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3 signs you are in need of Virtual Psychology & Coaching support

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 18:52:21 GMT

When speaking with our clients we found 3 signs which showed they were not spending their most valuable asset, their time, focusing on the client facing operations of their business.

"I frequently wished I could clone myself!"

1. "I frequently wished I could clone myself!"

Ever been so busy you joked that you wished you could clone yourself? Our clients reported they frequently needed to be in different places at once, either onsite with client delivery, at home attending to a family matter or in an office catching up on project and business admin. There wasn't enough time in the day to juggle it all and confessed they had frequently found themselves exclaiming if only they could clone themselves!

Some found they were unable to respond to client emails as promptly as they liked because they were busy with delivery and by the time they finished and could respond, it was the end of the working day. Others felt the pressure of multi-tasking and finding time to undertake the project admin required for client assignments whilst attending to other client work. Their week was busy with client facing work and they didn't have time in their diary to meet the admin commitments required for various business and project work. They were spinning plates more than they felt comfortable with and wished they could be both onsite with client delivery and in their office attending to business and project administration (that cloning machine would be handy!).

Not all the time have our clients felt the need to be cloned so they could be in two places at once for work reasons! Some have said that on their non-client facing days, rather than catching up with business and project admin they have wanted to explore their hobbies or engage with family life (they had missed so many of their children's celebration assemblies and sports days).

As a result, the Psychologists and Coaches we work with recognised they needed to recruit someone to help with their business, client and project admin but were faced with a barrier that recruiting takes time, a recruitment drive, onboarding, training, office space, IT equipment and a commitment to pay an annual salary.

Outsourcing to a Virtual Psychology Assistant means that we work as your dedicated remote Psychologist Assistant where we hit the ground running with the tasks you want to outsource and deliver on time, we understand your work and can spot any omissions or errors that need altering and we understand industry terminology and jargon so can be trusted with specialist tasks.

Plus by outsourcing means that you only pay for the work that gets done and not an annual salary (and you don't have additional overheads of needing office space and providing IT equipment). On the times that you are completely snowed under or you need to take some time for family/personal life, you can outsource tasks like administering online psychometrics, doing research, proofreading reports, formatting bespoke assessment centre exercises or updating training PowerPoint slides etc to a Virtual Psychology Assistant. For the occasions you have a quiet period, you don’t need to worry about paying a salary for a person sitting around doing nothing.

2. Missing out on client opportunities

The Psychologists and Coaches we work with said that there were times when the work was piling up, they felt stressed, chasing their tail and found themselves working more on the commute to and from work / seeing clients and on the evenings and weekends in order to catch up.

Some clients found they were mostly doing associate work and became trapped by the income this provided and didn't have the time to expand their own business and win direct client work.

Lots of business professionals can either become bogged down in the day-to-day admin side of the business or can get behind on their admin due to continual client facing work and achieving a balance can be difficult. It affects business growth and profits and it can be to the detriment of having the time for winning new business and creating opportunities to work with interesting clients . It's a common problem for many Psychology and Coaching professionals who confess they would like more time to focus on the strategic areas of their business, growth and development.

When you collaborate with a Virtual Psychology Assistant you will save time, resources and effort, so you can focus on your clients and build your business which also means you can bring flexibility, balance and scalability to your business by outsourcing work when you need it.

3. Not getting to do enough of the work they enjoy

Our clients are busy Psychology and Coaching professionals and their passion is client delivery, it’s what they spent years training to do and they found themselves frequently procrastinating about admin. Organising their business, admin and managing client projects doesn’t interest them nevertheless it is a task that has to be done!

Client delivery generates income and when their time was taken up with admin and less crucial tasks it meant less client facing time and therefore less money. A few of our Psychologists and Coaches told us that before they worked with a Virtual Psychology Assistant, they booked out one to two days a week from their diary for their admin (usually a Monday and/or a Friday!). Those are days they could have spent client facing and fee earning. They recognised that in order to expand their business, generate more income, become profitable and invest their energy in the work they loved, they had to identify their limitations and therefore explore outsourcing areas of their business to free up time.

A mistake business entrepreneurs make is not knowing when to delegate or not delegating enough tasks. If you find yourself doing business tasks that you don’t like, that don’t utilise your time or skills in the best way or that you are missing out on client opportunities that you love and opportunities to increase your income, then take a leap, forget about cloning and delegate to a Virtual Psychology Assistant. Time is your most valuable asset.

