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Virtual Assistants Are Changing the Remote Worker Landscape
As more companies move away from physical workplaces to embrace hybrid to fully remote structures, the demand for virtual assistance is increasingly on the rise. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2025, 50% of knowledge workers will be employing virtual assistants on a daily basis.
Virtual assistants are independent contractors who offer a vast number of services to businesses remotely. Because they come with different skills and specializations, they are a particularly flexible solution for businesses that need help with a specific function or department or need someone to handle multiple responsibilities at once. Proving to be an efficient, adaptable and cost-effective benefit, virtual assistants can aid businesses across various industries — including healthcare, finance and communications — in achieving their goals.
One of the primary benefits of virtual assistants is they are available to address tedious, repetitive tasks such as bookkeeping, appointment scheduling, monitoring email correspondence, social media management and recruiting, freeing up time to focus on more high-value tasks. By making more time available, virtual assistants allow organizations to focus their energy and make strides on critical projects. There is also the benefit of increased efficiency in work production due to a limited amount of distractions and the ability to schedule work time when it is best for the assistant.
Introducing a virtual assistant to the business to handle data entry, schedule management and take care of accounting also frees up attention for more collaboration and creative pursuits. With a virtual assistant available, businesses work to create space for employees to thrive by ensuring they don’t take on too much responsibility but, instead, are able to focus fully on the specifics of their role.
Virtual assistants can also widely reduce employer costs, saving businesses 50 to 70 percent on average. Because virtual assistants are independent contractors, businesses have the opportunity to hire for long-term service or project-related tasks, giving them flexible options that can decrease staffing costs.
The pandemic has shown that it is possible to maintain, and even accelerate, success by working virtually. Virtual assistants provide a cost-effective and efficient solution to managing the digital workplace and can provide flexibility and targeted expertise to help businesses adapt to and succeed in a remote work style. —Randall Averitte, president and CEO of Scottsdale-based Remote Raven (hireremoteraven.com), an affordable and flexible staffing company that connects business owners with highly qualified remote workers to quickly fill positions DAILIES TOP STORIES
‘In Business Dailies’ Most Views Last 30 Days
Here are the stories with the most views over the past 30 days (prior to press time) that were features in our In Business Dailies. The In Business Dailies hit email inboxes twice each weekday — at 9:30 a.m. and updated at 4:30 p.m. Sign up today at www.inbusinessphx.com/dailies-signup
Economy & Trends | Cover Story | July 2022
Are You Game? How Gaming and Sporting Events Are a ‘Big Win’ for Our Economy
by RaeAnne Marsh Gaming and sports have gone together for a long time; the new trend in sportsbooks brings it out of oddsmakers’ back rooms and into prominent display.
“With nearly $2.8 billion wagered, the positive economic boosts from regulated sports wagering have been vast and should only trend upward as the market matures,” says Christopher Boan, analyst with BetArizona. “Sports wagering has contributed than $8 million to state coffers, bolstering the economic impacts of COVID-19.”
Leadership & Management | Roundtable | July 2022
Brainstorming – Is Online or InPerson More Creative?
by Susan Robertson The short answer? BOTH. Or NEITHER. It’s solely dependent on how the meeting is structured and managed.
Commercial Real Estate & Development | Guest Columnists | July 2022
The Future of Work: Dynamic Environments
by Rory Carder As we think about the future of work, we know we’re not going back to the old ways of doing things. We have an opportunity to explore new possibilities, bringing the best of how we worked during the pandemic to work better post-pandemic. We can imagine a new workplace ecosystem that puts the focus on what’s best for individuals and teams based on how they do their best work.
Leadership & Management | Feature | July 2022
Succession Planning: Preparing for the Expected or Unexpected
by Jeff Friesen With an aging population of baby boomers in ownership roles, succession planning has become an ongoing priority. Although some of the activities were paused due to uncertainties related to the pandemic, the ideas have been brought back to the table with interest rates remaining relatively low and liquidity relatively available to deploy.
