Australia might not always be one of the first countries that come to mind when you think of outsourcing overseas.
However, there are a number of benefits to hiring Australian virtual assistants, and it may just turn out to be the best choice for you.
The obvious upsides are that Australians speak English. It’s more similar to UK-English in terms of spelling, but you’re not going to have any language barrier issues.
Australians also have a similar working culture as we do here in the US, and they have great infrastructure and tech.
Effectively, time zone and accents aside, when you hire a virtual assistant in Australia you’ll barely notice any difference than if you’d hired an assistant in the US.
Advantages of Working With Australian Virtual Assistants
There are a handful of benefits of working with Australian virtual assistants. Here are some of them:
English Speaking
The number one pain point when outsourcing overseas is communication issues or language barriers. This doesn’t mean you cannot find fluent English-speaking Virtual Assistant’s in any country, but Australia is one of the few countries that are native English speaking.
This is an important point as miscommunications or misunderstandings can cause substantial, costly errors. Hiring from a native English-speaking country greatly reduces the possibility of this happening.
Time Difference (Depending on Where You Are in the World)
Time differences are another factor to consider when hiring overseas. Depending on where you are in the world, this can either be an advantage, or a disadvantage.
For example, if you’re on the east coast in the EST time zone, 9 am your time is 11 pm in Australia as they are 15 hours ahead. So, while you’re starting work, your assistant will likely be fast asleep.
This can be an advantage for most businesses. You can effectively keep your business ticking over around the clock by assigning work while you sleep. Alternatively, a lot of virtual assistants are willing to change their working hours to match that of their clients.
You Can Network in Australia via Your Virtual Assistant
Working with a Virtual Assistant in a different country is one of the best ways to make local connections there.
If you have an interest in making business connections in Australia, having an Australian-based Virtual Assistant make those calls is going to be a lot more effective than doing it from the US.
It’s those little nuances and using local “lingo” that often resonates when networking. Plus, not being in the same time zone is a hurdle for taking calls and replying in a timely manner.
Strong Educational Background
As a first-world country, Australia is at the forefront when it comes to education. Both in terms of their schooling system and university, and continual professional development.
It’s not hard to find well-educated, experienced, virtual assistants in Australia. This helps bridge some of the workflow challenges you may encounter working with assistants elsewhere.
Disadvantages of Working With Australian Virtual Assistants
There’s never a one-size-fits-all when it comes to outsourcing. The advantages of hiring Australian assistants do outweigh the disadvantages, but one of the following may be a deal-breaker for you:
Higher Prices
Virtual assistant’s hourly rates in Australia are similar to that of US-based assistants. Generally speaking, you can find lower rates than hiring within the US, but it’s certainly not as inexpensive as hiring from the Philippines or India.
Time Difference
The time difference can be make-or-break for some businesses. With Australia having such a large time zone difference, you’re not likely to find an assistant to match your business hours.
That said, it’s fairly common to find virtual assistant companies willing to be flexible on working hours. After all, if they want international clients they have to expect time zones to be an issue.
More Research May Be Required Due to Your Business’ Location
A problem you can often run into when hiring overseas is that knowledge gap between understanding how your business fits in with your local area.
If you’re operating an online business and are remote yourself for the most part, this isn’t going to be an issue. For businesses with a local presence, however, there may be some “lost in translation” issues to overcome.
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