Explore our Testimonials page and learn how we supported our clients to take back their time.

ExecutiveVA – a Virtual Psychology Assistant Service
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Take back your time and focus on the client facing operations of your businesses

ExecutiveVA was created to combine our love of psychology with our planning and organising nature, skills and experience. We have a passion for continuing what we enjoy and to be able to share our experiences and work with busy professionals and organisations.

We have over 16 years' experience supporting psychologists and coaches with their admin, project management and business support activities and are a BPS Registered Test User.

We provide Virtual Psychology Assistant and Business Support to help psychologists and coaches thrive professionally and achieve their business goals. We are passionate about the psychology and professional development fields and possess specialist qualifications and experience to provide a niche business and project service to Psychology and Coaching professionals.

ExecutiveVA help psychology and coaching businesses grow. We support them to make more money and save time, resources and effort and it releases them to focus on what matters to thrive and expand.

We are here to help. If you would like to pick our brains on any of our areas of expertise or ask us any questions, contact us:

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

M: 07511 534051

10 Microsoft Office tips - Get more done in less time!

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 08:52:45 GMT

Essential Microsoft Office tips for working smarter & more productive

As a busy Virtual Psychology Assistant, I know that time is money! When you know some shortcuts on using Microsoft Office, you'll be able to work smarter and more productive.

There are many tips on using the software but here are 10 essential tips to get you started:

Microsoft Office

1. Holding the CTRL key down whilst pressing the Backspace key deletes the preceding word

2. To increase or decrease your font size, select your text and press Ctrl + Shift + > or Ctrl + Shift + <

3. To select an entire paragraph, make three rapid clicks anywhere on the paragraph

Microsoft Excel

4. To open multiple Excel files at once, select the files you want and click Enter; the files will open simultaneously

5. Jump to the edge of the sheet in different directions by clicking Ctrl + any arrow button on the keyboard

6. To quickly highlight your worksheet, click CTRL + A or the grey box left of Column A and above Row 1

Microsoft PowerPoint

7. To convert SmartArt to Shapes, just right-click on your SmartArt, and click Ungroup

8. Use the Advanced Section in Options to increase or decrease the maximum number of 'undo' allowed

Microsoft Outlook

9. Use Zoom on the status bar of the message to change the font size while reading your email

10. Press Ctrl+Shift+N in Outlook to create a new note, which can be dragged and positioned anywhere on screen; click on the Note icon at the bottom of the View pane to manage notes

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

M: 07511 534051

Have you booked holiday cover?

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 09:40:52 GMT

Rest and relax knowing that your business is in safe hands

Holiday season is here! Are you understaffed during the summer? ExecutiveVA can provide holiday cover so you can switch off and recharge. Have you booked yours?

Summer has arrived, the sun is shining, and we are all looking forward to taking our holidays. The day dream of sun-soaked days spent by the pool combined with sightseeing and new adventures and relaxing strolls by the beach and dips in the sea will soon be a reality. But who holds the fort at work?

The Guardian survey* reported that 76% of small business owners and entrepreneurs forego holidays to keep their business running smoothly. Small Business** also found that more than half of UK small business leaders have five or less days holiday a year and a fifth didn't have a single day off!

When self-employed, it can be difficult to switch off and get away from the office and take time off from a business that relies on you. And with a small business it can feel like most of your workforce has departed on their holiday over the summer.

Rest and relaxation is essential to long-term mental and physical health and by outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant to cover those important tasks gives you the break you need and the continuation to provide a full service to your clients whilst you are away. We support you to manage your team and business so productivity remains high and projects are completed. We provide skilled help and have the knowledge and expertise to keep your business wheels in motion.

During holiday cover, ExecutiveVA can help with the urgent admin that can’t wait until you get back, step in to support your team when short staffed and you can even hand over the tasks that have been sitting on your to-do list for ages, which we can complete for your return!

Take that holiday. Rest and relax and leave your business in safe hands.

Sources:
* https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2015/aug/07/holiday-work-running-small-business-t...
** http://smallbusiness.co.uk/small-business-managers-holiday-2539609/

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

M: 07511 534051

Organise your office in these quick easy steps!

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 12:23:54 GMT

Feel energised and focused by undertaking an office de-clutter

If you have a lot of clutter and mess in your office it can make you feel disorganised, demotivated and less productive. Doing a de-clutter can help save you time looking through the piles of papers on your desk scouring for that important file and will help you feel re-energised and focused! Here's how:

1. Schedule time for a spring clean

Do you have lots of different equipment in your office that you could consolidate? Instead of having different devices stacked and balanced on various tables and cupboards in your office collecting dust, invest in an all-in-one printer that will work as your printer, scanner, fax machine and photocopier. It will save on maintenance costs in the long run too.

