Hire Remote Assistants? Or Hire In-House? Pros & Cons
Remote assistants (or virtual assistants) are considered by many business owners as an option when considering whether to hire an employee. They provide a suite of services that can streamline businesses and make them more profitable. Remote assistants are also able to provide more value than your typical 9–5 employee.
In addition, remote assistants offer better benefits, more flexibility and often lower costs than in-house hires. Too good to be true? Not at all.
Remote assistants do come with a price tag. Although, it’s one that can be much less than the cost of hiring an in-house staff member!
Creating a Remote Assistant Position
We’ll explore some pros and cons of hiring remote assistants (or virtual assistants). But first, let’s examine how you can create a remote assistant position within your business. There are several ways to create a remote assistant position within your business.
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The first way is to hire a remote assistant as an independent contractor or consultant. If you do this, the business owner is considered the client and maintains a separate relationship with the remote assistant. (Paperwork required.)
A second option is to hire a remote assistant as an employee through an agency. In this case, the agency serves as the client and employs your new employee. (Paperwork outsourced. Yay!)
A third option is to employ your own remote assistant by hiring them on a part-time or full-time basis. This will be based on your current needs in your business. (Paperwork required.)
Which option you choose will depend on your flexibility and budget. The first two options may offer more long-term benefits. The third option could be better suited to you if you’re only doing this for a special circumstance.
Remote Assistants vs. In-House Employees
This is what people think of hiring remote assistants. They often think they’re hiring someone that will perform the same services remotely as an in-house employee would. That isn’t always the case. Remote assistants don’t necessarily provide the same services as employees. Rather, remote assistants specialize in a specific service or category of services for your business.
For example, let’s say you run a marketing agency. You may hire remote assistants to specialize in different services such as copywriting, press releases, design or social media. Your remote assistant hardly ever replaces an in-house employee. Rather, it’s a way to augment your current services!
Not only does hiring remote assistants mean more value for businesses, but also more opportunity for people looking for jobs. Whether it’s part-time or full-time work, remote assistants are becoming the new norm for our generation.
Employers need to find new ways to offer all of this value and opportunity. The opportunity to make a living gives people the freedom to work from anywhere, be more productive, and have a life outside of work. Business owners have the opportunity to bring on board someone who can provide great service. When you do, you’ll also boost potential to reach more customers and earn more money.
Pros & Cons of In-House Employees for Your Business
Pros:
- Your own permanent employees.
- Long-term, local relationship.
- Employees are incentivized to stay by salaries and benefits.
- Enjoy working with the same people every day.
- Not all tasks can be assigned and monitored remotely.
Cons:
- High upfront cost.
- Long term commitment (minimum one year).
- Employees may be resistant to changes in processes.
- Employees may focus on their benefit package, not their work.
- Uses valuable business time for training and meetings with employees.
- May result in legal disputes over termination of employees (e.g., wrongful termination.)
Pros & Cons of A Virtual Assistant Services Company for Your Business
Pros:
- Remote assistants are dedicated to you.
- Requires paying a company for services, not an employee. (No hiring paperwork.)
- Multiple layers to remain accountable and accessible. (They report to you as well and the virtual assistant company addresses issues with them.)
- A great value (Full-time hires at up to 70% less than in-house.)
- Can be supervised from home, where there is no need to go into an office.
Cons:
- Not local.
- You can’t watch performance in person.
- Not optimal for every task.
It is easy to believe that virtual assistants are just a fad. However, the ability to hire remote assistants offers businesses a long-term solution to their staffing issues without having to make big upfront commitments. Anyone can become a remote assistant and help you grow your business with lower costs and more benefits than hiring employees.
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Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees — and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.
MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.
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Did You Know? MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”
