Cost of Hiring a Virtual Assistant - Part 2
Not too long ago I wrote this post on the financial cost of hiring a virtual assistant. In today’s post I’ll address a different kind of cost - the cost of time spent unnecessarily.
How much time did you spend on email this week? How many emails are sitting in your inbox? Have you struggled with formatting your documents in a time crunch or have you missed sending invoice reminders because you are too busy to get to them? Do you have a regular assistant but she too is overwhelmed with tasks?
Most of us feel like we could use more time in our days, but we rarely realize how much can be delegated if we find someone reliable, dedicated and trustworthy to take on some of the burden. The right virtual assistant will help you streamline the running of your business or your law practice and you will have more time in your day finally!
I read a great article today from Law Practice Today where one lawyer documented her first use of a virtual legal assistant and how quickly it lead to an ongoing partnership with a VA, as she realized the potential benefits were significant. One thing you might note in this article is that the lawyer needed assistance on an urgent basis - something a virtual assistant can often easily step in and provide. Virtual assistants each set their own working hours, but many of us are open to assisting after regular office hours, on weekends and on a rush basis.
I challenge those of you who think you don’t “need” a virtual assistant, but who are running a business, to document over the next few days how much time is spent on tasks that could be delegated - whether that is your email, document proofing and formatting, calling a client to schedule a meeting or doing a draft of court documents from your client meeting notes. Realize that if you gave clear instructions to a qualified virtual assistant that you could save all that time and put it to wonderful use - or you could just enjoy some free time!
Laurie Mapp, Owner Halo Secretarial Services Contact us for more information on virtual legal assistance!
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Laurie, I think their is a general understanding of the potential benefit of a virtual assistant. However, I don’t think the industry does a good job in helping employers get past the fear factor. Jumping in and getting a VA for the first time is scary.
Most hourly rates I’ve seen quoted by VA services are about three times or more the hourly rate for a typical administrative assistant. Yet, the employer never gets to meet this VA in person, and the VA gets access to sensitive company material and information from a remote location. In addition, there is also the time required to get a new VA trained and informed about how that particular office works.
How do you think the industry can help potential VA users in overcoming this fear factor? Or do they already and I just don’t know about it?
August 29th, 2008 at 12:20 pm -
Thanks for that comment Jay! The industry certainly needs to work more on helping people understand that they don’t need to fear hiring a VA. To address your particular concerns:
Hourly rates are certainly 2-3 times what an in-office assistant might charge (where I live you would easily pay $15 an hour but the market is pretty hot for ANY job!) The reason for this high fee are many. A good VA is VERY experienced (for example I have over 10 years admin experience) and efficient, the VA covers in that fee all of her own equipment costs, health insurance, and taxes. After all, if you hire an employee you have higher costs than simply that smaller hourly wage you see.
VA’s shouldn’t require a lot of training, and I know I personally give my clients a couple of hours free in the beginning to cover the initial consultation and to compensate for the small learning curve that there may be.
As for sensitive materials, you can have a Virtual Assistant sign a confidentiality contract to protect your interests, and really any person in your office has MORE access to sensitive materials as they are physically there and can rifle through your desk if you aren’t around - your VA sees what you let her see.
I appreciate your comments and think I may need a full post to truly address everything! Thanks so much for the inspiration and if you need a VA I hope you take the time to try one out - the best way for VA’s to overcome the fear factor is to get clients who see the value and share it!August 29th, 2008 at 2:26 pm -
[...] The Cost of Hiring a Virtual Assistant, part 2 [...]
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:27 am -
[...] Do you do all your own typing? Research? Email? How much time does it cost you every day? In a previous post I addressed this lost time cost and demonstrated the cost effectiveness of hiring a virtual [...]
November 4th, 2008 at 10:43 am
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