A virtual employee can be an excellent alternative to hiring an in-house employee, especially if you are considering your first hire.
Virtual employees work remotely and are most often employed by a third-party company, so you are essentially buying a service from that company, which means you don’t have to worry about payroll processing or tax liabilities.
Advantages of Working with Virtual Employees
Technology has gone a very long way in making what was virtually impossible back then, a normal day in the office today.
Who would have thought that having an employee who’s not in the same office would be possible?
The truth is there’s more to it to working with virtual employees than just the perks brought about by technology.
Build your Business Faster
By spending less time with the tactical workload and focusing on your “CEO” responsibilities, you’ll be able to scale your business faster than you originally projected.
It helps a lot when you have an “employee” managing your non-core processes because you don’t have to worry about them getting done without running out of time.
Ease of Hiring and Recruitment
Let’s be honest: hiring is a pain!
Not all business owners are blessed with time to go through dozens of resumes or conduct interviews to find the right person. This is one area that makes virtual employees a valuable option.
A virtual agency can manage this entire process on your behalf.
Legal issues, IT concerns, and the entire hiring process, in particular, can take so much of your time if you have to do them all alone. This shouldn’t be any of your concern anymore when you have a virtual staffing service doing all of them for you.
It’s certainly faster and more convenient than trying to find every hire yourself.
Slash Staffing Costs
Paying for employees’ salaries is one thing but shouldering overhead costs?
That’s entirely different.
Hiring an in-house employee automatically puts you in charge of paying for overhead costs like office space rental, office supplies, IT services (laptops, desktops, monitors, hardware, software, etc,), and ancillary services just to name a few.
While you’re technically hiring full-time staff in virtual employees, what makes them a better alternative is that you don’t have to cover similar expenses because the virtual agency is in charge of most of them.
The third-party company that employs them will be in charge of where they work and the technology they use which gives you fewer headaches and stuff to worry about.
Business Continuity
One of the things that make hiring virtual employees a worthy consideration is that you don’t have to worry about some of the “nightmares” of hiring a freelancer.
Time and again, we’ve heard stories of freelancers abandoning work all of a sudden or just disappearing– never to be heard from again. That’s awful, especially if they left a project hanging.
In such situations, you’ll probably be going out of your mind trying to find an equally good replacement, which, as we all know, is never easy.
This is not something you’ll need to worry about if you hire a virtual employee. The third-party company they work for has processes in place to keep this from happening.
Should a new hire not be the perfect fit, the company will be in charge of finding you a replacement and taking care of everything. That gives you the peace of mind you need to keep your business running despite the temporary setback.
Drawbacks to Hiring Virtual Employees
Despite the benefits it has to offer, hiring virtual employees has its downsides too and below are some of them:
Inaccessibility
There’s no such thing as a perfect system and no matter how cautious you are, issues are bound to surface when you least expect them.
When you work with people remotely, addressing emergency problems like equipment malfunction or server downtimes can be a bit difficult. You can’t easily organize a meeting or get a hold of everyone immediately so you can keep them posted.
While it is possible, organizing your team may take some time compared to when you have them all in one location.
Lack of Social Interaction
Social interaction is arguably a huge factor in promoting camaraderie and teamwork but when you work with someone you don’t see or speak with (at least on a personal level). Because of that, collaboration may not be as smooth as you expect it to be.
Sure, you’ll still speak to your virtual employee frequently, but most of the time, these interactions are purely business-related.
Working together is far more effective when you get to actually personally talk to them, go out to lunch with them, or simply hang out.
When it comes to working with virtual employees, isolation is one of your worse enemies.
Risk to Reputation
While this perception is certainly changing, one of the biggest concerns in hiring virtual employees is that you run the risk of being labeled as a “non-legit” firm.
Will you still deliver the same quality service without a big expensive office downtown?
Some potential customers might judge your company if they find out you work with virtual employees. (But the right customers won’t care!)
How Much do Virtual Employees Cost?
Hiring a virtual employee can cost you anywhere from $140 to $1995 per month on average.
Different companies offer varying pricing plans and packages with some opting for a per hour rate that can begin from $5 up to a high of $30 depending on skills and location.
As expected, the more skilled and seasoned ones will definitely cost more.
Virtual employees living in the US or Western Europe also tend to be more expensive compared to those who are located in other countries.
Make sure to check with the company what each plan or package entails so you’ll get maximum value for your money.
Which Virtual Employee Company Should You Choose?
Going the virtual employee route obviously brings a lot of benefits to the table. Not only will you be getting the services of an expert, but you’ll also have them working for you exclusively which means you’ll have their undivided attention.
