The use of virtual assistants surged during the pandemic. The industry saw a 41% increase in contracts in 2020 compared to 2019 as business leaders used them to fill in gaps left by office closures and staff layoffs.
Like many other pandemic-era adjustments, the use of virtual assistants is proving more than just a temporary solution. Hiring virtual assistants can have substantial long-term benefits for an organization, allowing them to cut costs, increase their flexibility, and operate more efficiently. With all of these advantages, it’s no surprise the virtual assistant market is projected to grow at a CAGR of more than 37% through 2027.
Of course, their newfound popularity doesn’t mean that hiring virtual assistants is the right choice for every business. There are some downsides to working with these professionals, too, and it is important to weigh the pros and cons for your business before you start searching for a VA to hire. With that in mind, here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages of adding these unique professionals to your team.
Advantages of hiring a virtual assistant
1. Improved productivity and efficiency.
There are a lot of small tasks that need to be completed for a business to function effectively, but that doesn’t mean they all need the same kind of hands-on attention. A virtual assistant can take care of tasks like data entry, managing social media accounts, answering emails, or other time-consuming, administrative tasks, letting you and your team focus on the high-value work that will make a bigger impact for your business growth.
2. More staffing and workload flexibility.
There are times when your business will have more work than usual, like if you’ve recently brought on a new client or have an unexpected spike in orders. Other times, your workload may be steady but you have fewer people to handle it, like when people go on vacation, take a hiatus, or quit unexpectedly.
Virtual assistants don’t need to be trained and onboarded to the same extent as a new employee, and can be brought on as temporary help for a specified time period or the length of a single project. This makes you more adaptable to shifts in your work volume or staff, without the hassle and expense of hiring a new full-time employee.
3. They can fill in skill and scheduling gaps.
Virtual assistants can offer flexibility in other ways, too. If you want to offer 24/7 responsiveness to customers, for example, hiring a VA in a different time zone can give you overnight coverage without needing to add an entire shift to your team. You can also hire VAs with skills in specific areas, like payroll or digital marketing. This lets you expand your team’s capabilities, even if you don’t have enough work in that area to justify hiring a new full-time employee.
4. They’re cost-effective.
There are more costs involved in hiring a full-time employee than just their compensation. The recruiting and training process can be costly, for one thing. Employees also bring additional costs, whether those are the benefits you provide them or expenses like Worker’s Compensation Insurance that come along with bringing on new team members.
Virtual assistants are hired on a per-need basis as contractors. That means they don’t qualify for benefits and the business doesn’t need to pay for unemployment insurance, employment taxes, or other costs that come along with hiring an employee. According to an estimate from LinkedIn, this can translate to cost-savings of up to 78% compared to hiring other types of employees.
Downsides of hiring a virtual assistant
1. Communication can be a challenge.
Hiring a virtual assistant who’s on the other side of the world can expand your responsiveness to customers, but it also means you have an employee working on an opposite schedule from you. This can lead to communication delays and make it tricky to schedule conversations when you do need to interact in real-time.
Even if you use a VA who’s in your same time zone, they’re not going to be in the office with your team. It’s important to be proactive in setting up communication systems and establishing systems during their virtual onboarding process to avoid miscommunications, missed deadlines, and other issues.
2. They’re not as committed to your company as a full-time employee.
Because virtual assistants are freelancers, that often means they work with multiple clients at the same time. This means they split their attention throughout their workday and they aren’t solely focused on your business like a full-time employee would be.
Even if you are a VA’s only client, they still work as a freelancer. This means they aren’t as invested in your culture and company, and don’t have the same depth of knowledge about your mission, operations, and other details of your business. That can limit the type of work you assign them, and means they won’t be as strong of an advocate for your brand in roles like customer service.
3. You may encounter language or culture barriers.
While there are virtual assistants working everywhere in the world, many businesses choose to hire VAs from overseas. This has a cost advantage since international workers often charge a lower per-hour rate, but it can also introduce other challenges.
For one thing, English may not be the virtual assistant’s first language. Even if they are fluent, this can lead to misunderstandings or other communication issues. There may also be cultural differences to navigate if you hire a virtual assistant who is halfway around the world. While this can be an advantage, opening you up to a new perspective you would not have been exposed to otherwise, it’s something you should be aware of and prepared for before you hire a VA from another country.
