2 years ago I was offered an opportunity to take on a once in a life time part time role, which I could add to my portfolio of professional commitments. For 28 years I had managed my own paper diary and professional affairs, but it was clear to me that to take on this role (and fulfil other commitments in a professional and timely manner) I would need support. I was extremely concerned about taking on a VA but my concerns soon dissipated with Barbara. She was very professional in on boarding me, and spent the time outlining her approach and how she proposed we would work together. She has proven to be an excellent professional assistant coach, working with me to help surface and for me to clearly articulate my working preferences (especially around my day-to-day and holiday email management) as well as “what good looks like” for me in terms of her email interaction with others. She has also taken on board requests I have about meeting management and priorities, as well as making additional suggestions about making this process even more efficient. This has been done in a way that reduces stress and increases my efficiency and capacity to focus on the things that matter at the right time, and that helps me honour the boundaries I’ve set down in terms of when and how I work. I appreciate her openness and willingness for feedback, and it is this that has really made me to commit to obtaining Barbara’s support for the future. Her ability to proactively identify where she could have been more efficient and effective, is energy generating, as is her ability to be keen to understand nuances in work, relationships, and aspirations in a way she can support these aspects in a quality way. She has also helped in getting me into the world of Social Media, in a way that is not time consuming and actually allows me to enjoy the exchange of ideas emerging in the global digital community. I often sign off my emails at the end of a busy, successful week saying I couldn’t have done it without her, and more often than not this is truly the case!!
Vyla Rollins |
As a business we have been partnering with High Touch Virtual Solutions since 2017, Barbara and her team are amazing and their care and dedication to making sure our business runs smoothly is exceptional
The original contract was to help with the administration of training programmes for one of our global clients. After a few months it became obvious that Barbara and her team could extend their support outside just one client and they became an integral part of our international operations. In a world where most services can be outsourced, High Touch Virtual Solutions stands out above the rest because they care about your clients and want to do the best by them and you…it is not just about the monthly invoice to them.
Barbara provides regular updates of time spent each month and is open and creative in how best to work with us to get the best value for this. Our clients always refer to Barbara as part of our team and they all like working with Barbara and the team.
Anyone that is looking for a highly professional partner to work with them to service the needs of the client, High Touch Virtual Solutions is the place to go.
Jon Luckhurst |
Barbara is one of the most outstanding professionals I have ever worked with - her ability to manage multiple large scale events and projects is amazing. She is hard working, detail orientated and her quality standards and customer service are first class. Barbara is someone that you can rely on and that is priceless. She plans for every eventuality and is always one step ahead. I highly recommend Barbara.
Vanessa Short |
I took on High Touch Virtual Solutions when we needed support with social media content, engagement and posting. I contacted High Touch Virtual Solutions for support on my client account in the form of an associate work. Working with High Touch Virtual Solutions enabled me to have more time to manage my business and focus on my life. Letitia, an Associate with High Touch Virtual Solutions, came up with some brilliant and quirky ideas and responded to client requests really well. Her professional and friendly attitude made it very easy to work together despite the hundred miles between us. Letitia researched the company and was able to create a social media strategy using information found. The service provided by High Touch Virtual Solutions exceeded my expectations.
Helen Colquhoun |
Barbara and her team have been supporting me virtually for the last 12-18 months, and have been so easy to work with. No matter where she is in the world, she responds so quickly, and makes sure the output is as I wanted. It's been a pleasure to work with her!
Annabel Graham |
Barbara worked for me for over 2 years while I was on assignment in London. She helped to support a brand new global training program that included events in 3 different countries. Barbara helped with the planning, logistics and overall support of the events. She was highly organized, thorough and was able to work extremely well with her colleagues and the participants from all over the world. She has a very strong attention to detail, is a problem solver and gives outstanding customer service. She is also a team player and worked extremely well with all those involved in the execution of the training programs. She is also able to interface with employees at all levels, including those in the most senior levels in the organization. I would happily have Barbara work for me again
Janice Baker |
Barbara is the most effective Support Manager one can ever wish for. Her capacity to anticipate challenges and opportunities is incomparable. Barbara carries her duties with joy and precision. She is reliable and dependable – what she commits to, she delivers sterlingly
Fellow at Future Considerations, UK
Barbara is one of the most efficient, flexible and committed professionals with whom I have worked. She is consistently ‘one step ahead’ and is phenomenally diligent and resourceful. A delight to work with. I highly recommend her for her skills, experience and delightful style.
Associate at Future Considerations, UK
I have taken over the Athena Central London region 20 months ago. I like to start doing things myself to understand the whereabouts of a role or business and realised that it involved a lot of administration and relationship management with my members and visitors. In less than 18 months I had doubled the size of the network as I had taken it over and it became obvious that I couldn't continue doing everything myself. Barbara was (and still is) a member of Athena Mayfair, one of my six groups and I thought it would make sense to hire the support of someone who knew the network. It's one of the best decision I made. Barbara has now completely taken over the contacts with members, prospective visitors and visitors. She's very reliable and efficient and I'm impressed with her level of professionalism and dedication. Being a "virtual" assistant, she sometimes works from anywhere in the world and weren't it for the fact that she tells me where she is, I wouldn't notice the difference. The other aspect that I love with Barbara is that she is specialising in events management and, although most people wouldn't think of it like that, every Athena meeting is a mini-event. I can appreciate that skill set even more, because I know every thing about it as in some past professional lives I have been running large scale events myself). She just thinks of everything. I highly recommend Barbara to any person who is looking for efficient, reliable, and professional support.
Regional Director, Athena
I worked with Barbara for six years whilst part of HSBC’s Group Strategic Programmes team.Barbara’s work ethic is superb. She’s highly conscientious, can be entrusted to work at any level to accomplish the goal, and always aims to achieve the best. She works to an exceptionally high standard, is collaborative, inspirational, insightful, and a highly effective team member
Managing Director, It's Possible Ltd, UK
Barbara is an intelligent, caring and experienced individual who works well in a team environment. She holds herself to a high standard and helps develop others around her so that team goals can be exceeded together. Barbara’s warmth and optimism make her enjoyable to work with. Writing this recommendation reminds me of how much I miss working with Barbara!
President and CEO, Alberta Pension Services Corporation, Canada
Barbara is simply one of the best administrators I have worked with. She is very organised with her work and in managing other stakeholders, is considered in all she does and has great energy for making sure things get done. In short, Barbara executes and typically to a very high standard
Head of Human Resources, First Gulf Bank, UAE
Barbara is a consummate professional, she is able to anticipate needs and respond appropriately. Nothing is too much trouble, she asks the right questions to keep everything moving along at a good pace. She is a joy to work with.
London Business School