Recently I became aware of a promotion for a chapter of a business networking group, promoting the 4 hour work week and using $5 an hour VAs. Whilst I know this book has held the interest of a lot of people who want to work less hours and still make the same or more amount of money, I really do get disturbed about the promotion of $5 an hour VAs. The reality is that a lot of the people doing these promotions know little if anything of the VA industry and they’ve picked up on something that Timothy Ferriss wrote, without really thinking it through or investigating it properly.
True, there are people out there who will do your typing, or data entry for $5 an hour. Generally these people are not trained typists with a background from the corporate world or as admin support people – they’re usually people at home with a computer and internet connection, looking to earn some extra money. They should, in no way, be considered a VA or Virtual Assistant.
I contacted the President of the organisation because of my concern and some of my team did as well. This is my email to that organisation:
I pioneered the Virtual Assistant industry in Australia and have been running this network since April 1996. We pride ourselves in our professionalism and abilities and have had articles in most major newspapers around Australia, in Reader’s Digest and several business magazines and in the Lawyers Weekly.
Outsourcing to people who only charge $5 an hour is encouraging business people to seek cheap support often from people who are not equipped through experience and knowledge to provide the kind of support they need and deserve. We’ve seen these type of promotions before and it really does a disservice to our industry and many of us take exception to it. Sourcing ‘VAs’ through Craigs list and similar will only end up attracting the attention of people who are trying to earn some extra income at home using the computer and internet connection they have, but frequently they don’t have the corporate skills and experience behind them. Virtual Assistants should be sourced via the 20+ VA Networks available out there and they all show up in Google searches. And there are many VAs going it alone who aren’t with the networks but still able to be found via Google.
The network I manage has members in 16 countries so I can provide VA support from other countries with different currency rates but certainly not at $5 an hour.
Some of the following articles might help you, or the people who want to know about our industry understand it a bit more.
Virtual Assistant or Virtual Worker?
Seeking a VA – price and where to search?
Can A Virtual Assistant Be An Employee?
Virtual Assistant Needed
When Is An Hour Not An Hour?
Speed and Efficiency = Cheaper Job!
I did receive a response fairly quickly and was pleased to hear that they were going to present the other (our) side as well and show the above articles to the attendees to make them aware of the services available here in Australia and via VA networks in general. A good outcome.
Deanne Verrall says
An excellent way to turn a negative situation into a potentially positive one that could lead to better awareness of our industry and possibly some job leads as well for the soon-to-be educated masses!
Well done!
Deanne Verrall
Principal – Net Secretary
Lyn Prowse-Bishop, MVA, ASO says
I so agree Kathie. It is appalling and I think that their promotion of $5/hour probably relates to outsourcing off shore. The UK medical profession is suffering the consequences right now of outsourcing to cheap labour market countries where English is not the native language.
Perhaps these attendees would be better off getting hold of a copy of Michael Russer’s “The Obsolete Employee”.
A simple Google search would have turned up exactly the kind of information they required for a more realistic presentation.
Laurie Neumann says
Kathie,
I applaud you for taking a stand on this. You, of all people, know what it takes to be a VA and the compensation that should be given for the position.
There is so much misinformation floating around these days. Thanks for taking the time to bring some clarity to this situation.
Chris Sandberg says
I disagree with you to an extent. I have experience working in the off shoring industry in the Philippines. I don’t know about other countries, but in the Philippines the average wage for a college educated, fluent English speaking, professional is in the $2-$3 and hour range. Although English is not as widely spoken as Tagalog and other native languages, everyone does speak it fairly well, and most educated people are fluent.
If you were willing to pay up to $5/hr., which is well over twice the average wage in the country you could probably hire a perfect English speaker with several years of experience.
The only reason quality may be lower than in the Philippines is that the Virtual Assistant industry itself may be fairly new to the country, meaning lower quality education in the field. Give the industry a few years to develop and I am sure you would have many professional Virtual Assistant willing to work for $5/hr. who are just as good as their counterparts in more developed nations, and I am sure if you recruit well you can even find skilled and experienced VAs even today willing to work for that wage.
Kathie Thomas says
Chris, thank you for your comments. It’s always good to hear from those in other countries.
With all due respect, the work that this particular group I was writing about would be seeking is more than just copy typing or data entry. The work that many VAs do is comparable to what a Personal Assistant does in a corporate office, in effect becoming the right-hand of the person they are providing support for. This means really getting to know the business of your client, liaising with their clients, and handling their business in many, many ways. So understanding their culture, their language and their needs is paramount to the job in hand. As the education quality improves in your country it would be good to see VAs emerging and being able to give the type of service that many clients are seeking. I do know one VA from your region and I believe his rates are somewhat higher and he does a lot of web based work.
Please do keep in touch – it would be good to see you at our discussion forums.
Lina says
I have utilized VAs overseas and have found initially, at least for the type of projects I was working on, I had to have a few phone conversations that incurred telephone charges which ended up offsetting the savings. Sometimes it is not possible to just rely on the clarity of email … that’s been my experience anyway and unless I was working on a project that was very cut and dry, I would prefer a US based VA. My two cents – thanks!
Kathie Thomas says
Thank you for your comment Lina. There is always a settling in period, just as there is in the corporate world – a boss for his PA. But after that, providing the VA has the skillset you need for support, they should be able to service your needs with little problem. I’d be interested in knowing where the VAs were that you have used and how long for?
Of course, there are some services that need to be provided locally but for the most part, VAs should be able to service you well, irrespective of their location, providing they have the skillset and language skills for the job.