Hire cost effective Virtual Secretaries with great communication skills who are willing to work in your time zone
We’ll help you find the ideal candidate and provide support through the onboarding process
We review hundreds of candidates each week and only accept the top 2%
No hidden fees or long term contracts
As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner running a solo telehealth and in-person practice, I needed a virtual medical assistant who could manage patient scheduling, EHR workflows, and front-office coordination with minimal oversight.
My VA through Ataraxis has been exactly that. She handles new patient intake, manages our scheduling and messaging, and keeps everything running while I focus on patient care. What surprised me most is how she’s become a real thought partner. I’ll ask her to review a conversation or an email and she gives me a straight, honest read. That kind of judgment is hard to find. She’s now taking on more responsibilities as we expand our services, and she told me she’s in it for the long haul.
I only wish I had done this sooner. If you’re a mental health provider considering a HIPAA-compliant virtual assistant, don’t wait.
We’ve had an excellent experience working with Ataraxis and are so impressed. Their virtual assistants are professional, reliable, and highly skilled. The onboarding process was smooth, communication is consistent, and they truly understand how to match the right assistant to the right business needs.
They’ve helped us streamline operations and stay organized without the overhead of hiring in-house. I highly recommend them to any business looking for dependable virtual support.
I made a hire through Ataraxis a few months ago.
As it goes in any hiring process, when you meet the right person, you know immediately. I knew when I met the 5th candidate that she’d be the one.
3 weeks into her job she had a fundamental mastery of her own responsibilities. 2 weeks later, she assumed a whole new set of responsibilities on top of that. And now she’s a fully integrated part of my team.
10/10 will work with Ataraxis again.
We’ve had a really good experience working with Ataraxis. They make it easy to find talented healthcare virtual assistants, who have great attention to detail, at affordable rates. The team is very easy to work with and keeps in touch regularly, checking in to make sure everything is running smoothly and that we’re satisfied with our assistants. Overall, it’s been a smooth, professional experience from start to finish.
George has been a great help throughout this process, which was new to us. His team sourced some great candidates for us to choose from, and we are really happy with our hire. George has also conducted regular check-ins and follow-ups. He is happy to share his personal insights and experience around structuring the job description, onboarding, and getting the best out of this recruitment process. I would definitely recommend George and his business for VA solutions.
George and his team did a fantastic job placing a Talent Sourcer on my team. She’s smart, communicates well, works diligently, and is a self-starter. Bonus points, her background (10 years!) is in an industry directly adjacent to ours. As such, she was able to catch on extremely fast and onboarding her was a breeze. My only gripe is that I wish I had taken this on sooner. Thanks Ataraxis!
George reached out to me on LinkedIn, and while I rarely respond to cold outreach offering services, his approach felt thoughtful and genuine, so I decided to explore what his firm had to offer. We’ve been considering offshore talent for several years but hadn’t made the leap, as we hadn’t found the right offshore partner. Recently, we started working with Ataraxis, and it’s been a fantastic experience—they quickly sourced an exceptional contractor for our recruiting team and ran a smooth, efficient process from start to finish.
Highly Recommend!
I had the absolute pleasure of working with George, and I can confidently say that his expertise and guidance have been game-changing for my business. On our first conversation, George provided clear, actionable strategies tailored to my recruitment challenges. His deep industry knowledge, tested outreach methods, and data-driven approach set him apart.
If you’re a recruiter or business owner looking for expert-level guidance on client acquisition, outreach, and recruitment processes, I highly recommend working with George. His advice is practical, results-driven, and delivered with professionalism and genuine care for your success.
Thank you, George, for your time, insights, and the motivation to push forward with confidence!
I was pretty hesitant about hiring people offshore, but had a fantastic experience working with Ataraxis to hire a virtual recruiter for my business. They connected me with Anabel, who’s based in the Philippines and has been incredible—she’s extremely hard-working, quick to learn, and always brings a great attitude to her work. Now I’m thinking about how I can build a team around her.
The entire process with Ataraxis has been seamless, and they regularly check in to make sure I’m happy with the service they’ve provided. It’s clear they truly care about their clients’ success. I highly recommend Ataraxis to anyone looking to grow their team with quality talent!
Hiring virtual secretaries through Ataraxis gives you vetted, MBA-level talent at a fraction of U.S. salary costs. These high-caliber professionals integrate seamlessly into your workflow, delivering strategic support and flawless execution while your runway stays intact.
Here’s how virtual secretary companies like Upwork, Fiverr, OnlineJobs.PH, and Ataraxis compare on key hiring criteria.
MBA, with 8 years of experience in healthcare, finance, and HR
MBA, with 9 years of experience in marketing, accounting, and professional services
Master’s degree, with 8 years of experience in finance, software, and consulting
MBA, with 12 years of experience in manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality
A Virtual Secretary is a remote administrative professional who manages essential office tasks and communications, helping businesses stay organized and efficient without the need for on-site staff. They provide reliable, day-to-day support to executives, teams, and business owners.
