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Know These Statistics Before Hiring a Virtual Assistant 

Posted October 21, 2022

Every business can benefit from hiring a virtual assistant for various reasons. The most obvious reason is that employing a virtual assistant frees up your precious time, and allows you to focus on growing your business as the owner.  

Virtual assistants can take care of various business processes, from customer service to event organizing. If you’re in the market for some help in sorting out organisational matters but just can’t make a decision yet, this list of statistics could help you justify the need to hire an assistant. Read on for 10 statistics on outsourcing assistance for your business. 

Over 80% of corporations plan to use a more flexible workforce. (Intuit

Modern times have influenced traditional employment. More and more large companies hire freelancers and part-time workers, making virtual assistants more popular nowadays. This trend is likely to continue especially with the pandemic encouraging remote work. Virtual assistant usage statistics show that more than 80% of big businesses have decided to raise the number of contingent workers. 

Around 37% of small businesses use outsourcing to handle at least one of their business processes. (Capital Counselor

If you hire a full-time assistant on-site, you must factor in additional expenses such as a desk, computer, and so on. If you hire a virtual assistant, on the other hand, you will avoid these expenditures and save 78 percent of your company's costs every year, which greatly benefits small businesses who have to focus on scaling their resources. 

Virtual assistants can help firms save as much as 78% on operational costs in comparison with a full-time employee. (Capital Counselor

Technology is constantly evolving and continuously benefitting organizations, so companies need to make sure to follow the trend. Over 94% of organizations using outsourcing make due improvements by hiring third-party providers to assist.  

The most common VA specialties include general admin work and project management. (Upwork

According to statistics on virtual assistants, companies that hire virtual assistants sometimes require them to do a few particular tasks, while others give VAs crucial roles in their teams. Some common virtual assistant services demanded by employers include general admin work, project management, bookkeeping, billing and invoicing, content research, blogging, customer research, customer support, data entry, etc. 

Independent workers are more satisfied compared to traditional employees. (McKinsey

People who have chosen to do independent work and rely on it as their primary source of income show increased contentment in their work. If we compare them to people who have 9- to-5 jobs by choice, we’ll see that the latter are less satisfied. 

The top two locations for hiring VAs are the Philippines and India. (Distinguished

The Philippines and India are the best destinations for finding virtual assistants because both countries are on the top of the list of global outsourcing. Virtual assistant trends show that while Filipinos are easy to work with and excel at Business English, India is popular for IT and back- office work. 

Six out of 10 virtual assistants boast college degrees. (Zippia

Modern society has brought changes to the way we work and look for a job. As a result, many skilled professionals have chosen to work remotely as virtual assistants. Data suggest that nearly 60% of virtual assistants are well-educated professionals who have a college degree to prove it. 

The average annual pay for virtual assistants in the US is $67,115. (ZipRecruiter

Virtual assistant rates of income can vary depending on the country as well as their skill set and specialties. However, the average pay of virtual assistants in the United States is $67,115. From that, it can be inferred that virtual assistants make $32/hour, or around $5,600/month, on average. 

The increase in productivity from workers who shifted to a work from home arrangement is worth an enormous $1.3 billion annually. (Distinguished

Many company owners have turned to virtual assistant services to help them with everyday duties such as social media management, email marketing, and project management during the last few years. This has allowed businesses to do more, and workers feel more productive towards their KPIs. Thus, the worldwide virtual assistant business is growing in tandem with the continuous rise in demand.  

There are over 20 categories of virtual assistants. (The PennyMatters

Virtual assistants come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the business. Because the corporate sector is so broad, there is no definitive number of VA kinds. However, we can still construct a list of the most common types: virtual administrative assistant, virtual social media marketing assistant, virtual assistant writer, virtual bookkeeper, and virtual real estate assistant. 

Final Thoughts 

We hope this list helps you prepare and decide whether your business could benefit from hiring a virtual assistant.  

Don’t know where to look for a qualified virtual assistant? NFT can help! Send us a message today or reach us at +61 2 9089 8875 to take the first step. 

In today’s age of highly digitized processes, the difference between a successful business and one that is lagging behind is the integration deft management and suitable skills to complement its processes.  

From small concerns to large establishments, many businesses are choosing to acquire business assistance as innovative and advanced services have become increasingly accessible in the current competitive and ever-evolving business climate.  

What is Business Assistance? 

The textbook definition of business assistance, or more commonly called business outsourcing, is the process of subcontracting multiple business operations and functions to third-party service providers.  

That means that it is a business practice in which an organization contracts with a third-party vendor or external service provider to perform a specific business task or function. The third-party service provider is therefore solely responsible for carrying out all the tasks pertaining to that business function. 

When Do I Know I Need Business Assistance? 

There are many reasons why companies acquire business assistance. The major reason is to save money and increase their work efficiency.  

Generally, companies outsource skills because they get better, cheaper, and faster work done for their particular task. They can hand over tedious and time-consuming tasks that often take lots of time and effort. Thus by getting business assistance, they can focus on more critical work, turning to their advantage in the market.  

Some companies outsource their work to third-party services as they cannot hire in-house employees who have specialized skills to perform specific tasks. Another reason is that sometimes companies don't want to handle regulatory requirements or obligations, and that's why they move over the management of these tasks to third-party services. 