Empty your office desk drawers. Tip the lot out! Throw out the empty chocolate wrappers (yes, we all have them!) and start to organise the contents into categories and designate a drawer for each one. For example, one of the drawers could be a stationary drawer that contains the post-it notes, staple removers, staplers, scissors, spare notepads and paper clips that you don’t want clogging up your desk space.

Do you have a letter or in-tray on your desk? Sort the papers into piles, shred anything out-of-date and no longer relevant or needed, categorise the remaining information and file anything you need to keep or alternatively scan in the file and store it on your computer instead of taking up space in a filing cabinet.

Is your desk tidy? If you have a pen holder filled with pens that no longer work, throw them away. If you have scraps of paper that are no longer useful, place these in the recycling box or shred. If you find your desk swamped with staplers, paper clips, post-it notes, pencils and note pads, assess whether you need them all to hand and if not, place them into your designated desk drawers. Keep only what you use regularly on your desk.

2. Tidy your hard copy filing system

Now to turn your attention to the filing cabinets / systems. Do these contain only the most relevant information that you need? How up-to-date is the information you have stored in them? Start by going through one drawer at a time and shredding and / or recycling any information that is out-of-date and no longer relevant. Decide if you need to keep the original document or if it is best to scan in your file and hold an electronic copy instead thereby freeing up space in your hard copy filing system. Make sure you keep the legal documents that you need because there are specific legal timeframes for storing these. Organise your filing system into different categories, such as a section for clients, core business, finance, etc. Consider putting your files into alphabetical order or get creative and colour code!

3. Assess your office storage

Do you find you don’t have enough space for everything? Have a look at alternative solutions. For example, a business owner I recently spoke to said he only had a small office and very little space for office storage, filing cabinets and cupboards so I suggested wall shelving and under desk storage. It was a simple idea and makes the most of the space you have. Shelves are cost effective and can hold all your binders, books and folders. If you have the space, look at different types of storage units, cabinets, cupboards and bookcases and purchase only what is appropriate for the items you want to store in them. Before ordering, assess them for size and if they will fit in the space required.

If you have existing storage, have a clear out. Office storage cupboards are havens for old equipment, such as old keyboards and mouse mats that can take up much needed space. If anything is still in working order but is simply older technology, then consider donating to local charities. Many rely on donations for their office staff.

4. Manage your post

If you have a pile of unopened mail on your desk, try forming a new habit of opening the mail as soon as it arrives. Put junk mail straight into the recycling box and initiate any mail forwarding if this is relevant. For important mail, such as bills and client and business information, action or file these as appropriate. If you don’t need to keep a hard copy of the mail but still need to have it on file, consider scanning and storing an electronic copy instead.

Following the office de-clutter, your work space will be a much more positive and productive environment for you to work in. Remember to schedule in a quarterly de-clutter to maintain it. Good luck!

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

M: 07511 534051

Building your brand

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Mon, 23 Jul 2018 12:11:55 GMT

Aligning who you are with what you do.

As a Virtual Psychology Assistant, I support a range of businesses who are from different industries and are at different stages, whether they have been long established or are just setting up. Regardless of what business stage a client is at, branding and marketing appears to be a frequent discussion and in particular, topics often focus on how our clients want to align who they are with what they want to do and achieve. By providing business support, ExecutiveVA's aim is for business owners and professionals to follow their passion and here we have jotted down a few steps we think are important in building a compelling brand in your marketplace!

Branding

A brand is unique to you, it is an aligning who you are with what you do. It identifies your product or service and differentiates it from your competitors. Your brand becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality and satisfaction in your client’s mind.

Ask yourself:

1. Understand your brand. Know what it stands for.

Sit down with a pen and paper or have a discussion with someone you trust and value their input with and answer the following:

As an example, when I explored my own “super power” and passion, I wanted to combine my love of psychology with my planning and organising nature, skills and experience. I had a passion for continuing what I enjoyed from my career and experiences and to be able to share this and work with other busy professionals and organisations. It was a perfect fit to become a Virtual Assistant and specialise in providing business support for psychology and coaching professionals. This is where I wanted to focus myself.

