Big and small businesses alike have started embracing the widely accepted trend of hiring virtual assistants. In fact, many business owners have already reaped a number of advantages of having a virtual assistant on their team. But, it is not all flowers and rainbows, and hiring one has also its drawbacks.
Apparently, virtual assistants make a significant contribution to everyone who needs them. Nonetheless, the question remains: Is it wise and worth hiring a virtual assistant?
Allow us to guide you through it.
These are some of the positive and negative aspects of hiring a VA.
Advantages of Virtual Assistants
There are several benefits to working with a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants may offer you high-quality services from anywhere in the world, saving you time and money by removing the need to recruit a full-time employee. Let's go over some of the greatest benefits of working with a VA.
Higher productivity
This is most likely one of the most significant reasons to hire a virtual assistant. A company may provide products or services to clients and customers more quickly the more productive its employees are.
A company can grow its revenue and eventually scale the business through increasing output rate. Improving productivity is essential while attempting to outperform rivals in the market.
Yet, it's never a good idea to sacrifice quality to increase efficiency, particularly in a small business setting. Small firms must become more efficient in order to raise productivity levels rather than taking shortcuts. Virtual assistants increase efficiency, which increases productivity.
Greater efficiency
You may find that you have more time to dedicate to vital business duties when you have a virtual assistant who can handle the minor, less important tasks. You may concentrate on expanding your company while a virtual assistant handles your social media platforms and administrative responsibilities.
Opportunity for workplace flexibility
Interested in providing 24-hour processing on your website without having to shell out a money-for-night differential? Employ a virtual assistant from a time zone that is not your own. Even after you have checked out for the day, your business can continue to operate online by hiring a virtual assistant.
Make up for talent and skill shortfalls
You might be an expert at business growth, but it doesn't mean you're a social media powerhouse. You excel at customer presentations, but you find it difficult to follow up or process compensation. A virtual assistant could effectively complete duties that you or other team members are unsure how to complete, relieving the pressure on the rest of the team.
Good organization
You may stay organized and make sure that all of your tasks are finished on time by hiring a virtual assistant. You may ensure that every area of your business is operating effectively without worrying about managing it yourself by giving some jobs to an experienced professional. Also, it offers you more time to strategize for growth and concentrate on the greater picture.
Cost efficiency
Generally speaking, hiring a virtual assistant is less expensive than hiring a full-time staff. Virtual assistants frequently bill by the task or the hour, allowing you to only pay for what you really use. This can allow you to stay within your spending limits while still receiving high-quality services.
If you're hiring a permanent VA, you might be able to just use them part-time on certain days of the week. As a result, the VA can work for others while still managing their time well. This allows you to start small and work your way up.
Lower overhead and training
Hiring a virtual assistant can help you save money by cutting down on overhead expenses and training time, which is one of the largest benefits. There is no need to stress about paying for office space or pricey equipment while working with a VA.
Although you don't need to spend additional money on training most VAs because they are already skilled in their domains, you still need to place a high priority on your Standard Operating Procedures. This frees up your time so that you may concentrate more on running your company.
Virtual assistants can offer services around-the-clock without needing to be present in person at your workplace because they operate remotely from anywhere in the world. For businesses seeking an extra pair of hands without breaking the budget or to keep things going while you take a break, employing a virtual assistant is one of the most affordable options.
Help with tasks you are unfamiliar with.
A VA can help with jobs that you might not have the skills or experience to handle yourself thanks to their expertise in a variety of sectors, including data entry, customer support, and digital marketing. As a result, companies can benefit from specific skill sets without having to add a new full-time employee.
What are the disadvantages of a virtual assistant?
Although having a virtual assistant has many perks, we're the first to admit that things aren't always sunshine and roses. This kind of outsourcing has a few important disadvantages that you should consider first before hiring one.
It can be challenging to communicate.
The potential difficulty of communicating when working with a virtual assistant is one major disadvantage. It can be challenging to keep everyone on the same page and guarantee that assignments are completed accurately and on schedule while working with someone remotely. Furthermore, cultural differences between you and your VA may result in misunderstandings or miscommunications.
Clear communication standards must be established from the beginning to promote successful remote work contracts. Examples include scheduling regular check-ins or using project management software like Asana or Trello. Also, spending some time learning about one another's cultures and origins can assist both parties to understand one another, which will ultimately lead to improved cooperation and interaction over great distances.
Language difference
Communication might be challenging owing to language issues when employing a virtual assistant from a different country whose native language differs from yours. Working remotely with someone who speaks a different language from you can result in misunderstandings or miscommunications, which may affect the precision and reliability of the work being done.
Higher risk of a security breach
While working remotely has many advantages for businesses, like improved productivity and scalability, there are also concerns that must be considered. As virtual assistants frequently have access to personal or highly confidential information that belongs to your company, there is always a chance that this information could be compromised if appropriate security precautions are not implemented.
You must take measures to manage any private information provided with your VA in order to guarantee that your data is always protected.
Possibility of abandonment
The possibility of being abandoned is one drawback of hiring a virtual assistant. There's always a chance that a VA you hire won't stay on the job long or won't finish responsibilities on time if you don't undertake adequate background checks and due diligence.
This could put your company in challenging circumstances because it might take some time to find a suitable replacement, which could lead to delays and inconveniences in your company’s strategy and performance.
So, it's necessary that businesses properly screen any possible VAs before entering into a contract with them and make sure they're dependable, trustworthy people who can continuously deliver on their commitments over time.
There will be no personal supervision.
Since you can't track their progress in real-time, lack of guidance and control can be a problem if you depend on your VA to finish crucial jobs correctly and on schedule. It can also be challenging to resolve problems or errors that occur while duties are being completed without speaking with your VA directly.
Having a line of communication open between the two of you will help to ensure that your virtual assistant produces high-quality work by allowing queries and issues to be dealt with immediately. Routine checks via email or video chat are one option, as is having someone else in your company supervise your VA's job.
Lack of face-to-face meetings
As your VA will be working remotely, you won't be able to engage with them face-to-face on a regular basis, which could make it challenging to make decisions successfully and efficiently. Also, it can be more difficult to establish rapport and trust with your VA if you don't have any direct connection with them, which could eventually result in errors or confusion.
How can Voohl help you choose the right virtual assistant?
Fortunately, there are ways to work around these potential issues, and Voohl has established a system for preventing them from even happening. Voohl is a leading outsourcing company that specializes in providing dedicated remote staff and offshore staffing services. We provide clients not only with the most qualified virtual assistants from the Philippines but also with a healthy variety of technical, creative, marketing and administrative talent.
A surefire way to establish your business or help you in maintaining a smooth running flow is to equip yourself with the greatest virtual assistant. Fortunately, Voohl is the only place you need to look. With a track record of introducing outstanding virtual assistants to business owners.
We can make your search for the best VA a little easier. We provide high-caliber, reasonably priced services that can advance your company. To find out more about how we can support your needs, get in touch with us today.
