As the demands on business owners grow, so does the need for help getting the work done. Many have turned to virtual assistant services to move faster without adding headcount.
Virtual assistants have been part of the shift to remote work as more businesses move to a digital workspace. They’re a flexible, lower-cost way to get work done outside an office.
By the end of this article, you’ll know enough to decide whether virtual assistant outsourcing is right for your business.
Key takeaways
Virtual assistants have been part of the shift to remote work as more businesses move to a digital workspace.
A virtual assistant can improve how your business runs and help you hit goals sooner, at a lower cost than hiring in house.
Outsourcing different virtual assistant services lets you cover more work without growing your payroll.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
First, here’s who you’d actually be working with.
A virtual assistant is a skilled remote worker who provides administrative, creative, or technical support.
VAs work independently, often from their own home office. The work ranges from general admin to specialized support like calendar management, email inbox management, customer service, and sales outsourcing.
Because you hire a VA by the hour or by the project, it’s easy to scale the arrangement up or down as your workload changes.
Why Hire a Virtual Assistant for Your Business
Hiring a virtual assistant has become a common hiring solution for businesses. In fact, 19% of businesses in tech have already been reaping the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant, while 8% of startups already have a VA.
A VA or an outsourced team can handle routine tasks, fill in certain roles, or help with fluctuating workloads. Here are the top five benefits of outsourcing to a virtual assistant, no matter what industry you’re in.
1. Streamlined Work Processes
The most useful thing a remote virtual assistant can do for your business is take over your routine work. That’s mostly general virtual administrative tasks.
| Task | What a virtual assistant handles |
|---|---|
| Data entry | Feeding data into reports and documents, then checking the entries for accuracy so mistakes don’t reach your team. |
| Research | Digging into your target market or your competitors, which is work that eats a lot of hours when you do it yourself. |
| Transcription | Turning audio and video clips into written files for reports and analyses. A VA can also sit in on meetings, take the minutes, and remind you of the next step after each one. |
| Recruiting and sourcing | Handling talent acquisition so you don’t have to sift through long candidate lists. Use a VA to build a remote team while you concentrate on the business. |
With a VA handling that work, you can get more done without dropping your standards. Routine and time-consuming tasks go to the VA, which frees up you and your team for the higher-value work.
2. Low-Cost Business Scalability
For a lot of businesses, especially startups, the cost of hiring, training, and managing a full-time in-house team gets in the way of accelerating business growth. Virtual assistance outsourcing costs less.
Finding a VA is fast, thanks to the many virtual assistant websites out there. A work-from-home virtual assistant also doesn’t need office space, equipment, or supplies. Most are already trained on common tools and functions, so you can onboard them and start handing off work quickly.
VAs are paid hourly or at a fixed project rate, so you can hire one for a set amount of time. That makes it easier to scale up or down based on what you need. If you want to see what the difference looks like in your own numbers, run them through the outsourcing cost savings calculator.
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3. Access to Expertise and Skill Sets
One of the most overlooked benefits of hiring a virtual assistant is access to a global talent pool. Hiring from another country is often cheaper, and it also opens up expertise you may not find near you.
There are a lot of options to choose from when it comes to virtual assistant niches.
| Type of virtual assistant | What they take on |
|---|---|
| Administrative | A generalist who covers clerical and personal tasks: booking appointments, answering phone calls and emails, calendar management, and data entry. |
| eCommerce | Runs an online store, manages inventory and order processing, and answers buyer questions. A Shopify VA can also set up your account and oversee web design and UI custom development. |
| Accounting | Tracks day-to-day finances: balance sheets, bank reconciliations, bills and invoices, and payment reminders for clients. |
Different types of virtual assistants bring different skills to your team, which can lead to new opportunities for your business.
4. Improved Products and Services
No matter what industry you’re in, your business should give value to customers and help them achieve a specific objective. Providing the best product or service you can is what keeps customers satisfied, and that drives sales and revenue.
With a virtual assistant, you can lighten your team’s workload so everyone can focus on their core functions. Work like market research and competitor analysis can go to a VA to help make your products and services better.
Another way to improve the customer experience is to provide good customer service, which a team of VAs can help you with.
5. Increased Asset Value to Your Business
Done right, working with a virtual assistant makes your business more competitive. A VA becomes a valuable part of the team by making everyone more productive, automating work, and absorbing the load when it spikes.
That gives you more time to spend on growing the business. You’d also have a better work-life balance, and so would your team, which cuts down on the stress and burnout that hurt retention and work quality.
No commitment
Meet your assistant before you pay anything
Magic handles the sourcing, screening, and onboarding. You aren’t charged until you start working together.
