Comments on: Cost of Hiring a Virtual Assistant – Part 2 http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/2008/08/29/cost-of-hiring-a-virtual-assistant-part-2/ All About Virtual Legal Assistance Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:22:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: » too much work or too little at Halo Secretarial Blog - http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/2008/08/29/cost-of-hiring-a-virtual-assistant-part-2/comment-page-1/#comment-347 » too much work or too little at Halo Secretarial Blog - Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:43:18 +0000 http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/?p=119#comment-347 [...] 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 [...] [...] 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 [...]

]]> By: » Change Is Good at Halo Secretarial Blog - http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/2008/08/29/cost-of-hiring-a-virtual-assistant-part-2/comment-page-1/#comment-259 » Change Is Good at Halo Secretarial Blog - Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:27:00 +0000 http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/?p=119#comment-259 [...] The Cost of Hiring a Virtual Assistant, part 2 [...] [...] The Cost of Hiring a Virtual Assistant, part 2 [...]

]]> By: Laurie http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/2008/08/29/cost-of-hiring-a-virtual-assistant-part-2/comment-page-1/#comment-108 Laurie Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:26:04 +0000 http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/?p=119#comment-108 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! 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!

]]> By: Jay Ehret http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/2008/08/29/cost-of-hiring-a-virtual-assistant-part-2/comment-page-1/#comment-107 Jay Ehret Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:20:54 +0000 http://halosecretarialservices.com/blog/?p=119#comment-107 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? 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?

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