4 Misconceptions About Hiring A Virtual Assistant

If you want to stay ahead of your competitors, it’s important to adapt to new ways of working. One such way is the growing reliance on virtual assistants. However, you may have heard on the grapevine a few tales about virtual assistants which may have tarnished your view of how they can benefit you. So let’s unravel the truth behind these misconceptions and shed some light on the true value of having a virtual assistant on your team.

Virtual Assistants Are Expensive

Many business owners think that a virtual assistant is beyond what they can afford and sure, that might be true when you’re first starting out and only have one or two clients - the early days of business ownership are tough for us all! But when business starts to boom, hiring a virtual assistant won’t look so expensive after all.

Why?

Because virtual assistants are a cost-effective solution - they don’t need office space or equipment and cover their own costs when it comes to tax, NI, pensions, holiday pay and sick pay. In addition, you only need to pay a virtual assistant for the hours you need. I offer adhoc support as an option to all clients; there’s no pressure to be tied into a retainer contract if you don’t want or need it.

Still not convinced? Take a look at this blog, where I break down the cost of an employee vs a virtual assistant.

Virtual Assistants Lack Accountability

Another myth about virtual assistants is that they lack accountability because they’re not physically present with you in the office. But if the recent years have taught us anything, is that this view is fairly old-fashioned. Productivity and accountability are not linked to the location of a person.

Virtual assistants are professionals who understand the importance of deadlines and quality work. Like you, they are small business owners and their reputation is incredibly important, therefore they will always be looking to exceed your expectations.

I track the time I spend on all work for my clients and am more than happy to share these reports with clients on request or with invoices. All work I carry out for clients, I treat with the same professionalism as I do with my own business activities - probably even more so! I’m always clear in my communication if a piece of work is taking longer than expected but I always endeavour to complete work before a deadline.

Communication Challenges

This is a big one that can make many business owners hesitate when hiring a virtual assistant. It can be unnerving to hire someone you may have only met on a Zoom call, who might be on the other side of the country and then wonder how on earth you’re going to keep in touch with them - especially when many virtual assistants, including myself, charge for time spent on calls.

Thankfully, the phone is not the only way to communicate! WhatsApp, text, and email are all convenient ways to keep in touch and delegate tasks. But there is also a wealth of project management tools out there that can make this even easier. Trello, Slack and Notion are all common web-based tools that can be utilised to ensure you and your virtual assistant have a clear picture of all the tasks you’re delegating, as well as status and any notes or comments.

A good virtual assistant will listen to your concerns about communication and together you can come up with the best way to keep in touch that you’re both comfortable with. I am completely flexible with my clients - there’s no one-size-fits-all all as far as I’m concerned when it comes to communication. I use a mix of WhatsApp, email, a scheduled phone call every fortnight and Slack to keep in touch with various clients.

Limited Skill Set

Some think that virtual assistants all do the same thing - either inbox and diary management or social media management. That simply isn’t the case. Yes, many do provide these services, but many virtual assistants offer so much more - blog writing, website maintenance and support, proofreading, data entry, community management, email marketing, systems management, and automation expertise.

The trick to finding a virtual assistant is to find the one whose expertise matches up with your initial requirements. But be warned - I have had clients contact me to support them with one element of their business and then as our relationship has developed, they’ve asked me to support them with a whole variety of tasks (that I am capable of) thus saving them even more time in the long run! What can I say, having a virtual assistant on hand is a bit addictive!

So in summary, what are the realities of hiring a virtual assistant?

A cost-effective solution

Hiring a virtual assistant is far more cost-effective than hiring an in-house team, especially for tasks that don’t require a physical presence.

Access to a huge talent pool

As discussed, virtual assistants come in all shapes and sizes, with a huge range of skills that can bring a unique perspective to your business.

Increased productivity

A virtual assistant can increase your productivity as they can handle routine tasks, so you can focus on your core business activities instead.

It’s easy to be swayed by misconceptions, especially when it comes to outsourcing elements of your business. But there are plenty of success stories of hiring virtual assistants too. Ask fellow business owners for recommendations if they use a virtual assistant and speak to more than one virtual assistant before you make your decision. I hope this blog has helped debunk some of your misconceptions and to approach the hiring process with an open mind.

If you’re ever in further doubt, I am always happy to discuss your concerns and you can always hire me on an adhoc basis so you can truly see the value in the support offered.