We all know the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant. After all, the number of virtual assistants entering the industry has been increasing exponentially every year. This proves there is demand for the service. Success is normally measured by a specific set of metrics. Quantifying the returns of investing in virtual assistants can easily be measured. But often, numbers alone do not tell the complete story. Sometimes, the effectiveness of the strategy will manifest itself during the course of business. Here are four ways to tell if hiring a virtual assistant was a good decision: 1. Operating costs are lower Businesses outsource work primarily for the purpose of reducing operating costs. Outsourcing lowers costs of business by capitalising on comparative advantages available from other sources of production. In business, one of the highest cost components is manpower. By hiring virtual assistants, entrepreneurs can significantly lower their manpower costs because a Virtual Assistant is paid a fixed rate per productive hour and as a self-employed worker, he or she is not entitled to benefits. It is estimated that by integrating virtual assistants into the work force, a company can save anywhere from 40 to 70 percent in manpower costs. In the United States, several of the largest companies have adopted virtual assistants in their manpower strategy. They are referred to as telecommuters, and studies have shown they save companies as much as US$11,000 per employee per year and have greatly lowered employee turnover. When you are able to lower costs, you will increase the amount of resources that can be used for areas in the business that are directly related to revenue generation. 2. Productivity level of work is higher In the same study on telecommuters, companies who have integrated these home-based workers into the work force report a 17% improvement in productivity. Virtual assistants, telecommuters or freelancers; contracted professionals who work online from a remote location improve productivity because of two (2) reasons:
- Opens up more time for core functions: Before the virtual assistant came on-board, most business owners found themselves embroiled in having to do non-essential tasks. With a virtual assistant, you can shift your focus on managing the core functions of your business.
- Conducive environment for productivity: Having one’s home as the venue for work keeps the virtual assistant from the inconveniences of regular office work: traffic, office politics and incidental expenses. They are able to focus solely on work and the tasks at hand without having to deal with the usual distractions and disruptors of productivity.
3. Greater efficiency at work Virtual assistants are able to do more work because most of them are already experienced and highly competent in their respective fields of specialty that they do not need much supervision. When hiring a virtual assistant, you do not have to spend much time on training and orientation. You just have to establish the work flow and review the processes with them and they are good to go. Because they work online, virtual assistants are well-versed with the latest in digital technology. They are familiar with most of the popular project management and collaborative programs such as Asana, Salesforce, DropBox and conferencing platforms like WebEx and GoToMeeting. They can adapt to your operational framework and are qualified to make improvements if necessary. Running a business that uses the advances in digital technology lowers your costs of operation further, increases efficiency by introducing better ways in accomplishing tasks and ensures accessibility in communication for everyone on the team. 4. Improvement in General Management skills Entrepreneurs eventually realize that they do not know everything in managing an enterprise. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses; as much as we’d like to improve on our weaknesses and turn them into strengths, oftentimes our Learning Curve will dampen our capacity to absorb new information. Not every business owner will know how to use the Content Management System of a WordPress website or have the required competencies to design a social media marketing plan. Even the basic function of organizing tasks and files can be a challenge for anyone. It is not that we are not capable; for sure we are. But virtual assistants are just more experienced and skilled in attending to these matters.
