Having a Virtual Assistant can change your life. It has ours, and there are so many benefits to you to have a Virtual Assistant or a team of Virtual Assistants, work with you (careful it is WITH you, not FOR you…).
Most people think about a Virtual Assistant as someone on your team that assist you in any capacity that works not in the same office as you, but that’s not true. While this is the majority of the cases, you could consider someone who’s interaction with you is 90% or more out of your physical presence. Some companies will have a quarterly meeting of their remote team members and will fly them in for a day or two to build camaraderie and team cohesiveness.
But they are still virtual since the vast majority of the time you aren’t experiencing their physical presence.
So now that we’re clear on the definition, what are the benefits of hiring someone to work virtual (remote) versus in person?
1. Talent may only be available virtually.
Some of the best talents out there want to work virtually; they enjoy the freedom, flexibility, and lifestyle that comes with working from home or in a virtual environment. More and more people don’t want to do this as they wish to save commute costs and live in more rural areas, or even in mountains and deserts, places where office jobs are in short supply.
They feel they can have a better quality of life living where they want, or even in another country - why not work from the Bahamas or elsewhere if that’s what you desire?
Additionally, that talent you want may have family obligations they must meet. For example, they may be raising their kids at home or taking care of elderly parents.
2. Overhead is lower than usual, so costs are generally low.
Typically the Virtual Assistant will come with their essential office equipment, and you will NOT have to provide it. These can include:
- computer
- monitor
- office space
- internet
So even if you do have an office you commute to, you can keep your office costs down since you won’t have to provide physical space and equipment for that team member.
3. Salaries are typically lower.
Usually, you’ll want to get a virtual assistant in a part of the country, or overseas, that will have lower salaries.
For example, I live in Orange County, California, and in California, the minimum wage is $12 per hour in 2020 and will be $15 per hour in 2022. In Alabama, it’s $7.25. Furthermore, if you hire someone overseas, say from the Philippines, which is what we advocate, the salary costs for the same job will be about 10% of the United States cost.
Other countries may not have that low of a cost, but they are lower than the United States.
Benefits may also be lower; check with your tax advisor on this.
4. The flexibility of working conditions
As previously mentioned, people are desiring more and more flexibility in their lives and WANT to work remotely.
And while you don’t have to, we’ve found it beneficial to allow team members to work more according to their circadian rhythms, meaning some work best at night, others work best earlier in the day. What we do is require a minimum overlap daily of say 2-4 hours. The rest of the time, they set their schedule. Because it’s not about how much time is worked; it’s about results.
That flexibility also extends to their office environment - they can set it up how they want it; looking our a window, working in the backyard, at their mom’s house, etc.
5. You (and them) can more easily do Deep Work
One of the biggest problems in an office environment is the open-door policy. We can talk about that in another article, but the got-a-minute meetings from people kill productivity. Thus you can easily have much more control of your time and can focus during long stretches.
Just make sure you turn off your notifications on your computer and phone!
6. Better lifestyle with the ability to live where you want
Remember, you can go virtual too! This means that all of the lifestyle advantages, lower costs, etc., are yours also.
So why not live where you want? Work the hours you want? Stop spending time commuting and more time on yourself?
7. Communication is more even amongst team members
Working virtually or with a virtual person, real-time communication will happen most often via some group messaging such as Slack or Basecamp (please stop using email and phone texts for your team communication!)
This levels the playing field for your team. Why?
Two reasons:
1. Some folks take longer than others to process information and share their thoughts and opinions. So in a group meeting, they won’t be able to participate as much since they can’t come back with their thoughts and ideas immediately, or as fast as others. Thus, they can feel left out, and your organization loses a huge amount of brainpower, and possibly the best solutions/ideas available.
With group messaging, they have a few extra minutes to think through everything and can now respond just about as fast as everyone else.
2. You lose the bad non-verbal Communication that inhibits conversations. I recently heard about a company where a person has an awful RBF (Resting Bitch Face) and is in a position of authority. What that person is expressing through their face is NOT what’s going on inside of them. However, their RBF is so powerful that it still causes people not to want to express their ideas in a room and then to either face the RBF or even to get shot down.
With group messaging, those wrong non-verbal cues will not happen.
8. Work can still be done even in emergencies
Emergencies happen all of the time! Here are a few:
- you get sick
- they get sick
- a family member gets sick
- accidents
- a pandemic (think COVID-19)
- awful weather
- car break-down
Conclusion
So are you convinced of the benefits of hiring someone virtually?
If you are or want to make a shift from in-person to remote, signup for our membership so that you can Hire & Thrive with a Virtual Assistant without Breaking the Bank!