If you find yourself in these business situations, it may be time for you to start seeking assistance for your operations. 

What Processes Should I Get Assistance For? 

Broadly speaking, organizations get assistance for two key areas of operations. They include: 

  1. Front office functions and services that pertain to customer-related services such as sales, marketing, support, etc.; 
     
  1. Back office functions and services that pertain to core internal business operations such as payment processing, quality assurance, information technology services, accounting, regulatory compliance, human resources, etc. 

Below, we go into more detail of some functions that companies get assistance with: 

  • Customer Interaction 
    An assistant in this function may handle the company’s email services, voicemail services, telemarketing, appointment scheduling, payment and order processing, warranty administration, surveys, customer feedback and support and other types of services.  
     
  • Software and IT  
    Assistance in this function may include providing technical support functions like implementation services, IT helpdesk support, development and testing of application and data, among other services. 
     
  • Back-Office Operations 
    Here the outsourcing service party provides a wide range of services, some of which may include data entry, data extraction, data conversion, warehouse management, transportation administration, cheque processing, logistics and distribution, etc.  
  • Knowledge-Based Services  
    Assistance for knowledge-based functions may include high-level processes like marketing, data analytics, data processing and management, data mining, research, etc. 
      
  • Accounting and Finance  
    Your business can also benefit from getting assistance in functions involving payroll, auditing, receivables, regulatory compliance, accounts payables, billing services, etc.  
     
  • Human Resource 
    Here the outsourcing service provider can help to address challenges in the workforce by covering employee management, time and attendance, payroll, insurance processing, training, hiring and recruitment, etc. 

Benefits of Getting Business Assistance 

  • Reduce Operating Costs 
    Outsourcing often saves money and time rather than hiring a full-time employee, and you also get to know beforehand how much this costs and what services you will get. This will mean that you will know ahead how much you will spend and what services you're going to get. This also makes sure that you don't spend before your budget and get quality services simultaneously.  
     
  • Focus on Critical Areas of the Business 
    By outsourcing small, unimportant tasks, you can focus on more important tasks that need your attention rather than working on less important ones. You can outsource small tasks or tasks that need lots of time or repeat work. This will give you more time, energy, and attention to spend on more important work.  
     
  • Access a Wider Talent Pool 
    Outsourcing allows you to work with specialized, experienced people in their field. Sometimes, you might not get the same specialized talent in-house that you can get by outsourcing. By outsourcing, you can get quality work from experts to help you achieve your business goals faster. 

Cons of Getting Business Assistance 

Like all business decisions, company executives must arrive at the decision to acquire business assistance by weighing and considering various factors and reasons in addition to being mindful of the economic conditions and market forces. 

Transferring internal processes to an external third party or outsourcing company requires change management as it impacts the workflow processes, employees and the business as a whole. This is not necessarily a negative outcome that may spring from getting assistance for some business operations, but when this step isn’t done right, it may impact the organization negatively rather than create benefits.   

Get the Right Business Assistance You Need 

Employee outsourcing or acquiring assistants for multiple business operations is something that many organizations have benefitted from. It’s starting to become a normal setup in most companies, where company executives focus on the more critical areas of the business while employing talents in repetitive and time-consuming operations.  

Before jumping on a decision to get assistance, it's essential to know which is the right one for you that meets your needs and demands. NFT offers business assistance as one of our services and we can help you get the right talents for the functions outlined above.  

If you’re in the market for business assistance, contact us at +61290898875 or leave a comment below to get started with a free consultation. 

Through business assistance, several companies seek to improve their professional management. But we do know that before implementing this type of large-scale strategy, it is highly necessary to be aware of its role and the added benefits it will bring to your business. The trend towards business assistance has constantly been increasing due to the growing need for companies to respond to the latest technologies and market complexities to adapt to new changes in the market and remain competitive. And with the help of business assistance, you can easily delegate functions that are not quite significant for your company as such to the company you are outsourcing. By doing this, you will be able to dedicate your time and efforts exclusively to the core activities that are primarily the basis for production and profit maximization.

How can you tell when it's time to get business assistance?

The following signs are good indications:

  1. You always find yourself working long hours - If you spend your time working long hours almost all the time, then it is time to think about hiring a virtual assistant to help you with the work load. Repetitive tasks like answering customer service and social media comments are a few that you can outsource to your virtual assistant.
  2. Your business is losing clients because you can't answer them right away - When clients are prospecting they expect an answer to their queries right away. If you are having a tough time keeping up with all your emails, you lose potential clients.
  3. You need something done, and you don't have the skills for it - You may have a job that requires you set up a professional Shopify website but don't know enough about how to create it to make your business boom. You also need materials that need translating but do not know the language. It is during such times that you realize the value of having a virtual assistant to help you with your requirements.

Other advantages derived from business assistance, certainly make the cost of outsourcing worthwhile -

  1. Cost reduction - allows you to avoid fraud and decisions that compromise inessential expenses
  2. Better capital use and control of the workforce
  3. Dedicated focus towards the company’s efficient development that further allows you to acquire benefits in large-scale investments
  4. Access to the best talent, across the world

You can also obtain all these benefits by outsourcing your Bookkeeping and Virtual Assistance functions to NFT. We assure you to keep your confidential information secured and provide a high-quality service while you can completely dedicate yourself to your core activities.

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