Have the praises for virtual assistants screamed from the top of cyber roofs reached your ears yet? Did you catch those same people saying that hiring an overseas virtual assistant is more cost-effective?
Well, they’re right but don’t just take their word for it. Before diving headfirst into this type of collaboration, do your homework. Make the most sense of why you should invest in bringing in a virtual assistant from another country.
Many startups, entrepreneurs and business owners get help from overseas virtual assistants because they come with various perks.
From saving money to working beyond operating hours, it’s not easy to find an employee from the U.S. or the U.K. willing to work odd hours without extra pay like a virtual assistant.
The top reason why you should hire an overseas virtual assistant is that they’re cheap, costing only a fraction of their western counterparts.
A remote assistant from Singapore or India will gladly work for just a fraction of the salary of most American employees.
There will be no built-in employee-associated costs like rent or compensation benefits too. You only need to pay for productive hours. This means you can keep expenses low and have more resources for investment.
Explore the cost-effective virtual assistant services right now!
Thousands of remote professionals from China, the Philippines, and India are eager to land a job. They have the skills and the time but can’t find work in their home countries because of the limited job openings.
These talented remote workers are driven to get the chance to make money; thus, they’re available and always reachable to growing entrepreneurs who want to employ their services on regular pay.
Virtual working is not a new discovery; it started way back in the 19th century and boomed in the early 90s when life coach Anastasia Stacy Brice called herself a “virtual assistant,” providing services to her international clients.
Since then, many have followed in her footsteps outside America, operating as VAs for years.
Nowadays, you can hire tons of experienced and skilled remote assistants who know how to support you and your business. They have been trained across domains, making them adaptable to your changing business needs and demands.
Overseas virtual assistants are college degree holders. It’s just that they can’t find jobs in their home countries due to limited opportunities. This makes them eager to work without asking for a high salary.
By building a remote team, you can choose from a motivated talent pool of highly educated individuals willing to take on any role.
We all celebrate different holidays. As such, people from the U.S. don’t observe the same festivities as folks in Asia. This is great news for you because it will be easier and cheaper to find someone to fill in a shift during the holiday.
Plenty of remote professionals from foreign countries are happy to work any time of the year without asking for extra pay.
Another element that pulls companies—from small to more established—to the gravity of virtual assistants, is immense versatility. Imagine how convenient and cost-effective it is for you to scale your workforce according to your current needs without committing to a long-term hire.
During rush seasons or slow periods, you can swiftly adjust your VAs' efforts up or down, nimble in responding to the changing market demands.
Enlisting the help of overseas virtual assistants hailing from all parts of the globe brings diversity. These remote professionals come from different backgrounds, giving them a fresh take on business processes.
These diverse viewpoints can infuse innovative ideas and solutions that adhere to global standards and enhance performance.
Part of making an informed business decision is understanding the disadvantages of your option to reduce the risks of dissatisfaction.
That being said, here are the common quirks of working with remote support.
Don’t get us wrong; plenty of remote professionals are excellent English speakers. Still, communication difficulties are unavoidable when English is not their primary language—your words and phrases can be taken out of context easily.
This leads to the inability of your assistant to follow instructions. The communication gap needs time to bridge, which can be frustrating at times, requiring you to iterate to create guidelines your VA easily understands.
Another problem when you hire overseas virtual assistant is connection issues. There are moments when you might need urgent support from your assistant, and they can’t get to you right away because of their poor internet and phone service lines.
One of the biggest irks with virtual assistants as your customer support is that they don’t speak native English. Many clients, particularly in the U.S., prefer American VAs who speak their dialect naturally. They are more comfortable talking to them since they can facilitate the conversation more organically, ensuring a better call experience.
The time zone difference you have with your overseas VAs is both a curse and a blessing. It’s beneficial because you get round-the-clock service, and extend your support to clients.
However, it’s a disadvantage because that 12 or more hours of time difference can create confusion. For instance, if you want the content to be written at the end of the day, they’re perplexed about what time you mean exactly since their night is your day.
Culture is an important element in doing business. It shapes how the team interacts and approaches work.
Speaking of which, your views on things may not be similar to those of your overseas assistant since they thrive in a different country and have little understanding of your work culture.
This will affect the level of work efficiency which is critical for business where time is of the essence.
We know you’re worried about privacy and data breaches, but these security concerns come with remote working. You need to deal with sharing vital information with your overseas virtual assistant.
Don’t worry. You can always take preventive measures to deter scam operations and data leaks, such as using strong access controls and encryption and leveraging security awareness training.
Outsourcing virtual assistants offshore means going global. You’re technically casting a wider net on an expansive number of talents and catching endless benefits in the process—from saving resources to 24/7 availability and everything in between.
Now, the million-dollar question is: which parts of the world do the best overseas virtual assistants operate?
There’s no standard pricing for virtual assistant services. Generally, you can hire them based on two main pricing structures—hourly rate or project fees.
Nevertheless, VA cost is greatly influenced by the following factors:
What you pay your remote support depends on what type of service you get from them
A seasoned remote professional with advanced knowledge in a specific field can work more efficiently than a novice VA, and thus, they demand higher pay.
Countries with low costs of living like the Philippines and India come at affordable rates.
Yes, it is! You can hire overseas virtual assistants from anywhere, via online marketplaces (Upwork or Fiverr) or virtual assistant agencies like VAV.
The talent pool abroad is vast, increasing your chances of finding the right person for the right job.
Yes, hiring a virtual assistant is legal. However, there are rules of employment and ethical considerations that you have to practice to safeguard not just your interest but also the welfare of your talented remote workforce.
By exploring the pros and cons of hiring overseas virtual assistants, you can make more sense of why you’re bringing in outside support from far away. Perhaps remote working may not be what your company needs, after all.
However, in the modern business ecosystem, an overseas virtual assistant is a valuable asset. By recruiting remote professionals offshore, you can tap into top-notch skills and open the door for innovation, driving efficiency and growth.
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