Do you know two things that are common among top entrepreneurs? – 1. they are ready to hire a virtual assistant, and 2. They do not shy away from outsourcing. But, while starting up, you might feel that hiring a virtual assistant is just a waste of resources.
You think yourself to be capable of managing everything by yourself. Some of you might even be skeptical about trusting an external resource with company secrets. If either of these statements describes your present condition, this blog is for you. Let us start our discussion by answering the most basic question.
Why Do Businesses Need Virtual Assistants?
To understand the answer, consider this. Will your business forever remain small? The answer is obviously no. So, as your business starts growing, you will find the list of activities increasing uncontrollably. Soon, you will get bogged down in mundane activities and lack time for strategic thinking.
But, there is an effective solution to this issue – hiring virtual assistant services. Virtual assistants can offer high-quality support at a fraction of the cost required to hire a personal assistant. Thus, they can be the secret winning formula to help your business surge ahead.
Still, having doubts? We have carefully curated the following list for you, giving ten reasons why you should hire a virtual assistant. So, let’s begin.
Top Reasons Why Businesses Opt for Virtual Assistant Services
Hiring a virtual assistant offers you –
#1. Productivity Maximization
Although this is a well-known benefit of hiring virtual employees, it is essential to reiterate it. Having virtual assistants take care of regular mundane activities allows you to focus on more strategic things. Focusing on these strategic activities can positively impact the bottom line and enable you to surge ahead of the competition.
#2. Cost Reduction
One of the top reasons businesses outsource or hire a virtual assistant is to reduce costs. While hiring full-time personal assistants, you have to pay wages and contribute towards their pension, NI, and so on.
But, while hiring virtual assistants, you have to only pay for active hours. Besides, the lower cost of living in developing countries than in the USA allows you to save more. Thus it is economically advantageous to hire virtual assistants from India.
#3. Better Work and Life Balance
Unlike doing your job, running a business is a full-time affair. The endless hustles that a business owner has to go through every day can impact their mental health. According to a recent survey, 72% of entrepreneurs suffer from mental health issues.
But, you can prevent this from happening. Hiring a virtual assistant to take care of regular tasks can enhance your productivity and let you enjoy a better work-life balance.
#4. Access Global Talent
While hiring an onsite personal assistant, geographical boundaries restrict your search. However, the same is not the case when hiring virtual assistants. In this case, geographical boundaries do not limit you, and you can recruit the best global talent in your budget.
#5. Timely Reports
Your virtual assistants offer you weekly/ monthly/ daily reports. This shows you complete visibility of the work done by your virtual assistant. Having full visibility of the work done by your virtual assistant allows you to plan better your budget and workload.
#6. Business Flexibility
Businesses rarely grow on a linear path. Your business will have ups and downs, and remaining flexible is the key to survival. This is where opting for virtual assistant services can help.
Hiring virtual assistants allows you to scale up or down as per your needs. You are also not tied down by fixed administrative costs and have to only pay for the active hours of the assistant. This flexibility can give you an edge over your competitors tied to the cost burden of onsite resources.
#7 Prompt Responses to Customer Queries
While managing multiple activities, you might get delayed or forget to respond to customer queries/ issues. This can drive away customers and create a bad name for your business.
Responding promptly to customer queries and issues is precisely one of the reasons why you should hire a virtual assistant. As a virtual assistant takes care of customer complaints and issues, your business stands apart from competitors and attracts a loyal fan base.
#8. Time to Focus on Core Competencies
Every business owner, including you, should dedicate more time to core business functions. There would be certain things which you should not do or cannot do by yourself.
For all these tasks, delegation is the best alternative. You can focus on core competencies by assigning your virtual assistants administrative and other routine tasks. This arrangement can improve productivity and lead to better outcomes.
#9 Better Availability
In this age of digitalization, it is not enough for businesses to be available for 9-10 hours. Customers in this era want instant gratification and 24/7 availability. By not offering them this luxury, you risk losing them to competitors.
But you can avoid such possibilities by opting for virtual assistant services. By carefully hiring virtual assistants from a different time zone, you can ensure round-the-clock availability for handling customer issues. This can help you serve customers better and increase brand loyalty and revenue.
#10. Quality Service and Confidentiality
Virtual assistants know the importance of their work for their clients. So, they always try to bring in the highest quality in their services.
The assistants also understand and value the confidentiality of the information you share with them. Over time, they gain your trust through dedication and try to deliver you value. They also offer proactive solutions to help you survive a business down cycle.
Besides, companies offering virtual assistant services have their internal performance measures and confidentiality protection mechanisms in place. So, you can delegate responsibilities to VAs without worrying.
Final Word
As a new business entrepreneur, you need to handle several things in your business. But, as your business grows, you might find it challenging to take on so many responsibilities by yourself. Besides, the extra workload can affect your mental health and negatively impact your productivity.
Therefore, the best decision for you would be to hire a virtual assistant. The several benefits of hiring a virtual assistant are listed above. Want to know more? Connect now.
John Tie is working as a Digital Marketer and content strategist with www.virtualemployee.com, one of the leading Outsourcing Company. He is a versatile tech writer and loves exploring latest technology trends, entrepreneur and startup column.