Last week, I had the opportunity to present to a fantastic group of administrative professionals at the Grainger headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois (near Chicago). During the company tour that morning, I was struck by the number of assistants they had who were supporting executives virtually. While they certainly have assistants onsite at their many offices worldwide, some assistants are working from home offices supporting executives around the country. Others were working from a Grainger office supporting executives who worked at different location. In reality, these assistants have become corporate virtual assistants!
When I started my virtual assistant business almost 12 years ago, it was a relatively new career track for assistants. Few had ever heard of a virtual assistant. I had to explain to people over and over again that I did the same thing as an admin at their office — except I did it remotely from my home office. I could support clients from anywhere around the world using the technology at my fingertips. The biggest difference was that I was an independent contractor, not an employee, and therefore I was solely responsible for running every aspect of my business — sales, marketing, accounting, administration, etc.
Now, larger companies are catching on. While they are still hiring assistants as employees, they are leveraging technology and empowering their admins to support remote teams and executives around the world. What an exciting time to be an administrative professional!
This week is National Work from Home Week, so we thought a few pointers on how to successfully navigate the home office environment, and virtual assistance might be helpful. We’ll be sharing those tips on our Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages all week.
Working from home can sound inviting to some and dreadful to others. There are certainly pros and cons to weigh before diving in. In the highly connected world we live in, it’s nice to have options either way!
Supporting your administrative success,
Julie
P.S. Want to maximize your productivity no matter where you work from? Check out our latest webinar in the AdminPro Training Series: Maximize Your Productivity by Mastering Workflow with Microsoft Outlook!