Hiring a virtual employee off of a virtual staffing company is an excellent way of having a full-time staff at a much lower price.
Read reviews from real virtual employee companies to find one that best meets your needs.
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Virtual Coworker is a remote staffing agency specializing in long-term full-time and part-time positions. The company was founded in 2011 by Braden Yuill, a successful entrepreneur and outsourcing expert. Virtual Coworker works exclusively with virtual employees in the Philippines, citing […]
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123Employee is one of the largest outsourcing firms in the world, with more than 350 virtual assistants working with clients all around the globe. The company started its operations in 2006 with just ten employees, but has seen tremendous growth […]
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Sigrid is a subscription-based, professionally managed virtual assistant service that is available across different time zones and tailored to your preferences. The company is headquartered in Singapore, with additional offices in Denmark and the Philippines. The Virtual Assistants (VAs) and […]
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Virtual Assistant Israel provides virtual assistant services to small business owners and start-up entrepreneurs based in the US. The company was established in 2008 and employs American VAs based out of their home offices in Israel. At the helm are Director Alyssa […]
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Task Papa is a virtual assistant company based in Mumbai, India. The company was founded in 2012, but have been flying under my radar until recently. Their company philosophy is to provide virtual assistants, or ‘task officers’ as they call […]
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AskDataEntry is an India-based company offering a wide range of data entry services. The company’s headquarters is located in Kolkata, India. They have two offices in this location, and all of their staff are based in their offices. About AskDataEntry […]
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Hire Your Virtual Assistant – H.Y.V.A. for short – is a virtual assistant company founded in 2009 by Owen McGab Enaohwo. Enaohwo is a Washington DC-based entrepreneur who went into the business of helping others save time. If you watch […]
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MyOutDesk is a virtual assistant provider with a reputation for providing white-glove, premium-quality virtual assistant services for small to medium-sized businesses, with a focus on administrative, inside sales, marketing & transaction coordination solutions. They also have an enterprise program for […]
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Work Better Now is a US-based virtual assistant company specializing in providing full-time virtual assistants to entrepreneurs and small business owners across the US and Canada. The company is headquartered in the US, and they recruit assistants located in Central […]
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UPDATE: It appears A to Z Tasks is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. A to Z Tasks is US-based virtual assistant company with an offshore office located in Bangladesh. Their 300-person facility is in Dhaka, a […]
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Fiverr.com is one of the most popular outsourcing destinations online. Built around a very simple concept – what people will do for $5 – Fiverr has grown into a large global community of freelance workers and people who hire them. […]
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Outsource School is a hands-on platform that gives you access to top training courses and resources created by successful 8-figure entrepreneurs. For a monthly or annual fee, you can access dozens of training courses. These courses outline all the processes […]
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Hubstaff is a time tracking software built for remote teams. The company was founded in 2012 and their fully remote team is “based” out of Indianapolis, Indiana. Hubstaff offers several productivity monitoring features like an app and URL tracking, optional […]
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UPDATE: It appears Team Launcher is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. TeamLauncher.com is a virtual employee service with locations in Miami, India, and the Philippines. Their claim to fame is the ability to source qualified new […]
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Virtuworx is a virtual assistant and outsourcing company in Bangladesh, with a sales office in Southern California. The company has been in business since 2007, and has served clients of all shapes and sizes from all around the world. The […]
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Hire My Assistants is a virtual assistant company located in Mumbai, India. Their team is comprised of professionals in areas of expertise including administrative services, office assistance, customer service, online services, professional services, web marketing, web design and development. HMA prides […]
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There Is Talent is a US company that offers virtual assistant services and specialized remote talent to entrepreneurs and business owners primarily located in the US. About The company is managed by Claudia Real (CEO) and Paul Urwin (CFO). 6 […]
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Ministry Assistant Services is a virtual assistant company that provides cutting-edge solutions for churches, non-profits, and Christian business owners looking to outsource tasks. The company is headquartered in South Carolina. Ministry Assistant Services’ virtual assistants work across many states in […]
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Agents of Value is an outsourcing company in the Philippines. Established in 2005, the company is focused on providing technical help, online marketing expertise, and virtual assistance to entrepreneurial clients worldwide. Agents of Value calls their business an “offshore staff […]
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YourRemoteAssistant is a virtual assistant company in the Philippines. The company maintains a sales office near San Francisco, but all the work is done overseas. They’ve got their start in 2008. YourRemoteAssistant specializes in administrative tasks such as calendar management, […]