There’s no doubt that virtual assistants are currently instrumental in the growth of many businesses around the world. VAs have allowed business owners to save time and focus on their companies’ growth by enabling entrepreneurs to assign a myriad of tasks to them, including back-office work.
Even though many companies have already benefitted from the services of reliable virtual assistants around the world, many business owners still have reservations on whether or not they’ll hire virtual assistants. One reason why some entrepreneurs are holding back in getting a VA is that looking for the perfect one is challenging and virtually impossible.
Worries Regarding Virtual Assistants
There are several worries that business owners feel when it comes to hiring a virtual assistant, to the point that they consider whether hiring one is even worth it.
Communication Issues
One valid concern that business owners have when working with virtual assistants is their communications. Both employer and the remote workers will have to communicate to be able to accomplish anything. Business owners can contact their VAs through chat, call, or video call. The problem with having to communicate remotely is the resulting misinterpretation of the messages and the risk of losing contact with the virtual assistants.
Should power outages and calamities occur, it stands to reason that entrepreneurs will not be able to communicate with their remote workers. When communications are lost between the employees and the employer, then their productivity will likely drop.
Since virtual assistants are found everywhere in the world, the likelihood of messages being misinterpreted due to the meaning and context of the message being lost in translation will be high. Due to the remote nature of the VAs work, communication between the two parties will be troublesome. There is a lesser chance of misunderstanding when the two parties talk in person.
No Personal Supervision
Business owners can easily monitor their employees if they have an office-based workforce, but if they have a remote one, then it’s significantly more challenging to manage them. Virtual assistants can easily be assigned a variety of tasks to accomplish, even on a deadline, but checking the quality of their output is another thing entirely. Virtual assistants handed tasks that require proper supervision won’t be easily checked on.
The progress of the virtual assistants’ may be tracked, but companies can only see the quality of their output when the outputs are delivered to their employers. Managers will not be able to comment and clarify things with their virtual assistants quickly due to the problems with communications.
Data Security Risks
Some companies are reluctant when it comes to hiring virtual assistants since there’s a chance that data breaches will occur, especially since the virtual assistants will have access to several sensitive pieces of information so that they can accomplish their tasks. To mitigate the risks of data breaches, companies will have to be cautious when hiring a virtual assistant by conducting a thorough background check.
Advantages of Having Virtual Assistants
The worries that business owners have when it comes to hiring virtual assistants are valid since they naturally come with the territory. Having people working from home in one’s employ will come with its share of challenges that can make coordination between employer and employee difficult.
Worrying that a virtual assistant can be bad for business is okay, but entrepreneurs shouldn’t forget to keep the advantage of having one in mind.
Cheap Labour
Not all companies can afford to hire a full-time employee since they cost a lot, what with their monthly wages and auxiliary fees. Businesses can opt to employ capable freelancers to fill their ranks when they still can’t afford to get a permanent employee, while receiving high-quality output, as long as they screen the applicants thoroughly to ensure that they get the right VA.
Virtual assistants are significantly cheaper than office-based employees, especially the ones from the Philippines.
Effective Workload and Time Management
One reason to hire a virtual assistant for the company is to make efficient use of their time. Some entrepreneurs and business owners resort to either learning new skills or having their employees learn new ones. Hiring virtual assistants is a cheap and efficient way to ease the weight of a heavy workload from the regular employees to a remote one.
Virtual assistants are excellent for companies that are struggling with deadlines and cannot handle more tasks. No business owner wants to decline a client needlessly, especially if their reason is that they can no longer accept more work. Looking for the best virtual assistant services will help businesses manage their time and workload.
Allow Companies to Operate 24/7
Hiring foreign virtual assistants gives companies the chance to have a remote worker that operates in a different timezone. The time difference will let companies have a workforce that can work even when everyone else is asleep since they can ensure round-the-clock efficiency that can boost overall productivity. The mere fact that foreign virtual assistants can let companies operate 24/7 is enough to ask whether or not a company can afford not to have a virtual assistant.
In conclusion
Hiring a virtual assistant may seem bad for a business only when they employ incapable VAs or when they don’t make an effort to look for a reliable one. The advantages of hiring a virtual assistant outweigh the disadvantages, and such can be enough to say that virtual assistants are good for businesses.
Hiring a virtual assistant is risky, but with due diligence, a company will be able to get a reliable virtual assistant.
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