How much money will I save by hiring a Virtual Assistant?
So your business has grown exponentially and you’ve got several new clients/customers!
Congratulations!
But the pile of paperwork and bookkeeping to be sorted, blogs to be written, social media to be scheduled, flyers to be designed (and everything else on your to-do list), point to you needing an extra pair of hands on-board.
Did you know that hiring an employee (whether part or full time) is not your only option?!
Virtual Assistants work remotely (and occasionally on-site) as contractors, which means you use them as much or as little as you need, or simply for the hours they are contracted for.
Now you’re probably wondering what makes more financial sense - hiring an employee or outsourcing to a contractor?
Let’s look at some interesting stats …
Only 60 percent of an employee’s work time (or even less!) is spent being productive (Atlassian).
The average employee spends two hours a day recovering from interruptions (Atlassian).
The average employee is interrupted from their work 56 times a day (Atlassian).
Whereas virtual assistants are 100% productive!
During the times they are focused on their client’s tasks there are no distractions.
No loo breaks, no lunches, no water-cooler chats … no nothing!
The cost comparison of a Virtual Assistant vs Employee
Deciding on whether to hire an employee or a Virtual Assistant, can be a tough one to make, especially if you’re new to outsourcing.
One way to get started is to look at the costs involved:
Employee's hourly pay / salary
A full-time administrator’s salary doesn’t stop at the salary alone. You also need to add on ACC plus paid time off for Annual Leave (4 weeks paid per year) and soon up to 10 paid sick days plus bereavement leave, domestic violence leave, Covid testing leave and all of the Statutory Public Holidays.
Don’t forget that you’ll also be paying an extra 3% employer’s Kiwisaver contribution for a full-time administrator on top of their salary.
A virtual assistant on the other hand is 100% productive and you only pay the hourly rate/package/service plan cost for their services rendered being a contractor. That's it, nothing else, no hidden costs.
On-boarding costs
Recruiting a new employee can set you back by $650 - $800 for job boards and $2k - $5k for a decent recruitment consultant.
Depending on your business model you'll also need to incur costs such as office space, workstation, office chair ($700 - $1700), a decent laptop, keyboard, mouse, maybe a gel wrist rest mouse pad, monitors and Microsoft Office at the very least ($2k - $6k) and stationery ($200).
Compare this to hiring a virtual assistant and you'll only need to spend a few hours researching, shortlisting and interviewing potential Virtual Assistants.
Virtual Assistants being set up as their own business means they already have and pay for their own office equipment, subscriptions, stationery and everything else they need to work efficiently and comfortably.
The only subscriptions you will need to pay for are when you need an additional user on a paid account such as an email account and any other online tools you use in your business eg task, workflow, job management.
Training costs
Depending on the experience level of your new employee hire, training costs may range from a week’s salary to industry-specific workshops/conferences.
Virtual Assistants often come to you with the a specific set of skills and experience that you already need. And they pay for their own professional development (unless it’s something specifically required for you and your business).
Non-monetary costs
During low work levels and slow business times, you’ll still have to pay for your employee as per their agreed hours.
With a Virtual Assistant, you can scale the service they're providing up and down as required without running into any HR regulatory issues.
What’s a better fit for you? Hiring a Virtual Assistant or an Employee?
The answer to this question depends on you, your business, your future plans, your level of comfort working with remote teams and understanding what your time could be better utlised for.
Swapping your time from administration, to revenue generating activities could be the best decision you every make in your business.
Make sure you ask yourself:
Can I afford the ongoing committed costs of an employee?
How productive will my employee actually be vs a 100% productive virtual assistant?
Will there be enough work all year round to ensure my staff member is fully productive?
Do I have the mental space and calendar space to manage a full-time staff member?
Virtual assistants are a flexible and scalable resource whom you use as much or as little as you need. And in today’s uncertain environment (thanks a bunch COVID-19!) can you afford NOT to hire a VA?
Whichever way you choose when it comes to your next hire, make sure you conduct a thorough cost/benefit analysis before you start.
And if you DO decide to go down the VA route? Well then we’ve made it really easy!
Ready to start your search for the right VA?
The Virtual Assistant Network NZ has made it really easy for business owners to find a great-fit, New Zealand VA to outsource to.
Simply head over to our online directory and search for a VA via their location and/or services they provide.
Or if you’re a busy business owner who just doesn’t have the time (or inclination) to search yourself, then take advantage of our VA ‘Matchmaking’ service.
A bit about the Author
Elina is the founder of ProjectSeven and is the first person you would call when you need that extra pair of hands to run your business.
The ProjectSeven team specialise in real estate admin, event management, social media, content and executive assistance for busy small businesses.
With the team's combined experience covering 3 decades, Elina's vision is to help businesses sort their admin in order to focus on more high-value tasks.
Having lived in Israel and Canda and travelled more extensively, Elina brings in varied perspectives to business issues.
Outside of work, she enjoys playing a variety of board games, is an avid reader, enjoys the odd glass of wine with her friends, and loves meeting new people and learning new things about everything business.