for full-time employees and started turning to collaborations with other freelancers to complete business tasks. Post-COVID 19 it is possible that the demand for these spaces will be even higher.

There’s also the possibility that business owners will put more emphasis on the use of technological and digital advances as well as virtual services allowing them new channels to deliver their own products or services.

During the crisis, we’ve found that many business owners have turned to those already in the virtual space, looking for the expertise they need to help get them set up and able to continue to trade in a virtual world and help them find alternative ways of working.

And the demand for Virtual Assistants is set to rise even higher as more businesses start to see the value and positive benefits of a new channel of delivery.

So why is it that VAs have become such an important asset to businesses during this time?

Firstly, many business owners have had to take the decision to furlough permanent staff, but still need help with everyday operations. Having someone they can call on from the outside has been a lifeline.

Of course, a VA’s skill set has been vital during this time. Already working in the virtual space, day to day activity for a Virtual Assistant hasn’t seen any change and in fact, they have been able to transfer and adapt their skills, processes, and systems across to many businesses to get them up and operating quickly.

Undoubtedly, there have also been businesses and industries that have benefited from this period and their workload has increased substantially, as well as new businesses being launched after seeing gaps in the market. These businesses have found themselves having to be reactive to get to market quickly and being able to outsource certain aspects to a VA instantly has meant they can meet that demand.

So what other changes will we see in business or industry? And will the landscape change permanently?