Concerns Hiring a Virtual Office Assistant
The existence of the internet is the exact reason you need to hire a virtual office assistant. Think back to the days before the internet. If something went wrong with your car, what were your options? There were only two, you could ask your Uncle Steve or hire a mechanic.
If you wanted to plan a wedding, you just had your mom and the florist at the supermarket to help. But with the internet you can look at thousands of images online. And more than likely not a single image will be from your town. There are groups with experts from all over the world to get all your very specific and interesting questions answered.
Hiring a Virtual Office Assistant is the same. Without VAs, your options are only those people willing to drive to your office everyday. The people with the advanced skills who could really create incredible possibilities for your company, could never be found. But with a Virtual Assistant firm like Alpine, you can have the most qualified person increasing your website speed on Monday and the most experienced Quickbooks bookkeeper on Wednesday.
Virtual Office Assistants will radically change your operation.
Nevertheless there are people who have concerns hiring a virtual office assistant. Let’s discuss those:
Communication: If you heard that time zone differences, language proficiency, or differences in communication styles can hinder efficient collaboration, you likely weren’t talking to someone who’s actually used a VA. Here at Alpine we hire 100% native English speakers who are American. And every Zoom meeting handles timezone changes. If anything, the truth is communication improves with a virtual office assistant as they are well versed in the needs of your organization and are equipped to communicate about any topic.
Immediate Availability: Another misconception is that “Virtual assistants may not be available on-demand, especially in critical situations or during unconventional hours.” This is called a false positive because this is true of in-house office assistants as well. Since virtual assistants are much more productive, they can easily be available at unconventional hours. And since traditional office employees leave at 5 pm, a virtual office assistant can give you the flexibility of taking on West Coast, Australia or European clients as they can be available most anytime.
Onboarding Time: Another often misunderstood concept is “Onboarding a virtual assistant to understand the nuances of a particular business or industry can be time-consuming and require more initial effort than anticipated.” In reality, virtual assistants have often had so much experience perfecting onboard procedures for other companies, they’ll be very attentive to your procedures and likely able to improve them.
Scope of Capabilities: A laughable statement might be “Virtual assistants may lack the specific skills or tools needed for certain tasks, especially if they’re specialized or industry-specific.” This would only be the case if your VA job description didn’t include the language communicating the specific needs. Hiring a virtual office assistant is the very best way to find someone who has the specific skills or tools needed, even if they are industry specific.
Cost Efficiency: This statement could very well be true “While virtual assistants are often marketed as cost-effective, some businesses may find that, for their specific needs, an in-house assistant provides better value.” This is particularly true if you’ve decided to hire a Virtual Assistant to do on-site welding, or to teach an arts and crafts class to your third grade students. Otherwise, a virtual office assistant will get all the tasks done in half the time without the need for office space or equipment.
We would love to help you lower your administrative costs, increase your productivity and improve the overall working efficiency of your operation. Please take a moment to learn more about us and who we work with.
People also ask:
Is virtual bookkeeping worth it?
For most companies bookkeeping is an online activity. Sure there are some physical receipts that need to be managed, but for the most part, everything can be done on the computer. Therefore, a virtual bookkeeper is not at a disadvantage being remote, in fact, without all the water cooler chat and distractions, a virtual bookkeeper can usually get the same work done in half the time. And without the need for all the office expenses associated, a virtual bookkeeper is definitely worth it.
