Is It Worth Investing in a Virtual Assistant?

Is your business growing so much that you can’t keep up? Congrats, a lot of startups will envy you. However, it does create a dilemma in that you need someone to pick up the slack. 

Forty years ago, this would’ve meant hiring someone from your town, but today, things are very different. Today, we can save money by hiring remote employees. You can save even more by just contracting them for the hours you need them instead of paying a full-time staffer. 

In this article, we’ll look at hiring a virtual assistant and whether it’s worth the investment. 

What is a Virtual Assistant (VA)? 

A VA is someone who works remotely for you. They can perform simple tasks like scheduling, admin, answering calls, data capture, and performing other functions you require. You can hire them for a few hours a day, one day a week, or as it suits you. 

Is One Assistant Enough? 

The idea of hiring a VA is to increase capacity. If you need to hire a team of people, it might be time to look at an alternative solution, like outsourcing customer support to a professional team like SupportYourApp. This helps you improve customer satisfaction. 

The Benefits of Investing in a Virtual Assistant

Every company has its own reasons for using this type of service. You’ll need to weigh up the following benefits and see if they’re worthwhile for you. 

Cost-Effectiveness

The top reason most companies choose a VA is to save on costs. You don’t have to worry about paying bonuses or budgeting for perks and annual leave. If you hire the VA through an agency, their company does all of that. Alternatively, when you hire a freelancer, they work on a contractual basis. 

This gives you a cost-effective way to access the skills you need at a lower rate. Your VA might reside in a country where the cost of living is much lower. You save as a result. 

Either way, since you’re only paying for the time that you need, you don’t have to pay a fortune. 

Better Time Management

Hiring a VA frees you from boring admin tasks. You can then concentrate on tasks that help you build your business. Having this support makes it easier to manage your time and improve productivity. 

Flexibility

Traditional employees tend to work set office hours. While you can let them work remotely, many like being able to come into the office. A VA can work in a different country or time zone altogether. 

This allows you to get the work done outside normal business hours. Your team can then start the day with all the admin out of the way. You get the flexibility of an employee who can work at different times of the day without having to provide office space. 

What’s more, you can hire them on an ad hoc basis as you need them. When working with an agency, you can usually find someone who’s able to assist in a short period of time. 

Diverse Skill Sets

Don’t be put off by the name virtual assistants. While they can assist with general admin and scheduling, many have other useful skills. There are people who specialize in digital marketing, IT services, and graphic design, for example. 

You can find someone with the exact skills you need for your business. The advantage is that you pay far less than you would for a full-time employee. You can pick and choose the skills as you use them. 

Potential for Growth

A problem that many small business owners have is that there aren’t enough hours in the day. You get so caught up in the tedious tasks that you don’t have time to grow your business. 

If you hand over the tasks, you free up time for the things that’ll bring in more business. This can include: 

• Exploring new markets
• Developing new products or services
• Improving customer relationships
• Fostering new leads

You can also task skilled VAs with sales support, lead generation, and customer engagement. You can scale the amount of support you need up or down as necessary.

Challenges and Considerations

Considering the potentially high return on investment, hiring a VA seems perfect. However, you need to be aware of the challenges. This is especially true if you’re working with someone in a different time zone or country. There may be cultural differences to consider. 

You’ll need to set up clear lines of communication and carefully express your expectations. 

Aside from these issues, you have to vet the contractor carefully. You need to ensure that they’re trustworthy and that they’ll protect your data properly. You’ll be sharing customer information with them, so they must use properly protected devices and networks. 

Finally, of course, there’s the issue of finding the right candidate. You can work with a company that has a trained team to save yourself some time. However, you’ll want to check their reputation before employing anyone. 

If you decide to work with a freelancer, you need someone who aligns with your company’s values. They need to be reliable, trustworthy, and professional. After all, they’ll represent you in the long run. 

Conclusion

You might benefit from hiring a virtual assistant. That said, it’s not the right move for every firm. You need to carefully weigh up the pros and cons before you look for a VA. Finally, you need to take the time to properly vet the candidates. The right person will be worth the investment.