Be authentic and true to yourself. If you have trouble with this, ask for feedback from others around you. Ask them for words they would use to describe you.

Think about the words and metaphors you would use to describe your brand.

Your passion and "super power" is where you want to focus your brand and will be what moves it forward. Remember that your brand can’t be everything to everyone.

Brand for where you want to be and not where you are now!

2. Demonstrate your brand. Communicate it to others.

What is your packaging? Decide your logo, business name, fonts and colours and use them consistently. This creates recognition to your audience. Colours and fonts convey a feeling for a person so keep in mind the connotations of your package.

Always be visible to your target audience. Demonstrate to your audience what makes you great! Decide on the tools you want to use to tell everyone about you! Make sure your message connects with others. Tell them something of value.

Remember to alter your pitch depending on your target and keep it relevant.

3. Develop your brand. Cultivate it and make it flourish!

Create and build relationships with your target client base. Get to know and trust them first and then let them know how you can support them.

Understand that you will never have 100% control over people’s perception of your brand. You can encourage them in the right direction, manage your reputation and make a great impression but they’ll always have their unique perceptions. All you can do is show yourself in the best and positive way and try to resonate with your target audience.

Continue to adapt and evolve. Shape your brand as you expose more clients to it and learn more about who they are and how you engage with them.

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

M: 07511 534051

Where does your time go?

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 14:41:32 GMT

“There are never enough hours in the day!”

We have all said “There are never enough hours in the day!” when we reach the end of the day and wonder where the time has gone and still have a long list of incomplete tasks. How we spend our time says a lot about who we are and if you feel you don't have enough time in the day, it is important to look at how you spend the time you do have.

For one working week, set yourself a task of assessing your time and to find out which areas are claiming your time more than others. Aim to understand how the different activities are of value to you and what you can do to adapt, accept or avoid them.

1. Begin by creating a weekly diary of your activities and keeping a note each day of how much time you spend on them:

2. At the end of the week, review your activities and the time spent. For each entry, ask yourself:

3. Based on your review, create your plan for action. Start putting in boundaries and working smarter. For each activity you have identified as claiming more of your time than others, think of productive ways to tackle them. Become aware of your limitations. For example:

If you are distracted by emails and are continually checking and responding to them, set specific times throughout the day when you will review them and stick to this.

If you are feeling out of control with your diary and are being booked in for meetings at unsuitable times via your colleagues Outlook calendar’s scheduling assistant, block book time out in your calendar so this is viewed as “busy” by your colleagues.

If you need to avoid distraction by colleagues or phone calls so you can focus on a time sensitive project, consider booking a meeting room to work from for a day or set an appropriate outgoing message so your answer machine temporarily collects the calls.

Practise negotiating your assignment responsibilities and timescales. Develop the ability to say “No” to taking everything on. This is particularly difficult to get into the habit of when you work in a giving profession like psychology and coaching.

Eliminate or delegate unimportant tasks (to a virtual assistant!) and replace them with high value activities.

Unfortunately, not all activities can be adapted or avoided and there will be some tasks you simply have to accept along with the required time of which to undertake them!

4. Commit to your plan and you’ll soon begin noticing the positive and productive effects on your time.

M: 07511 534051

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

How to delegate to a Virtual Psychology Assistant in 4 easy steps!

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT

"How do I delegate to you? I don't know where to start?" are questions we are often asked. Here are 4 easy steps to guide you through the process

THE 4 STEPS!

Let’s talk about each step in further detail:

1. CREATE YOUR TO DO LIST
Create a list of the activities and tasks that you need to get done. Include the items that you don’t have the time for or the skills to do. Your To Do list will provide you with clarity of the tasks to be undertaken.

For some examples to get you started see the image below:

2. PRIORITISE YOUR LIST ITEMS
Once you have created your list, now prioritise the items! Mark which need to be done in terms of timescales, such as today, by the end of the week, specific deadlines, etc.

3. SELECT ACTIVITIES FOR DELEGATION
Now that you have prioritised your To Do list, select which activities you just don’t have the time for or the skills to be able to do. It is good to understand which tasks you add value to and the tasks you enjoy, dislike and play to your natural strengths. Tasks you dislike and don’t play to your natural strengths are likely to take you longer to complete. If these tasks are outsourced to someone with natural strengths for that particular task, they are likely to take far less time to complete.

Virtual Psychology Assistants are able to take on those vital tasks that slow your pace to free up you and your team to focus on the activities you are passionate about. Be honest when evaluating each activity – do you have the time and/or skills to take it on yourself or would you be better to delegate to someone else?

