Owen:

What are the advantages of hiring a virtual assistant versus a full-time employee?

What is a virtual assistant? They are essentially independent contractors who don’t have to go through the same employment procedure that a full time employee has to undergo; rather you pay them for the services they render. Although you have to go through certain formalities in the sense that you have to sign a contract with the virtual assistant and detail out the responsibilities and expectations for each party and also find a way which you guys can have reliable communication between one another. Beyond these formalities, hiring a virtual assistant is a lot easier than hiring an employee.

The advantages of hiring a virtual assistant versus a full time employee; firstly is that virtual assistants pay their own taxes and benefits which is why you do not have to create a tax or benefit package for them because being independent contractors they take care of their own responsibilities. All that matters is what you pay them for their services and they will handle their own taxes. As an employer you don’t have to worry about payroll pensions, medical insurance etc which makes it cost effective for you as a  small business owner  unlike when you hire a full time employee.

The second advantage is that the virtual assistant is more committed to their quality of their work because they derive their income from being very productive and delivering value to their client so if they are not able to deliver, their clients most likely would terminate the contract which makes them focused on how they can deliver. They provide you administrative support which in turn frees you so that you can focus on certain activities that bring in the most income for your business. Virtual assistants do understand that their revenue is dependent on the results that they put forward for their client and they are most likely to spend more time trying to deliver unlike full time employees who get paid regardless of their effort.

The other advantage is that the virtual assistant uses his/her own office space and equipment, unlike a full time employee for whom you have to provide an office space and buy new computers whereas the word “virtual” here means that whether they are based in US or Philippines they work on the internet from their home or own space and you don’t have to buy any office supplies for them. They usually have their own computers, printers and faxes and are responsible themselves for their maintenance.

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