Thanks for joining us as we dive into Myth 2 of our 5 top myths regarding Virtual Assistants. We take a very quick look at the roots behind the ideas and unpack reality.
If you need to catch up on Myth 1: Virtual Assistants are not as reliable as in-house staff, you are welcome to follow this link.
To recap, let’s list the top 5 myths.
Myth 1: Virtual Assistants are not as reliable as in-house staff – especially PAs.
Myth 2: Virtual Assistants are just too expensive!
Myth 3: Virtual Assistants can only manage basic admin work
Myth 4: Virtual Assistant are only for the short term
Myth 5: My business is at risk when sharing data with a VA
The truth is, this is one line we hear all the time and in all honesty, we could write an extensive book on the topic! However, today, we will just cover the important facts.
Firstly, the origins of this viewpoint are self-explanatory. Unless you are hiring virtual assistants based in countries where the cost of living is significantly lower than the UK or US, you will have encountered Virtual Assistant hourly rates beginning at £20 or over. If you calculate the hourly rate of a traditionally employed staff member, working 9 to 5, 5 days a week at the average salary, you may balk at the comparison.
Fair enough. Take a breath.
Now we’ll unpack how this works and why many organisations and micro business owners are embracing the asset that is a highly competent VA or Virtual Assistant Agency.
To begin with, if you sign an hourly contract with a virtual assistant, businesses only pay for the hours worked. To the minute, a virtual assistant will only ever charge for the actual time taken to complete the work. You aren’t paying for their workplace conversations by the kettle or even their trips to the restroom. You will be paying for years of experience and knowledge applied diligently to that task. Simple.
While the business owner VA is attributing a portion of their business expenses to every hour worked, you will never have to consider:
- Human Resources costs (requiring another member of staff or specialist service)
- Onboarding costs
- CPD expenses
- Pension contributions
- Liability insurance
- Holiday pay contributions
- Holiday cover
- Incentives and health benefits
- National insurance and tax contributions
- Team building costs
- Equipment and utilities – computers, phones, etc.
- Office space
- COSHH certifications and regular wellbeing checks
- Tea, coffee and toilet paper…
We’ll stop there. Regardless of how you play the figures on a contracted Virtual Assistant – even on retainer or packaged rates – versus a full or part time salaried employee, businesses save on the associated costs. associated with having an in-house employee, such as office space, equipment, and supplies.
In contrast, a Virtual Assistant is responsible for all of the above costs as well as certifications, upskilling, insurance cover for a variety of responsibilities and much more.
Additionally, virtual assistants can help to increase productivity and efficiency, perhaps even making money for the business. An example of this is clearly our customer response service which ensures that no leads are missed and no money is left on the table.
By outsourcing administrative tasks, businesses can focus on their core activities and revenue-generating tasks. Virtual assistants can handle time-consuming tasks such as data entry, bookkeeping and social media management, allowing business owners and employees to focus on higher-level tasks that require their expertise.
By working remotely, virtual assistants work to their own time. Delays during working hours? Not your problem. If a VA has agreed to a deadline or turnaround time, they are committed to seeing that through and rarely will make excuses for a task not completed on time.
Finally, virtual assistants can provide businesses with a range of skills and expertise without the need to hire multiple employees. For example, a virtual assistant who specializes in bookkeeping and accounting can handle financial tasks, while another virtual assistant who specializes in social media management can handle the company’s social media presence. By outsourcing these tasks to virtual assistants, businesses can benefit from the expertise of multiple professionals without the need to hire and manage multiple employees.
It goes without saying that the rates of a competent VA are more than justified. Simply in knowing that an outsourced task will take significantly less time than it would take from the Director or wider staff, negates the expenditure for the completion of that activity.
We would love to introduce you to the world of competent, dedicated virtual assistants! Feel free to get in touch, today, for a no obligation conversation.
Myth 1: Virtual Assistants are not as reliable as in-house staff – especially PAs.
Stay tuned for our next blog when we consider Myth 3: Virtual Assistants can only manage basic admin work.
Be sure to read other of our blogs on the topic of how to find the right people and services for your business support needs.