4. DELEGATE YOUR ACTIVITIES

Delegate those tasks you have highlighted you just don’t have the time or the skills for! Provide the list to your Virtual Psychology Assistant, along with any templates and data required for completing the work, include specific instructions required of how you would like the work undertaken and a deadline.

Virtual Psychology Assistants want to support your business but they can only do that if they fully understand what it is you expect and need. They need to understand your vision and goals. Clear communication and feedback is critical to the success of the working partnership.

M: 07511 534051

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

20 Quick GDPR Tips for the Business Owner

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 10:13:14 GMT

A simple list to provide focus for readying your business for GDPR compliance!

There is a vast amount of information available now for the upcoming GDPR changes in May and there are some really useful resources! However, many business owners are still unsure where to begin or truly understand what really needs to be considered in terms of their processes and the data they hold. Below we have highlighted a quick GDPR tip list of areas that all business owners should review:

20 Quick tips!

Get up to date with the basics of GDPR. Read up on the 8 rights of the individual and the 6 principles that an organisation should abide by
Be mindful of the new fines if you breach the regulations: 20million euros or 4% of turnover
Register with the Data Protection Act via the ICO: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/register/
Get a GDPR specialist / business lawyer to provide you with / write up your legal policies and templates
Have a Data Protection Policy and a website Privacy Policy
Update your privacy notice in your contracts, information to your subscribers, employee notices, email footers, marketing material, etc, as relevant
Consider obtaining cyber security insurance
Assess the security on your IT equipment and hard copy filing practices. Do you need to have added encryption, passwords, etc?
Appoint a Data Protection Officer – if applicable to your organisation
Know who the Data Controller is and who the Data Processors are in your business! If you are self-employed, you will act as both. Know what the responsibilities are of these roles!
If you use freelancers, such as associate psychologists / coaches or a virtual assistant, ensure you as a Data Controller have a processor agreement / contract in place and you undertake due diligence that they are compliant
Undertake a data audit of the files your business has – understand the information you hold in your business and how it has been collected. This includes ALL data stored on laptops, PC’s, USB sticks, smartphones, etc. Identify the gaps that could cause a problem in the future and close them! Create an Action Plan from the gaps you identified. Fixing these loopholes will get you closer to GDPR compliance
Know how long you are required to hold data for! For example, there are some legal basis for the records held which have different legal durations, such as with personnel records, audited financial statements, etc.
What is your legal basis for processing data? Get evidencing this. There are 6 different legal basis with consent being just one of them. Do you need to make an impact assessment on your data? For example, if you process data as part of a legitimate interest, have you done a legitimate interest assessment? Learn more about the different legal basis for processing information here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/lawful-bas...
When you gained consent for holding a person’s personal data, was it done in a granular way? You cannot any longer bundle consent together within one tick box. Do you need to get fresh consent? Do you have a process for managing opt-outs?
Are you transferring data to third parties outside of the EEA, such as via US based software? If so, are these on the EU – US Privacy Shield register? https://www.privacyshield.gov/list
Do you process sensitive personal data (known as special category data)? Have you gained explicit consent for processing this? Check the list here to see if the data you hold is sensitive: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/lawful-bas...
Are your marketing practices in line with the GDPR regulations?
Are you prepared with how you will handle a Subject Access Request or a Data breach in your organisation?
If you employ staff, do they need training in GDPR?

This is a simple list to provide focus with your GDPR compliance for your business. Please note that ExecutiveVA are not legal experts, however, we are able to help with any administrative tasks you require as part of implementing your new processes. Please ask a GDPR expert to help you with your compliance checks and legal policies. For more information about the regulations, please refer to the ICO’s website:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

M: 07511 534051

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

Getting ready for GDPR: A Basic Guide to a Data Audit for the Self-employed Psychologist and Coach

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 13:46:03 GMT

A simple introduction to carrying out a data audit on your files

GDPR Compliance

As you know GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is coming into force from 25 May 2018 but have you made steps towards becoming compliant? If you are self-employed, you are both the Data Controller and Data Processor and are responsible for the information held by your business and ensuring compliance.

As a Psychologist and / or Coach you will access and store a lot of personal data over the course of your work. If you are feeling overwhelmed with where to start, begin by undertaking a data audit of your files and records.

The aim of carrying out a data audit is to identify areas where your current processes are not compliant with GDPR so you can take action – you may be surprised at just how much personal data you have stored and processed!

