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If you are a business owner looking to grow your business, the next step will naturally be to hire more staff. Unfortunately, anyone in business knows that the cost of hiring a new employee is enormous. After all, salary costs are not limited to an individual’s salary. There are many other factors to consider, such as the cost of recruiting and training, benefits, office space, and other expenses. These overheads can add up.
What can you do if you need more employees but are hesitant to hire due to the risks involved? The solution: hire an offshore virtual assistant or VA.
Virtual assistants are independent contractors who provide various administrative, creative, and technical services to businesses. They usually work remotely and in many cases from abroad. Using virtual assistants to scale your business is a more convenient and cost effective alternative to having a local employee to help increase your business productivity.
While expanding a team with virtual assistants isn’t an entirely new concept, the practice is becoming increasingly popular. Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic forced companies to embrace remote working as part of normal business operating procedures, but the digital age has also made it easier to perform a wider range of tasks at home. distance. Traditional ways of doing business may well be a thing of the past, as technological innovations in digital communication and collaboration continue to improve.
Now, you might think finding and hiring virtual assistants on your own is the next practical step. But while the DIY route might save you a few bucks up front, it’ll likely cost you more in the long run. It is really ideal to leave the search, verification and hiring of virtual assistants to experienced specialists like virtual recruitment agencies. Here’s why.
- They have access to a large pool of ready-to-work talent.
An established virtual recruitment agency already has a large pool of talented virtual assistants who are ready to work for you. This allows you to start onboarding and training your new hire as soon as possible.
Another advantage of working with a virtual recruitment agency is that they screen their talents before approving them. This means that you don’t have to worry about doing this tedious task yourself. Depending on the exact skills you are looking for, you can count on an agency to connect you with the ideal candidates within days because they are already in contact with several VAs.
- They allow you to hire faster.
Related to the point above, a recruitment agency can quickly search their existing pool for a perfect job to see which virtual assistants are ready to take on a new client. Whether you need temporary workers, part-time or full-time workers, the agency can help you sort out the small details quickly so you can get back to business-critical tasks and decisions.
- You are guaranteed to have quality candidates.
A reputable virtual recruitment agency screens its candidates before recommending them to a client. This verification process usually includes background checks and basic skills assessments. A great recruiting organization should be meticulous in their vetting process to find only the best candidates for you. In addition to doing background checks on prospective potential advisors, they may also perform skills assessments to ensure candidates have the right skills and knowledge.
- You can “try on” employees and change them if necessary.
There are always risks when hiring remote workers. Some VAs may not always be the right fit the first time, which is okay! Good recruitment agencies will help you monitor and supervise newly hired VAs. And if you don’t think they’re the right person for the job, you can ask the agency to match you with a more suitable candidate.
- You get time, effort and financial savings.
If you think going through a virtual recruitment agency is more expensive than doing it yourself, it’s time to reconsider. When hiring a virtual assistant, you need to think long term. The upfront costs you pay to recruitment agencies are only a fraction of what you would pay if you consider the following: advertising, pre-employment screening, training, onboarding, mentoring and performance monitoring. Not only are these tasks financially costly, but they also require a lot of time and effort if you take care of these tasks yourself, especially if you have no prior knowledge or experience in recruitment and selection.
In addition, recruitment agencies help to cushion or minimize hiring risks. Some companies hire contract teleworkers to cover a few weeks or months of work. Since virtual assistants are already skilled or specialized in a certain niche, there would be no need for training to perform the tasks immediately. Once the work has been completed and the contract terminated, the agencies serve as an intermediary to smoothly facilitate the end of the business relationship.
- They take care of onboarding and payroll.
One of the main reasons companies hire virtual assistants is to get the help they need right away. Regardless of a remote worker’s experience, onboarding is a must because no two companies or business processes are the same. For organizations that are too busy to onboard new virtual assistants, the staffing agency can take on this role so that the new hire can start performing their tasks smoothly and as soon as possible.
Another benefit of using a virtual recruitment agency is that they take care of the payroll for the remote worker. Depending on the state or country, there may be things that need to be taken care of immediately, such as taxes, compensation, or unemployment benefits. Additionally, they can also arrange the payment method of the AV and ensure that they are paid accurately and on time.
- It’s easier to get seasonal help.
There are days when the work becomes overwhelming, even with a full team of office workers. During these busy periods, overtime rendering is inevitable as certain deliverables and deadlines must be met. These periods can range from a few days to several months. When this happens, burnout can be a risk for your staff.
Temporary virtual assistants can help with some of the work to ease the burden on full-time employees. These teleworkers can pick up pending tasks when the last employee goes out for the day. This arrangement saves on overtime pay because virtual assistants can work on an hourly basis and largely avoid turnover. However, all the work involved in finding and hiring a VA for temporary work is simply not something a busy person like you should be doing. That’s why it’s best to let an agency provide you with the seasonal help you need.
What do you think of virtual assistants? Would you like to hire one for your business? Share your thoughts below.