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Local Standouts Recognized for Achievements and Philanthropy
PHILANTHROPY
Taylor Morrison Helps Provide Essential Needs
Locally based homebuilder Taylor Morrison and HomeAid’s Phoenix division joined forces earlier this year in a charity drive called “Seats & Feet” to collect sock and underwear donations benefitting neighbors in need — essential and high-need yet least donated items for those experiencing homelessness. Taylor Morrison’s Phoenix office donated 1,000 total pairs of socks and underwear. taylormorrison.com • homeaid.org
Babbo’s Day of Giving Raises $105,634
Babbo Italian Eatery celebrated its 20th anniversary on April 7 with the grand opening of its Goodyear location and a Day of Giving to benefit the Seena Magowitz Foundation, a nonprofit committed to the awareness, prevention, and cure of pancreatic cancer. All Babbo locations donated 100% of that day’s profits, and funds were matched by the local family-owned business as well as by Roger E. Magowitz personally. babboitalian.com • seenamagowitzfoundation.org
Nine nonprofits received grants recently from Arizona Federal Credit Union through the hyper-locally focused Local Causes Visa Debit Card program it launched in 2020. Unlike the other rounds of funding, representatives from Arizona Credit Union’s employee resource groups participated in the selection of the Local Causes recipients, allowing employees the chance to participate directly in the impact Arizona Federal makes. arizonafinancial.org
TruWest Donates Supplies-Filled Backpacks
TruWest Credit Union continues to be a dedicated partner in education through the support of K-12 schools and universities throughout the local community. As part of its recent annual school supply backpack drive, TruWest employees delivered 96 backpacks filled with supplies to students at Galveston Elementary School in Chandler, Arizona. Additionally, 30 laptops were donated to the school for student use. truwest.org
Larry H. Miller Dealerships Support Food Banks
With the price of groceries soaring, local food banks are feeling the strain, and anticipate back to school expenses next month being especially difficult on families who are already stretched financially. In response, Larry H. Miller Dealerships has kicked off its second annual monthlong “Food Fuels Learning” campaign, to support the after school and weekend food programs at St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona in Tucson. lhmauto.com
Fennemore Continues Its Western Expansion
Fennemore is continuing its strategic Western expansion, combining with the San Francisco Bay Area’s Wendel Rosen LLP. The tie-up puts Fennemore on track to crack the Am Law 200 list, a ranking of the 200 top-grossing U.S. law firms, in 2022. The combination, which became effective July 1, will create a firm with approximately $140 million in annualized gross revenue.
In all, 56 attorneys and 45 allied legal professionals from Wendel will join Fennemore, bringing the firm’s total roster to 250 attorneys across the Western United States. The combined firm will be called Fennemore Wendel in Northern California and Fennemore across the rest of its footprint in Arizona, Southern California, Colorado and Nevada.
The Bay Area represents one of the largest technology and business centers in the world. Together with the team from Wendel, Fennemore will work to help its clients capitalize on this region’s phenomenal economy.
Fennemore’s move is consistent with the firm’s core strategy to go where businesses and people are moving while becoming a key legal services provider in the areas of real estate, land use, litigation and trusts & estates. In 2021, Law.com named Fennemore the fastest-growing BigLaw firm in the country.
Over the last two years, Fennemore has completed three other major onboardings that include a merger with the Central Valley California firm Dowling Aaron, the addition of the Reilly LLP litigation team in Denver and a mass lateral hiring of approximately 50 attorneys and allied legal professionals in Southern California.
Fennemore’s march forward is supported by a commitment to technology and a client-centric and people-first culture as evidenced by the firm’s 96% job satisfaction rating among all employees. The firm’s industry-leading 91.4% year-over-year attorney retention figure stands in stark contrast to the headcount loss of other firms during the “Great Resignation.” —James Goodnow, CEO at Fennemore (www.fennemorelaw.com)
Two New Restaurants Coming to Downtown Mesa as the City’s Revitalization Continues
As Arizona’s third-largest city, Mesa is known for its charm, diversity and affordable high standard of living. Downtown Mesa has experienced a renaissance with the introduction of light rail service, redevelopment of its historic core, and the new Arizona State University Campus at Mesa City Center.
Located within a federal qualified opportunity zone, Downtown Mesa has become an increasingly attractive location for real estate and business investment. Opportunity Zone funds provide investors with diversified exposure to real estate projects that are impactful to the local communities and the potential for significant tax benefits.
Scottsdale-based CaliberCos Inc., an Opportunity Zone investor, announced the leasing of two more of its properties in Downtown Mesa as part of the Company’s ongoing redevelopment efforts in the city.
Level 1 Arcade Bar will be moving into 48 W. Main Street, bringing a family-friendly environment for all ages to enjoy a retro arcade experience along with a full menu and bar. In addition, Copper City Spirits will occupy 155 W. Main Street. The restaurant’s owners operate another location in Tempe, under the name AZ Distilling Co., which is known for its locally sourced products and award-winning spirits, including Copper City Bourbon, the first legally produced bourbon in Arizona.
“Mesa is a vibrant, dynamic city and these new businesses will be well supported by its booming population growth. We’re proud to be part the redevelopment efforts in Mesa, which are providing our investors with the opportunity to invest in meaningful, high-impact projects with competitive returns,” says Chris Loeffler, chief executive officer of Caliber.
Caliber began acquiring several buildings in and around Downtown Mesa in 2017. Today, the Company is developing 10 buildings and approximately 160,000 square feet of mixeduse space. These projects are all part of Caliber’s Opportunity Zone Fund and are central to the redevelopment of Downtown Mesa. —Mike Hunter
CaliberCos Inc. caliberco.com