Undertaking a Data Audit

You will need to review the data on all your databases, files and folders, email lists, spreadsheets, paper documents and other lists of personal data. This includes data on servers, external hard drives, data stored on USB drives, information saved on your smartphone, etc.

The audit will make you think about:

The kind of data you collect and store
Why you are collecting the data and what you will do with it
How long you retain the data
Who has access to the data both inside and outside of your business
What security procedures you have in place to keep your data safe

Your Audit Steps!

Create a spreadsheet using the headings in the image below as your guide. It might be that you need to add further columns that are relevant to your specific processes.
Review the data you hold and begin populating the fields. Examples are provided below for illustration purposes.
Where you notice a problem, mark it in red and then enter a note of what remedy you need to take in the 'Action Required' column.
Once your spreadsheet is complete, begin a plan to tackle the ‘Action Required’ column and begin to implement. Each action you complete will bring you closer to being GDPR compliant!

This is a simple guide to start you off with your data audit. Please note that ExecutiveVA are not legal experts. Don’t be afraid to ask a GDPR expert to help you with your audit and compliance checks, if you have questions or for general guidance on the changes. For more information about the regulations, please refer to the ICO’s website:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

M: 07511 534051

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

Improve your search for tenders! Quick Search CPV codes for Psychologists looking to find public sector tendering opportunities

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Speed up your bid processes to win work!

Whether you are an Occupational Psychologist taking your first tentative steps to public sector tendering or you are a seasoned tenderer, this guide to applicable CPV codes will speed up your contract searches.

What are CPV Codes?

CPV codes are known as a ‘Common Procurement Vocabulary’ and were developed by the European Union specifically for public procurement.

CPV codes are eight digits long and represent a broad or specific category of goods or services. There are THOUSANDS of CPV codes, which cover a vast array of activities. Each contract notice published on Contracts Finder (we explore what Contracts Finder is below) is identified by one or more CPV codes.

You don’t have to use CPV codes but they are a useful way of searching for tendering opportunities if your business specialises in certain types of work. Occupational Psychology is a niche industry and knowing the codes to use will speed up your search to find the tenders to bid for.

Once you know the applicable codes to your organisation, regularly using them to look for contracts will be a smarter and quicker way to search!

What is Contracts Finder?

If you’re looking to work with government, Contracts Finder has details of live opportunities that organisations can bid for. The website can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

Opportunities available include:

Lower value opportunities – contracts for works, supplies and services worth more than £10,000.
Higher value opportunities taken from the Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) website – typically worth more than £100,000.
Sub-contracting opportunities – contracts for works, supplies and services from prime contractors who have won public sector contracts.

Occupational Psychology based CPV codes

Now that you are up to speed with CPV codes and Contracts Finder, you will want to use the ‘Quick CPV code search’ within the Contracts Finder search function. Once you add them to your search (you can add one or more), Contracts Finder will provide results for the contracts tagged with the CPV code enabling you to search for opportunities.

Whilst Occupational Psychology is niche, the services offered can be wide and varying and we have tried to include an extensive list of CPV codes. You know your service offering, therefore, simply browse the list and search for the code which applies to your organisation and enter it into the Contracts Finder Quick CPV code search function.

CPV CODE SERVICE DESCRIPTION

71319000 Expert witness services

72221000 Business analysis consultancy services

73000000 Research and development services and related consultancy services

73120000 Experimental development services

73200000 Research and development consultancy services

73210000 Research consultancy services

73220000 Development consultancy services

73300000 Design and execution of research and development

79313000 Performance review services

79315000 Social research services

79330000 Statistical services

79400000 Business and management consultancy and related services

79410000 Business and management consultancy services

79411000 General management consultancy services

79411100 Business-development consultancy services

79414000 Human resources management consultancy services

79600000 Recruitment services

79632000 Personnel-training services

79633000 Staff development services

79634000 Career guidance services

79635000 Assessment centre services for recruitment

79998000 Coaching services

80500000 Training services

80510000 Specialist training services

80522000 Training seminars

80530000 Vocational training services

80532000 Management training services

80570000 Personal development training services

85121270 Psychiatrist or psychologist services

85312300 Guidance and counselling services

85312310 Guidance services

85312320 Counselling services

85312510 Vocational rehabilitation services

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This guide to Occupational Psychology quick search CPV codes will speed up your public sector contract searching time.

Good luck with your tendering processes!