A Junior Virtual Secretary typically has 0–2 years of experience and handles basic administrative tasks such as answering emails, scheduling meetings, managing contact lists, and preparing simple documents. They are proficient in standard office tools like Microsoft Office or Google Workspace and perform best with structured workflows and clear instructions.
Ideal for businesses or professionals needing dependable entry-level support for day-to-day admin duties.
With 2–5 years of experience, a Mid-Level Virtual Secretary manages more complex administrative responsibilities, including drafting correspondence, organizing files, coordinating calendars, and supporting team communications. They are skilled in document management systems, time zone coordination, and task prioritization.
Perfect for businesses seeking a capable, detail-oriented assistant who can handle core administrative functions with minimal supervision.
A Senior Virtual Secretary brings 5+ years of experience and excels in managing high-volume communication, complex scheduling, meeting coordination, and confidential documentation. They are experts in streamlining workflows, anticipating needs, and acting as the primary point of contact for executives or teams.
Ideal for organizations needing a seasoned professional to manage critical administrative operations and ensure seamless executive support.
Provides general administrative and organizational support, handling tasks like email management, scheduling, and basic project coordination.
Focuses on supporting senior executives and high-level management. VEAs typically handle complex scheduling, strategic planning, executive-level communication, and sensitive business information.
Primarily assists with personal tasks and errands, including travel planning, appointment setting, managing personal calendars, and general lifestyle management.
Manages daily office tasks like calendars, documents, minutes, and inboxes, acting as the main contact for teams and clients while using digital tools to keep operations smooth.
Your ideal Virtual Secretary should be someone with strong organizational skills, clear communication, and a good understanding of your business. You should enjoy working closely with them, knowing they are committed to supporting your operations full-time. They will use technology to streamline their workflow, keeping your calendar, inbox, and files in order and making every task quicker and easier.
Hiring the right Virtual Secretary frees you from routine admin work and lets you focus on activities that grow your business. This flexibility boosts your productivity and improves your overall quality of life.
Organize meetings, schedule appointments, and send timely reminders to keep schedules on track.
Monitor inboxes, filter messages, draft responses, and flag priority emails for review.
Set up virtual meeting rooms, manage attendee access, troubleshoot technical issues, and ensure smooth execution of online sessions.
Create, format, and edit documents, presentations, and spreadsheets as needed.
Schedule, confirm, and prepare agendas for meetings; take notes and distribute minutes.
Book flights, accommodations, and transportation while preparing travel itineraries.
Organize digital files, maintain cloud-based folders, and ensure document version control.
Input information into databases, CRMs, or spreadsheets with accuracy and efficiency.
Respond to client inquiries, send follow-ups, and maintain professional correspondence.
Update task boards, set deadlines, and monitor project timelines using productivity tools.
Log receipts, categorize expenses, and assist with monthly financial reporting.
Handle sensitive information with discretion and maintain strict confidentiality protocols.
Save on office space and overhead by hiring remote professionals.
Scale hours and tasks up or down as your business needs change.
Free up your time to focus on strategic priorities.
Access professionals with expertise in administrative, recruitment, and technical tasks.
Ataraxis does the heavy lifting by thoroughly screening and vetting virtual secretaries before they’re matched with you. This means you won’t waste time sorting through unqualified candidates.
Ataraxis virtual secretaries are fluent in English and skilled at communicating professionally, ensuring there’s no miscommunication in your day-to-day tasks.
Unlike many freelancers who may not align with your work hours, Ataraxis virtual secretaries are willing (and happy) to work in your time zone, making collaboration seamless.
All Ataraxis VAs are college educated and have specialized experience in various fields, so you can trust them to hit the ground running.
Hiring through Ataraxis gives you access to ongoing support. If your team of virtual secretaries needs adjustments, Ataraxis is there to help, unlike freelancer platforms where you’re on your own.
Freelancer platforms often attract short-term gig workers who juggle multiple client projects at the same time. Ataraxis virtual secretaries are committed to building lasting partnerships with one employer, becoming a true extension of your team.
When you’re ready to hire a virtual secretary, the best location depends on the mix of cost, language skills, time-zone overlap, and talent depth your business needs. Here’s a quick tour of the best regions, each with clear advantages and a few trade-offs, to help you decide where to hire a virtual assistant who fits your workflow.
See how each country ranks in the Global Outsourcing Talent Index.
Pros:
It’s no surprise that many business owners choose to hire a Filipino virtual secretary. Candidates from this region have strong English proficiency, familiarity with western business culture, and experience working for U.S. clients. 24/7 support is also easy because night-shift work is common.
This region excels in customer service, lead generation, virtual assistance, data entry, bookkeeping, medical billing, and healthcare administrative support.
Cons:
Increasing demand for Filipino VSs is slowly pushing wages up and internet outages during typhoon season occasionally interrupt service.
*Ataraxis virtual secretaries from this region have power and internet backups to minimize service interruption and are willing to work in your time zone.
