The Ins and Outs of a Virtual Staff

Discover the ins and outs of a virtual staff and why working with them leaves a significant impact on your business, from here on out.

The thing is that it doesn’t matter if you’re a startup or an established large corporation; outsourcing is a game-changer.

In a world where every day is a competition, you have to learn to be creative and think outside the box to chase or even outrun your competitors.

Don’t get used to your daily struggles, business people; work smart and try something new. That’s where a virtual assistant comes in—your modern-day business strategy.

How do virtual assistants work? Do I really need one?

In this blog, we’re going to dispel your doubts one at a time by showing you the ins and outs of having a virtual employee on your team and how they can have a huge impact on your business.

What Is a Virtual Employee

A virtual employee is a professional who supports businesses and individuals by offering services remotely.

Yes, they’re workers who don’t have to be physically present in the office to back you up. A virtual staff can work from anywhere.

How Does Virtual Staff Work?

A virtual staff can pretty much do all kinds of business-related work that does not require them to be physically next to you. What they only need is a strong internet connection, a fast-working computer and collaboration software tools to do the job you want them to accomplish.

Virtual professionals are often tasked with doing the little repetitive tasks in the office, such as answering phone calls, researching, entering data, and scheduling appointments.

However, skilled work is not beyond their expertise; they are also hired to take care of a company’s content, web design, social media management, SEO and so on.

And oh, you don’t really have to micromanage them; virtual assistants are independent, self-motivated and reliable individuals who are excellent at managing their time and meeting your demands.

What are the Different Types of Virtual Staff?

Please don’t put all virtual staff on the same level. Like everything else, they are not made equal.

This means that if you want someone to look after your financial health, there’s a VA for that. The same goes if you want a graphic designer or content writer for your business.

We understand that tons of people still think that any virtual employee they hire is the same as the next, which is why we’re going to list a few of these virtual staff variations under the title of a virtual assistant.

  • Bookkeeping Virtual Assistant

    A bookkeeping VA is the one who handles your day-to-day finances including balancing your sheets, preparing invoices and paying bills.

  • Airbnb Virtual Assistant

    As the name suggests, this VA manages a variety of tasks for your Airbnb business, such as booking management, creating listings and updates and communicating with guests.

  • Social Media Virtual Assistant

    A social media virtual assistant manages all your social media handles, from Facebook to Pinterest. They can create, schedule and monitor content on these platforms.

  • Digital Marketing Virtual Assistant

    Whatever marketing strategy or campaign you want to draft or implement, you can rely on this virtual assistant to assist you.

  • Customer Support Virtual Assistant

    This virtual ally manages a wide range of customer service activities, like answering inquiries, following up on appointments and anything that can further improve your client relationship.

How Much Should You Pay Your Virtual Staff?

Okay, this one will vary depending on several factors, such as location, skills and experience and the job you want your virtual assistant to accomplish.

But inevitably, if you’re looking to hire someone overseas, you’re expected to pay your VA around $3 to $10 per hour.

Difference between a Virtual Assistant and a Freelance Worker

You’re right, there are other alternatives when you’re outsourcing to a third party for your business.

Two of the most common ones are a virtual assistant and a freelancer—aren’t they the same? While they may seem interchangeable, there are slight distinctions that you should be wary of before hiring either one of them.

Here, let’s break it down for you.

A virtual assistant does all-around work and is hired on an as-needed basis, meaning you only pay them for every productive hour. This is very advantageous for small businesses that have few resources to hire on-site full-timers.

On the other hand, a freelancer is typically hired on a project basis, with specializations in their arsenal like programming or web design. This means you can get quality work in certain areas without paying more.

To sum it up, a VA offers ongoing support without requiring technical skills, while a freelancer provides specialized skills for short-term projects—both offering cost-effective solutions.

Why Hire a Virtual Staff?

For this one, we have plenty of answers for you, and it’s going to take a while to list all of them.

So, for now, let’s just cover the main reasons why hiring virtual staff makes actual sense.

  • Reduce Cost

    Virtual staff doesn’t need to go to a central workplace, meaning there is no equipment, rent and utilities to pay. This saves you plenty of cash.

    And since virtual employees are contractual workers, you also get to keep away from the compensation benefits associated with working with full-timers.

  • Better Flexibility

    Working from anywhere and anytime allows for greater flexibility in working arrangements. Virtual staff collaborates and communicates without having to be online simultaneously.

    You know how the equation goes: more freedom equals employee happiness and productivity.

  • Improve Productivity

    Aside from the flexibility factor that improves productivity greatly, working from home also keeps you away from office distractions like employee chatters and clutters.

    Without background noises and breaks in the picture, you gain more focus, increase productivity and get quality results.

  • Promote Work-life balance

    When you have more freedom and control at work just like virtual employees do, you maintain a work-life balance. Enjoying such, job satisfaction gets a thumb-ups that ultimately leads to low turnover.

  • Access to a Wider Talent Pool

    The wider you cast your net, the higher the chances of finding the right one for the job.

    Hiring a virtual employee gives you access to a wider talent pool without geographical restrictions. You can hire the best talents anywhere in the world.

How to Manage Your Virtual Staff

Though your remote assistant can do the same things as your in-house team, managing them requires a different strategy.

Here are some ways to effectively handle them and provide the best virtual staff experience, ever:

  • Define Expectations, Clearly

    To ensure that your virtual staff understands their role and responsibilities, earlier on, you should set the goals and deadlines. In this way, they know what is expected of them.

  • Collaboration is a Must!

    Your virtual employees already have a gap between them—a million miles, to be exact. To bridge that distance, you need to build your team’s relationship by encouraging collaboration. You can leverage team-building activities or group projects to make the dream work in the team.

  • Encourage Two-Way Conversation

    A two-way conversation gives you a clear insight into what’s working and what’s not.

    A good version of this two-way conversation is encouraging good feedback. By doing so, you can support your virtual staff and help them work on their weaknesses.

  • Provide the Right Tools

    To effectively work in the digital space, a remote worker needs the right tools. This includes having access to working spaces, fast internet connection and communication tools.

Where to Hire Your Virtual Staff?

If you’re looking for a virtual staff, there are many VAs in different freelance marketplaces. You can find them yourself using Upwork or other platforms.

In this option, you get full control over your VA, the hiring process, and choosing the virtual assistant who best fits your requirements along with negotiating rates.

The only downside is that you’ll be putting in a lot of work. And it may also happen that even after the contract is drawn, your selected VA may choose not to accept.

Another option is using an outsourcing professional, such as VAV.asia. This VA agency may cost more, but they make it worth your while offering convenience, consistency and reliability. They will help you land the right virtual assistant for the right job, without wasting your time.

You will get access to a pool of talented remote workers from around the world who are up for the job of working with you.

Conclusion

After hearing all that, the case for whether or not a virtual assistant is a game-changer for your company is pretty obvious.

It’s a great way to boost productivity, save costs, encourage flexibility, and eventually grow your business enough to make it a force to be reckoned with.

Do you like the sound of that? If you do, start working with a virtual assistant today and make that call!

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