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M: 07511 534051

E: leyla@executiveva.co.uk

The benefits to YOU of working with a Virtual Psychology Assistant

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Make more money! Save money! Save time! Save effort!

There are 4 AMAZING benefits that YOU can gain by working with a Virtual Psychology Assistant!

In summary they are:

It can be cheaper to outsource to a Psychologist VA than to hire an employee
There are cost savings that maximise your time and resources
It will save you the effort and you also get to utilise niche skills and experiences
It will save you time and money and in fact... will make you more money!

Here is the explanation ...

1. It can be cheaper to outsource to a Psychologist VA than to hire an employee

The Office of National Statistics recent UK wage analysis found the average annual UK wage to be £27,271 (1). However, the true cost to the employer of an employee on this salary is actually £49,812.79 per year! This is astonishing! When you hire an employee, you do not just pay their salary, there are many other costs, such as training and support, company benefits, administrative and general overheads, consumables and stationary, and any holiday and sick leave. Those costs certainly add up!

In addition, to hire and replace an employee costs £30,614 per employee, according to analysis from Oxford Economics (2). This is due to the cost of Lost Output while a replacement employee gets up to speed and the Logistical Cost of recruiting and absorbing a new employee.

A Virtual Assistant will use their own office and resources, be responsible for their continuing professional development and will organise their own Tax and NI. You do not need to worry about recruitment or agency fees either.

Clients also like the benefits and status of having a PA without the need to actually hire an employee!

2. Additional cost savings

Unlike hiring a full-time employee, you only pay for the support and time you require. This means you can maximise your time and resources. It also enables you to budget for your projects! Virtual Psychology Assistants are paid per productive hour and will work hard to meet your targets and milestones. A Virtual Psychologist Assistant is flexible and will work around your schedule to provide you a service when you need it.

3. Utilising niche skills and experiences

VA's are skilled professionals and they have a broad range of experience. Some Virtual Assistants provide a generalist service and work with a variety of industries whilst others still offer a generalist service but they may also have an added industry and/or service niche.

Industry niche

Virtual Assistants who have a sector niche, means they will understand your industry. A Virtual Assistant providing specialist skills in your industry contributes more value to you than taking on someone without that experience. For example, a Virtual Assistant may previously have worked in Finance and therefore, in their current VA capacity they specialise in supporting those in the Finance sector. In ExecutiveVA's case, we specialise in supporting those in the Psychology and Coaching sector based upon previous career path, skills and experience.

Service niche

Virtual Assistant's can have a service niche and this means they specialise in a particular service area based on their specific skills, experience and interests. A service niche could be specialising in undertaking audio transcriptions, blog writing, concierge, social media, bookkeeping, for example. In the case of ExecutiveVA, we are a Virtual Psychologist Assistant and specialise in providing services, such as coordinating assessment campaigns, providing support for training materials and processes and assisting with coaching procedures, etc.

The benefits of using a virtual assistant with an industry and/or service specialism means:

They can hit the ground running with the tasks you outsource
Since they understand your work they can spot any omissions or errors that need altering
They offer flexibility to your workload by taking on more specialist tasks and duties
They understand the industry terminology and jargon
You do not have to worry about training
It will save you the effort so you can focus on other priority business areas

4. Saves you time and makes you more money!

Many entrepreneurs and busy executives try to do it all, juggling many business activities that reduce their time for their actual service delivery, which is were they make their money and what makes their business grow. By outsourcing tasks to a Virtual Psychologist Assistant, you will end up with MORE time to dedicate to your core business operations and the activities that you are passionate about. It gives you the time to grow your business and focus your expertise and time delivering to clients/customers. This increases your productivity and profits as you focus on your core areas (you will make MORE money!) plus by not hiring an employee and using a VA for the time you require, it keeps your overheads low (saving you money!).

Sources

(1): www.accountingservicesforbusiness.co.uk/calculators1/true-cost-of-an-employee/

(2): www.oxfordeconomics.com/my-oxford/projects/264283

Why would you work with a Virtual Assistant?

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT

It's time to let go and start growing your business!

Trying to do it all can mean a job half done!

Are admin and project tasks taking over to the point where you are unable to focus on your core business and the activities that you are passionate about?
Are you spending your evenings and weekends catching up on work?
Do you have a long To-Do list and are finding it increasingly difficult to meet deadlines?

Virtual Assistants can provide an extra set of hands and take care of your delegation needs. They can support you with one-off, short or long-term projects. They can also provide remote office cover for staff shortages, sickness and holiday leave. They support you to run your business to be a success!

