Hire a virtual assistant to transform the way your business operates by increasing efficiency and reducing costs. With the ability to delegate tasks like administrative work, customer support, or project management, hiring a virtual assistant allows you to focus on high-impact activities while benefiting from flexible, remote support. This solution is perfect for businesses seeking to scale without the added expenses of full-time, in-office employees.
Why You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant for Your Business Growth
Talent acquisition is one of the most significant challenges that companies face on a daily basis. They compete with rivals or companies in the same vertical, or industry sector. However, they also contend in a much broader competitive arena. This is where companies from entirely different sectors can attract potential collaborators to their organizations.
As mentioned in previous articles, talent acquisition can take many forms. Today, we will explore the attraction of Virtual Assistants through specialized firms that provide this service. This involves remote personnel working for these firms and carrying out tasks for third-party clients, such as yours.
It is worth clarifying that when we talk about virtual assistants, we’re not referring to the use of artificial intelligence. This includes applications and platforms like Siri, Alexa, or Cortana. In this case, we’re referring to individuals who work remotely for a company. They can do so directly as employees or as providers (contractors), in full-time arrangements or more flexible models like freelancers.
They could also take on the responsibility of responding to internal inventory needs via email. This may be a simpler route, as these companies offer recruitment, selection, and often supervision of these virtual assistants, along with other variables.
This is a B2B service model, where your company contracts another company, and it commits to certain service standards.
Discussing Remote Work
The first thing to consider is the obvious need to ensure that the VA can perform the tasks remotely. For example, a warehouse assistant who needs to scan inventory items (SKUs) in a warehouse cannot perform this task remotely. Of course, this is due to the current limitations of available means and technology.
However, it’s possible that your company needs three warehouse assistants to not only perform physical inventory control. They could also be tasked with responding to internal inventory needs via email. Additionally, they would need to analyze data on inventory turnover and expiry dates, and which products have higher and lower, turnover rates, among others.
In this case, a review of job descriptors may allow for the creation of two positions. One of them would require on-site work, performing all the physical inventory control. The other one, however, can manage analysis, reporting, email follow-ups, and other tasks that can be done remotely.
Why consider remote work?
The above demonstrates that a redesign of positions can facilitate the incorporation of roles that can work remotely. But, why should my company assign some tasks to be done remotely? Well, there are several reasons.
Let’s explore some of them:
- First, there might be a severe shortage of personnel with the profile you require in your company’s area. For instance, states like California and Texas have reported unemployment rates between 3.9% and 5.3% between February and March 2024, respectively (here, you can find the statistics for California and Texas). Sometimes these rates can be so low that attracting personnel becomes a real challenge. However, no statistic can refute your own reality: Ask yourself, “Does my company struggle to attract personnel for certain positions?” If the answer is yes, then it’s time to assess whether remote personnel could be a solution. If the answer is no, perhaps remote work could still be an option. This would be due to other factors, such as budget or staff competencies, rather than difficulties in attracting talent.
- Secondly, there may be available personnel, but the distance variable between home and the workplace can become an issue. This distance can lead to significant time invested in transportation and associated expenses.
- Thirdly, there may be available personnel, but the salary expectations of the candidates exceed the budgeted amount. In the vast majority of states in the U.S., the minimum wage exceeds $10.00 per hour. Even in states like Texas, where the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, present some challenges. Finding personnel with certain competencies and skills significantly surpasses the state-established minimum wages. Additionally, there are other costs and benefits associated with direct and on-site employment (office space, electricity, computer equipment, among many others). It’s becoming increasingly easier to reach specialized companies in other countries that operate in the same time zone and have a strong cultural affinity. These companies often have personnel who speak English almost fluently, at prices that may even be below the applicable minimum wage in your state.
- Fourthly, the local job market may offer candidates who apply for the profile, but they may lack the competencies that your company requires. This gap in qualifications can make it challenging to find a suitable match. Issues like this one can potentially lead to longer hiring processes or the need for additional training.
- Fifthly, my company has been able to attract talent with the required competencies. However, it has not been able to retain the talent for long, possibly leading to high turnover rates. Several variables come into play here, which will be worth analyzing further. Even though the personnel may be remote, your company’s policies, organizational culture, and leadership style still matter. These factors, among many others, will shape the ecosystem that every collaborator, whether on-site or remote, will interact with.
Should You Hire a Virtual Assistant Directly or Through a Dedicated Company?
The impact of your company on this ecosystem and hence its ability to retain capable, committed, and talented individuals is critical.
Still, remote staff can address some variables. The next question is: Do I hire my remote assistant directly or do I do it through a dedicated company? To answer the above, you must evaluate your company’s ability to attract talent that fits and can consistently add value over time: Are we capable in my company of hiring capable individuals who stay within my organization for long periods (years)? Answering this question is not something to be taken lightly. Attracting talent is extremely difficult.
Studies show a weak correlation between personnel selection methods, like interviews and psychometric tests, and their ability to predict actual behavior. A correlation of 1 or 100% would indicate perfect accuracy in predicting performance. However, correlations below 0.5 or 50% are considered very low. Interviews typically achieve only a 13% to 17% correlation, indicating poor predictive results.
For more information, refer to the Boss Class podcast, third episode “Testing, Testing,” developed with Andrew Palmer, management columnist for The Economist. It can be listened to on Spotify or through The Economist (subscription required). This shows that a highly trained eye is required to reach the right people that your organization needs.
So, if your company has not effectively managed to attract the best talent, perhaps it’s time to expand those capabilities. Partnering with provider companies and forming alliances can support you in this process. Then, the route to consider might be hiring virtual assistants through dedicated companies rather than directly.
In addition to the above, there’s the enormous challenge of hiring remote personnel in locations you may have never been in before. You may have little knowledge about their work culture, which adds to the complexity. If hiring personnel is difficult, doing so remotely can be a challenge. Of this, I recommend reading David Burku’s article written for Harvard Business titled “How to Hire Someone You’ve Never Met in Person” (you can find it here).
Maximizing Business Growth with Remote Virtual Assistants
Finally, remote work may have been a taboo a few years ago. Now, we are looking at a different landscape as the pandemic came to change this situation. We must note that some aspects have returned to levels similar to those before the pandemic.Still, the reality is that remote work is increasingly becoming a necessity for both the workforce and companies.
Recent studies show that remote work is gaining momentum:
“One item likely to remain high on the attract-and-retain list is the ability to work remotely—a major task by tech workers and many others. Remote work is hugely popular with employees, and while some companies are mandating a partial or even a complete return to the office, a return to pre-Covid norms looks unlikely.
In December 2022, economists at WFH Research wrote in TIME magazine (1) that a recession could reduce remote work to 25% of U.S. workdays, but they expect this number to gradually rise as more companies adopt hybrid models. According to WFH’s April report (2), employees worked from home approximately 28% of total paid workdays, compared to around 60% in June 2020.
So, why not take advantage of remote work to increase your organization’s capabilities and thus accelerate growth?
