Businesses have grown accustomed to hiring personnel to report to their physical offices and conduct tasks. Staffing In-house has certainly proven to be effective over the years, most especially during a company’s “beginner phase”. However, as a business grows, managing in-house personnel becomes more difficult. Acquiring additional staff might not be as much of a good investment because owners end up paying for skills which might not really be necessary. To discuss further, the following bullet points will compare in house staffing versus virtual or online staffing:

EXPENSES

In House Staff – The company will most likely incur higher costs because hiring in-house personnel comes with many operational expenses such as office space, pc cubicle setups and other aspects relevant to his job. The firm will also be liable to the individuals employment costs like vacation/sick leaves, taxes and other benefits. Additionally, business owners are expected to pay for the whole duration the staff member stayed in the office – without taking into consideration whether he was productive or idle the whole time.

Virtual Assistant – Offshore outsourcing services ensures that the company will  get more value for money. Despite the fact that virtual assistance is cheaper than in-house staffing, there is no longer a need to take care of operational costs since online assistants usually cover the other expenses and facilities. What’s more, companies will only be paying per hour or per task completed depending on what the outsourcing and the virtual staff initially agreed upon.

TIME ISSUES

In House Staff – Having in-house workers will probably cause the management some major and minor issues regarding working schedule. For one, the management and the employees will  be in the same time zone meaning that the business will be stagnant during off-hours. In times when employees are off duty, the company will usually not be able to tap their availability in times of urgency. This situation is not very ideal for a business with an e-commerce site that is up 24/7, unless you opt to hiring an employee to work on day shift and the other at a later time.

Virtual Assistant – Relying on an offshore outsourcing company will help to deal with these time and schedule related concerns. Virtual professionals will be able to work during off-hours and get tasks done in time with the manager’s waking hour. To put it simply, no time is wasted. This could also spell success for the business since managers will be spending more time making the business grow instead of handling staff in the workplace.

These disadvantages prove that resorting to virtual assistant services might be a better option. It allows the company to save up on funds and time which they can spend on other lucrative pursuits. Growth in business means that different techniques should be tested and conventional strategies challenged. So why not give offshore outsourcing a shot? You can check our post, “10 Qualities to Look for in a Virtual Assistant” to give you a few tips on how to find a perfect virtual match.