Foreign companies hiring virtual assistants (VAs) in the Philippines are increasingly looking for workers who can perform multiple functions, as demand shifts away from traditional single-task administrative support, according to a study by recruitment agency VA Masters.
The study, which analyzed 323 roles opened by 253 companies between February and August 2026, found that only 26% of VA positions were focused on a single task.
Nearly three-fourths required workers to handle responsibilities across two or three business functions, with each role covering an average of 2.02 operational categories.
Administrative and operational support remained the biggest category, accounting for 37.9% of Filipino VA job orders. But these responsibilities were increasingly combined with tasks such as managing customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, social media marketing, and sales lead generation.
The data also showed a strong preference for part-time arrangements. About 72% of newly opened roles were part-time, including 46% that required 80 hours of work per month, equivalent to roughly 20 hours per week.
Full-time positions accounted for 26% of openings, while project-based work represented 2%.
Alon Pearl, founder and CEO of VA Masters, said the arrangements allow smaller companies to add workers without immediately committing to full-time positions.
“Part-time virtual assistant setups give business owners the freedom to buy the exact help they need, test new work routines without big financial risks and add more team hours as company revenue grows,” Pearl said.
“Most small businesses don’t need one person doing one thing. They need someone who can handle admin in the morning, update the CRM after lunch and get a social post out before the day ends. The candidates who do best with us describe themselves by the problems they solve, not by a single task,” he added.
The study also examined how quickly companies filled different VA positions. Across all roles, the median hiring period was 15 days.
Sales and business development positions were filled fastest, with a median hiring time of 12 days. Administrative, technical development, and social media roles took a median of 14 days, while e-commerce positions averaged 16 days and marketing and advertising roles took 17 days.
Content writing positions took the longest to fill at 27 days, according to the report.
The findings indicate that Filipino remote workers are increasingly being hired for combinations of administrative, sales, marketing, technical, and digital platform responsibilities rather than narrowly defined VA functions.
The trend also suggests that familiarity with CRM systems, digital marketing tools, automation, and other specialized platforms is becoming more important as overseas employers consolidate several business functions into individual remote roles.