5 Key Considerations When Hiring a Virtual Assistant
The reasons you need a virtual assistant might be straightforward, but you still have to find the best virtual assistant for your business. That takes some planning and clear communication.
Here are the factors to take into account when you’re getting virtual assistant services.
1. Understanding What Your Business Needs
Before anything else, define the kind of virtual assistant service you need. Who’s going to work with the VA? If it’s top-level management, hire an executive assistant instead of a generalist.
Or maybe you need a team of remote workers for customer support. Either way, work out the budget you have for growing your outsourced team. Knowing these things up front makes hiring smoother and saves you time and money.
2. Setting Expectations and Boundaries
Before you start delegating tasks, onboard new VAs properly. Go over their scope of work and their key performance indicators so they know what to aim for.
Take the time to show them how things are done, and set up a process for data privacy and security. Contracts and agreements give structure to what your virtual assistant should and should not do.
3. Managing Time and Communication
There may be some growing pains before you see the benefits of having a virtual assistant. Communication barriers and time zone differences are normal.
You just need to be ready for them. Talk to your VA clearly so you’re both on the same page, whether that’s about working hours or the communication tools you want them to use.
Set remote communication strategies and contingency plans so the line between you and your VA stays open. That keeps the work moving when something goes wrong.
A time zone gap can work in your favor. Some businesses schedule their VAs outside normal office hours to extend the window when someone is available, for example customer service assistants covering evenings and weekends.
4. Building a Strong Working Relationship
You and your virtual assistant need a strong working relationship, even in a remote setup. There has to be trust in each other’s work and a shared understanding of how things get done.
Keep an open line of communication so your VA feels able to raise concerns or ideas. That includes giving feedback and taking it. There should also be mutual respect.
Read More On This Topic: How to Set Your Remote Workforce Up For Success
5. Measuring the Success of your VA
With clear expectations and communication in place, it’s easier to measure how your VA is doing and make adjustments. Track KPIs like productivity, promptness, and customer satisfaction.
We suggest frequent check-ins, plus a performance review every few months or whenever the work changes. Those reviews tell you whether to grow your outsourced team or stay with your current assistant.
Some virtual assistant outsourcing companies will also help you manage and evaluate your VA’s performance, which takes that job off your plate.
Other Things to Know Before Hiring a VA
The cost and logistics of hiring a virtual assistant matter to the decision, so here are a few more details.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Virtual Assistant?
Virtual assistant services rates vary depending on location, expertise, and how complex the tasks are. Generally, you can expect to pay an hourly rate, which can range from $10 to $25 or more, depending on the level of expertise required.
Magic charges a flat weekly rate instead of an hourly one. Here’s how the pricing works.
| Plan | Hours a week | Weekly rate | Works out to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time assistant | 20 | $270 | $13.50 an hour |
| Full-time assistant | 40, and includes Magic 24/7 | $540 | $13.50 an hour |
| Magic 24/7 on its own | Round-the-clock coverage from a shared pool | $199 | Flat weekly rate |
Billing happens every four weeks, there’s no long-term contract, and you can cancel anytime. You aren’t charged until you start working with your assistant.
Where Can You Find a Virtual Assistant?
You can find VAs on platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr, or by working with a VA outsourcing agency. Either way, vet the candidates carefully and interview them to check the fit with your business. Our roundup of the best virtual assistant companies is a good place to start comparing agencies.
At Magic, we do the sourcing, screening, and training, so our virtual assistants are ready to work when you are. You can read what clients say about them in our reviews.
Are Virtual Assistants Worth It?
A VA makes a big difference if you’re trying to run more efficiently. They handle day-to-day tasks like data entry, email management, calendar management, travel arrangements, and research, which leaves you more time for planning and strategy.
VAs also cost less than in-house hires and are flexible about hours, which suits businesses whose workload rises and falls through the year.
What Can a Virtual Assistant Do?
Beyond administrative tasks, VAs can support growth through lead generation, customer service, bookkeeping, social media management, and content creation.
There are also executive assistants who make an executive team more effective at running the business.
Reap the Benefits of Having a Virtual Assistant with Magic
Once you know what your business needs, a virtual assistant is a good way to improve how you operate and hit your goals sooner while spending less than you would on an in-house hire.
Keep up with the demands of your industry by outsourcing virtual assistant services with Magic. We’ll source and screen the right virtual assistant for your business based on your needs and preferences.
Get started
Start with one assistant and see how it goes.
Part-time is $270 a week for 20 hours. Magic sources, screens, and onboards your assistant, you meet them first, and you aren’t charged until you start working together.
