LD Staff Writer
Hiring a virtual assistant is an important decision. These kinds of business services are actually very diverse, though, and finding the right fit for you is critical a successful relationship. Here’s a quick primer on the major differences between virtual assistance offerings, and what they mean for you as a business owner:
Foreign vs. Domestic
A foreign virtual assistant will be cheaper, but a language barrier can make it difficult to get complex tasks completed precisely. This can slow down as misunderstandings are worked out. If you need ongoing communication on constantly changing assignments, it may be best to avoid foreign assistants…
By working with an American virtual assistant, you bypass these difficulties. The cost difference may be easily justified by the increase in productivity.
Company vs. Individual
The virtual assistant industry is split between companies and individuals working alone. Working with someone alone, you have the benefit of being one of very few clients – but you may invest many hours into training, only to find that the individual assistant moves on to other things. Also, they may not be able to support you during vacations or emergencies.
A virtual assistant company (such as ours) is set up with backup and redundancy because we work as a team. If your virtual assistant goes on vacation, your tasks will be covered by another employee. Staff may come and go, but the company remains.
Skills and Resources
Many people are drawn to virtual assistants because it is an extremely flexible service… That’s one of the defining characteristics! You are essentially purchasing blocks of “man hours” that can be used almost any way you wish, on whatever your business needs.
It’s probably not important for your virtual assistant have prior training in your industry (though it might be). Rather, you should be looking for someone organized, quick learning, and with a “can do” attitude.
Where specific skills are needed (such as experience with a particular piece of software), you may find that a virtual assistant company is better suited that an individual – simply because they have more people on hand, and thereby, a wider variety of skills, talents, and resources to draw from.
Hours of Availability
While 24/7 support is the ideal, most small businesses do not need constant support. We are available 9am to 5pm Eastern Standard Time, and we’ve had very few problems with such a schedule. If a client has a task after hours, they send an email, and we pick it up the next morning.
If you are working with a foreign company, you’ll want to be sure they are fully staffed during your hours of operation, and not running on a skeleton crew while the brunt of the work is done later. For individual assistance, establish expectations for working hours is key.
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