Outsourcing Explained in Fewer than 400 Words
Outsourcing is a cost-effective way to help grow your business. If you’re bogged down by repetitive tasks it’s a great way to increase productivity and allow you to focus on things that matter. The Philippines has a huge talent pool with a great work ethic, able to work any time zone and a high proficiency of English. With technology these days it has never been easier to connect. Internet connectivity has come a long way in the Philippines and a stable internet is much more mainstream. When hiring a virtual assistant it is important to ensure the staff has a stable internet connection, adequate working space, and an up-to-date laptop/desktop.
Win/Win — Lots of small to medium enterprises can benefit from outsourcing. Virtual assistants in the Philippines receive higher than average wages, avoid terrible commuting times, and are able to enjoy working from home. To successfully outsource it’s important to navigate any pitfalls by understanding cultural differences. Having processes in place ahead of schedule, over communicating, making them feel part of the team and giving the process time to allow the staff to find their feet are all crucial elements in having a successful engagement with the staff. Keeping them engaged is important as well as having the necessary workflow to see the role grow.
Now more than ever, companies of all sizes are using offshore services to help grow their business proving that hiring a dedicated long-term staff member has never been easier. If you’ve ever felt bogged down, hiring a VA allows an increase in productivity and allows you to focus on the things that matter. Streamlining and automating parts of your business starts with identifying areas of the business with which a virtual staff can be utilized. From there it’s simply a matter of creating a job description and finding the right fit.
There are many useful tools which can help the process of training your staff, Skype and Zoom to name a few. Google drive has come a long way which enables collaboration with offshore staff using the cloud. The interview process is important as well, it allows you to experience and assess their communication as well as administer mini-test activities. You want to be able to depend on your staff and see their enthusiasm all these things flow through in the interview process. Everyone wants a great virtual assistant, there are many agencies out there that specialize in finding high-quality VA’s, at the end of the day it comes down to you having the right fit for your business.