Pros:
Near-shore time zones mean you can hire a virtual secretary who works the same hours as your U.S. team, reducing lag on urgent tasks. Businesses with a large Spanish-speaking customer base may also benefit from hiring bilingual virtual assistants.
This region excels in sales development, business development, digital marketing, customer success, and account management.
Cons:
Hourly rates are much higher and the talent pool is much smaller compared to the Philippines and other regions.
Pros:
Highly educated, English-first workforce with a neutral accent, which is a big plus for phone-based support, especially for U.K. and Australian companies. South Africa overlaps with U.S. mornings and U.K. afternoons, which is ideal for trans-Atlantic operations.
This region excels in virtual assistance, healthcare administrative support, sales development, business development, digital marketing, customer success, content moderation, and account management.
Cons:
Cost of talent sits between Latin America and the Philippines, trimming, but not eliminating, cost savings.
Pros:
Rapidly growing BPO sector that is less competitive compared to the Philippines and Latin America. Top candidates from this region have accents that are almost indistinguishable from U.S. based staff.
This region excels in virtual assistance, executive assistance, software engineering, accounting, data entry, social media management, and business development.
Cons:
Infrastructure and internet reliability still improving outside major hubs.
Pros:
Near-shore location for U.S companies delivers real-time collaboration for East-Coast teams and fluent English support. Very competitive operating costs versus onshore hires.
This region excels in customer service, BPO call centers, healthcare claims, technical support, and help desk support.
Cons:
Smaller population means fewer specialised VSs, so scaling a large team may be harder. Hourly rates trend closer to Latin American levels given limited supply.
Pros:
Countries in this region are well-known for high education levels and strong work ethic. Arguably, the deepest talent pools for technical roles and has an ideal time zone overlap for European companies.
This region excels in software engineering, quality assurance, DevOps, data analytics, and other technical roles.
Cons:
Costs are much higher than the Philippines, East Africa, and time zone differences may be a bigger obstacle for U.S. companies.
Hiring your first virtual secretary is perfectly doable on your own, but most business owners underestimate the hours it takes to sift through resumes, schedule calls, and run multiple interview rounds. Research shows that the DIY path typically drags on for weeks (or months), involves several interviews, and can still lead to mis-hires if you rush the vetting stage.
List everything you want your virtual secretary to own and create detailed instructions. Clarifying scope upfront helps with long term retention and minimizes confusion.
Having a set schedule helps create structure and consistency.
Write a descriptive JD with required experience, KPIs, schedule expectations, etc.
Post your job description to virtual secretary websites and craft a recruitment message you can use to reach out to candidates directly.
Expect to screen 40-100 candidates to find your ideal virtual assistant.
Give 2-3 finalist candidates a short take-home assignment to test their attention-to-detail, responsiveness, and work product.
A bad hire can cost up to 50% of first-year pay, so doing your due diligence is cheap insurance.
Draft an employment or contractor agreement, include an NDA, and grant tool access.
When you hire a virtual secretary through Ataraxis, you skip steps 2-7, saving you weeks of lost productivity.
Hiring a virtual secretary saves money compared to having full-time office staff. This lets you and your team focus more on growing your business and doing what you do best.
Great virtual secretaries often come from countries and regions like the Philippines, South Africa, Latin America, East Africa, and Eastern Europe. These countries are known for their skilled workers who speak fluent English and have strong work ethics.
Yes! At Ataraxis, your virtual secretary will match your local time zone, making teamwork easy and smooth.
US-based virtual secretaries usually cost $25 to $50 per hour. Ataraxis offers MBA-level, full-time virtual secretaries starting at just $11 per hour. This means you get great help for up to 70% less.
We keep your information safe by using secure VPN connections, regular monitoring, and privacy agreements signed by every virtual secretary.
Payments are easy and secure with Stripe. We also promise 100% satisfaction – if you’re not happy, we’ll fix it right away.
Ataraxis only offers full-time virtual secretaries because they provide more consistent help, become part of your team, and show greater commitment.
Ataraxis uses software to monitor your assistant’s activities, ensuring they are always working efficiently and staying productive.
It’s best to set up clear communication methods right from the start. You can use popular tools like Slack, WhatsApp, Zoom, or email, based on what works best for you.
Your satisfaction is our #1 priority. If you’re not happy, we’ll quickly address the issue and find you a better match, or issue a prorated refund if needed.
Great communication skills, attention to detail, strong work ethics, time zone alignment, work from home readiness, and problem solving skills. We carefully choose assistants based on their skills, experience, availability, and special abilities to make sure they match your business needs.
Yes! Many businesses find virtual secretaries deliver even better quality work, especially for specialized tasks.
Paying very low rates, like $2-3 per hour, usually means getting less skilled workers and lower quality work. Ataraxis offers affordable assistants who are highly skilled.
It usually takes 1-2 weeks to get your virtual secretary fully onboarded and familiar with your business, ensuring you work well together from the very beginning.
