I was recently reading a discussion amongst a group of people about their experiences in using a Virtual Assistant company in an Asian country. Some were giving praise and others were vocal about the poor experience they’d had.
One of the last commenters said that he was disappointed with the service and that they were closing up shop at 6pm their time just when he was getting into his work for the day. He also made comment that they couldn’t be found on Fridays and was thinking he might shift his support to another service in another Asian country.
That made me think about why he was doing that and not getting support closer to home. I mean if he wants someone working the same business hours as him then the reality is he needs to look closer to home for support, doesn’t it? Anyway, my response to him is below. What are your thoughts?
There are other choices to the VA groups in Asian countries. I guess it’s all about how much you want to spend versus time, convenience, and anything else that is important to you.
I manage a team in 15 countries, which includes the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand and some European countries.
You need to weigh up whether the time factor (your timing or theirs) is important to your getting the work done. Those in other countries are not usually going to sit up in the early hours of the morning, or very late at night, to fit in with your normal workday. The reality of getting someone working virtually with and for you means that they are working virtually – away from your premises, and often outside of your timing. If you need someone in the same timezone to you then you need to look closer to home to outsource. Of course that also means the rates are going to be quite different too – they have the same costs of living as you.
Kathie is the former owner of VA Directory and is former past President of the Australian VA Association. She founded the Virtual Assistant industry in Australia in the mid 90s, having already been operating a home-based secretarial service. Today the VA industry covers a multitude of office-based services for clients worldwide.
Stacy Brice says
Kathie…
I often find that people think they need Virtual Assistants to work the same hours they do, rather than realizing that 1)even if the VAs have the same hours, the clients aren’t hiring employees who will be sitting there all day just waiting for work to do (being at the client’s beck and call), and 2) that there’s absolute brilliance to be found in working with people who work while they (the clients) are sleeping. It’s amazingly freeing to get up and find tons of stuff already accomplished!
We all know that geography doesn’t matter one bit. I’m wondering how you think we can really help people considering working with VAs understand that?
Kathie Thomas says
I agree Stacey and I think it’s the place of every VA to help educate clients and prospective clients alike. I was raising that thought here for them to think about and also those who read this blog because they are thinking of engaging a VA.
Kylee says
This is a very interesting blog and even helpful for many new VAs like myself who are just starting up. As I feel that it really doesn’t matter where the VA is as I think many clients might feel if the work can be done whilst they are asleep and sent back to them. They have more time to concentrate on other things in hand. In my own opinion I would be happy to assists people in other countries and time zones.
Stefan Töpfer says
Some interesting points