As your business takes flight, your responsibilities grow, and thus, you need extra hands to man the operations.
If you’re on the lookout for a new worker, you have two major options in the market: a virtual assistant or a traditional employee. Now, it’s challenging to choose between these staffing solutions for many reasons.
Pick the wrong one, and you could lose time, money and effort that you can’t afford to give. That said, let’s compare the advantages and differences of each of these choices before committing to a hire.
Virtual assistant versus employees—how do these two stack up against each other? Find out.
No, virtual assistants are not employees; they’re contractual, self-employed workers. VAs operate remotely, performing various business-related tasks from administrative and technical to creative.
Depending on the open position, these remote assistants can either work part-time or full-time, paid at an hourly, weekly or monthly rate.
In contrast, an employee is a person recruited as a permanent member of your organization to handle a specific job in exchange for a monthly fixed salary. An employer hires an employee through a series of evaluations and interviews.
Freelancers are self-employed workers who provide a range of services to clients on a per-task or per-project basis for short-term work.
Their various fields of expertise include writing, programming, accounting, project management, designing, teaching and coaching.
Meanwhile, virtual assistants offer remote assistance to clients. Like freelancers, they can also handle many tasks like data entry, social media management, email management, event planning and more.
If they choose to or when the job demands it, VAs can work as freelancers. However, not every freelancer can be a virtual assistant.
In recent years, especially during and after the pandemic, hiring remote professionals has been the go-to human resource for companies. Why?
VAs are super adaptable and can be employed on an “as needed” basis. You can scale them up or down when the occasion calls for it.
On the other hand, employees sit outside your office, making personal interactions possible. If you have issues that need to be addressed directly, you can quickly talk to them.
There are unique advantages and disadvantages to bringing either of these staffing solutions. To help you compare them vividly, let’s look at the key aspects of a virtual assistant and employee.
Obviously, virtual assistants and employees are not the same; they’re totally different.
In fact, we’re breaking down the elements that make them significantly diverse.
You can choose to work with your online assistant full-time or allow them a more flexible schedule. This level of flexibility also means that you can ask your VA to perform anytime, including odd hours and holidays.
Conversely, employees stick to a strict working schedule, around a 9-to-5 routine. Nevertheless, you can make exceptions to this rule and require your onsite workers to work shifts beyond normal operating hours.
Your traditional employees commute to get to the office, where they handle all their work in person. This means that you have to provide the equipment and maintain a workstation for them.
This isn’t how VAs operate. These remote workers can function anywhere in the world, so long as they have a laptop and an internet connection.
There are zero overhead expenses with virtual assistants. Sure, some employers might pay for the computer and internet connection for their remote assistants. However, you’re not obligated to do so, because most often, VAs already have the resources necessary for their work.
As for your employees, you will have to deal with the expense’s drama, from the workspace to the office supplies.
Cost is a huge factor when picking between a virtual assistant and an employee.
For a startup with a limited budget, it’s smarter to outsource virtual assistant services because they cost less, unlike employees.
Money doesn’t grow on trees, so it only makes sense that cost is one of your biggest concerns.
And if we think Services recruitment, we also have to consider replacement.
In terms of turnover, it can cost your company around 33% of your employee's yearly salary. This estimate consists of training and onboarding, interview expenditures and financial incentives for new employees.
There are also advertising fees for whatever platform you use to attract applicants.
Simply put, price is a dealbreaker that business owners and entrepreneurs, like yourself, can’t ignore.
Honestly, the moment you hire a virtual assistant, you get to enjoy so many benefits. But whether or not they are a worthy investment depends on you and your circumstances.
If you have so many tasks and you’re losing opportunities because you don’t have enough time, VAs can be a great solution. They can help alleviate your massive workload and free up your time to focus on strategic activities.
VAs provide strong support for many organizations that don’t have the resources to employ full-time employees.
Thus, when weighing whether to partner with a virtual assistant, it’s crucial to factor in the costs and the benefits of delegating tasks to someone else.
A reliable virtual assistant can eliminate the burdens of your menial responsibilities, save you time and help you be more efficient and productive.
Choosing the right remote assistant is important so you can maximize the benefits of having them on your team.
Start by working with a reputable virtual assistant agency like VAV, bringing expertise, quality service and fair pricing that align with your needs.
So, who should you hire? Well, that depends on what you really need. If the job requires onsite staff to work on specific hours, go with employees. But if the work can be handled online at flexible terms, it’s best to hire a VA.
Virtual assistants add more value to your investment. They can offer multi-faceted support and get paid only when they complete the job. Plus, they can thrive without constant supervision.
So, it’s settled then—if you want to think big, long-term, think virtual assistant.
Book a consultation with VAV, and let’s talk Services your needs.