Whether you are an independent practitioner or an executive in a consultancy ... it's time to let go and grow your business by outsourcing!

What are Virtual Assistants and why do some specialise?

Virtual Assistants (VA’s) are highly skilled professionals who provide a remote office and business support service. In addition to ‘Virtual Assistant’, they can be known under other titles, such as a Virtual PA, Freelance Administrator, Online Business Manager and so on.

They work as independent contractors and come from a variety of business backgrounds. Many will have worked as Executive Assistants, Personal Assistants, Business Managers or Office Managers for some years and several will have a niche, depending on their prior career, qualifications and experience; for instance, they may specialise in Finance, Marketing or in ExecutiveVA’s case, Psychology. Others may also have a service niche, such as providing bookkeeping, blog writing, travel arrangements, for example. Read our next blog 'The Benefits to YOU of working with a Virtual Psychology Assistant' to learn about why collaborating with a VA with an industry and/or service specialism is of an advantage!

How do Virtual Assistants work?

Technology enables Virtual Assistants to work off-site, remotely and virtually. To do this, they will utilise the Internet, email, phone-call conferences, online work spaces, cloud servers and various software packages.

Who do they work with?

VA’s work with an array of organisations from all sorts of industries. They support organisations of different sizes, such as those who are self-employed and who describe themselves to be a 'one man band' or with larger companies, supporting busy executives. What Virtual Assistant's do depends on what the clients do for a living! A Virtual Assistant has a lot of skills that support a variety of businesses.

Why ExecutiveVA was established

leylahayes@aol.com (Leyla Hayes-Wright) — Sun, 14 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT

My new adventure...

A life’s organiser

I’ve always been described as an organiser. I enjoyed getting myself involved in admin and projects even from as a child. I can’t help myself; it’s what I do and know how! I love a good system in place, to be in charge and to organise and plan. At our wedding, our best man said that I had handed him such a detailed itinerary that would put a schedule for a NASA space shuttle mission to shame!

It was inevitable that I would fall into a profession that would involve organisation.

But why did I combine business support with Psychology?

After obtaining excellent grades in GCSE Sociology and A Level’s in Psychology and Communication Studies, I found I had developed an early interest in people and behaviour and I went onto study Psychology and Occupational Psychology at both undergraduate and postgraduate level at University. I later completed the BPS Registered Test User qualifications in Level 1 and Level 2 Ability & Personality. I became a member of the British Psychological Society, Division of Occupational Psychology and the Association for Business Psychology.

For over 13 years, I worked in an Occupational Psychology consultancy supporting a large team of psychologists and executive coaches and we built an established client base. I began work with the company as an Administration Assistant and worked my way to Manager of the consultancy, running the business and office, as an Executive Assistant to the Director, as well as, providing client, account and project management. I was the central organiser and coordinator, which I thrived on. I also used my experience and project management to obtain Chartership status in Occupational Psychology. I learnt a lot of different skills, enjoyed the variety of the work and ‘wore many hats’!

What was the catalyst to starting ExecutiveVA?

ExecutiveVA was established in 2017 due to a few factors that had occurred in my life at the same time:

Lifestyle change - I longed for a different working lifestyle after years of commuting to work on 4-hour round trip, via multiple transport means. I had empathy with the film “Trains, planes and automobiles”! It was unsustainable and I had limited work/life balance.

Dreams of the countryside - I grew up in the countryside and I had dreamed of moving back there again. My husband and I took the plunge and relocated to an area we adore. We have fields and woodlands nearby and are part of a strong community.

Change in career direction – I had a desire for a different work challenge, to stretch comfort zones and gain new experiences. I was ready for a new adventure!

And so ExecutiveVA was created

I combined my love of psychology with my planning and organising nature, skills and experience. I have a passion for continuing what I enjoy and to be able to share my experiences and work with other busy professionals and organisations.

It was a perfect fit to become a Virtual Psychology Assistant and specialise in providing business support for psychology and coaching professionals!

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3. Not getting to do enough of the work they enjoy

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The benefits to YOU of working with a Virtual Psychology Assistant

Make more money! Save money! Save time! Save effort!

Why would you work with a Virtual Assistant?

It's time to let go and start growing your business!

Why ExecutiveVA was established

My new adventure...

ExecutiveVA – a Virtual Psychology Assistant Service
____

Take back your time and focus on the client facing operations of your businesses