Nowadays, outsourcing has become one of the mainstream business practices for entrepreneurs. It has made our life much easy and convenient to enjoy all the benefits of outsourcing without giving up on the comfort of your home.

The outsourcing process can be done through different means like outsourcing through an agency, outsourcing to freelancer websites or hiring a virtual assistant (VA). For those who are wondering what VA is, it is defined as "an independent worker having administrative, technical or creative skills who provide services to other organizations. Virtual assistants perform a variety of tasks that would otherwise have to be performed by regular employees."

Every business owner wants his business processes to run smoothly so they can achieve higher productivity which will help them reach organizational goals faster. However, not all of them are aware of outsourcing which can help achieve great results in less time.

In this article, we’re going to talk about the benefits and advantages of hiring a Virtual Assistant. How can your VA help you with your business, and how does outsourcing or offshoring work helps a business achieve success.

Employing a virtual assistant can be an excellent way for entrepreneurs to increase their output without increasing the number of employees. What is a virtual assistant? A virtual assistant is an outsourcing professional who works remotely via email, chat, telephone, fax or video conferencing.

A virtual assistant may perform many tasks including administrative support, data entry and customer service. Virtual assistants are also known as online assistants, remote assistants, digital assistants, e-assistants and virtual office assistants. The term outsourcing refers to subcontracting work to another company. 

Offshoring refers to outsourcing work by sending it outside your home country's borders. Many ask if offshoring outsourcing services has the same effect as hiring a local outsourcing firm or outsourcing independently with no intermediary involved. The primary difference between outsourcing to an outsourcing company or outsourcing independently is the cost. The outsourcing company will be able to provide assistants at a lower rate due to their large number of employees. Outsourcing companies are located worldwide but are more concentrated in countries with low labour costs such as India, China and the Philippines.

Tasks are typically assigned through outsourcing platforms that allow people with outsourcing requirements to post their job tasks or "requests" along with a budget that they are willing to spend. This outsourcing model creates an outsourcing marketplace where outsourcing assistants can bid on each request posted by employers. Depending on the outsourcing company, outsourcing managers may assist in choosing the candidate suitable for the job or allow employers to choose themselves based on ratings or reviews made by past clients. Employers have access to different articles written by virtual assistants about how outsourcing works and what is required from outsourcing companies to make outsourcing more efficient.

Employing a virtual assistant can be an excellent way for entrepreneurs to increase their output without increasing the number of employees. What is a virtual assistant? A virtual assistant is an outsourcing professional who works remotely via email, chat, telephone, fax or video conferencing.

A virtual assistant may perform many tasks including administrative support, data entry and customer service. Virtual assistants are also known as online assistants, remote assistants, digital assistants, e-assistants and virtual office assistants. The term outsourcing refers to subcontracting work to another company. Offshoring refers to outsourcing work by sending it outside your home country's borders. Many ask if offshoring outsourcing services has the same effect as hiring a local outsourcing firm or outsourcing independently with no intermediary involved. The primary difference between outsourcing to an outsourcing company or outsourcing independently is the cost. The outsourcing company will be able to provide assistants at a lower rate due to their large number of employees. Outsourcing companies are located worldwide but are more concentrated in countries with low labour costs such as India, China and the Philippines.

Tasks are typically assigned through outsourcing platforms that allow people with outsourcing requirements to post their job tasks or "requests" along with a budget that they are willing to spend. This outsourcing model creates an outsourcing marketplace where outsourcing assistants can bid on each request posted by employers. Depending on the outsourcing company, outsourcing managers may assist in choosing the candidate suitable for the job or allow employers to choose themselves based on ratings or reviews made by past clients. Employers have access to different articles written by virtual assistants about how outsourcing works and what is required from outsourcing companies to make outsourcing more efficient.

Some outsourcing managers can provide outsourcing-specific services such as recruitment, tax compliance, payroll management and payment processing. Recruitment is the most important task for outsourcing managers since it is difficult for outsourcing assistants without prior outsourcing experience to get hired by employers. Many outsourcing platforms offer a "test period" where outsourcing assistants can get their foot in the door with small tasks while earning feedback from clients about their performance so that they can prove themselves capable of handling larger jobs. 

Aspiring virtual assistants may also start by becoming an outsourcing assistant and work directly with an experienced virtual assistant until they have enough knowledge and experience to take on simple job requests on their own. Outsourcing managers generally require that outsourcing assistants commit to a minimum number of hours per week and be available during regular business hours. Some outsourcing managers do not require outsourcing assistants to work full-time so long as they can handle at least one job task every other day.

Being able to hire a virtual assistant for your business is becoming an increasingly popular outsourcing option with entrepreneurs, particularly among those who are just starting.  The benefits of hiring a virtual assistant are manifold.  They include freeing up time that can be better spent on more important things, outsourcing repetitive or menial work tasks, improving the quality of work output by having someone you trust doing it for you, being able to focus more on revenue-generating activities and so on.

Benefits of outsourcing at home

While outsourcing in India has been getting a lot of coverage lately because of its affordability factor, many people prefer outsourcing at home primarily because they don't have to deal with the extra expenses involved in travelling abroad now and then.  It's also easier to manage the outsourcing at home since you have greater control over your virtual assistant and can monitor them a lot more easily.

The benefits of outsourcing tasks to a VA rather than hiring a full-time employee are often seen as being primarily financial -- it's typically less expensive, though some people may quibble about exactly which tasks qualify as "repetitive".  Hiring employees is never inexpensive; even if they're part-time, you still need to bear their salary and any overhead costs that come with having them around like additional office space or equipment.  This tends to be outweighed by the advantages gained from using an outsourcing service: saving money on travel, not having to deal with foreign workers' visas, and receiving a higher quality of work due to outsourcing being a more focused task.

The following are some additional benefits of outsourcing different types of tasks:

- outsourcing website maintenance -  subcontracting your web design needs

- outsourcing transcription services -  subcontracting transcription for audio or video files that you may have on hand

- outsourcing customer service enquiries -  subcontracting your customer service enquiries if you don't have the resources to handle them yourself, but want responses during office hours from someone familiar with your company's policies and procedures

In the end, outsourcing is not too dissimilar from hiring employees: they both cost money and staffing decisions should be made based on how efficiently and effectively they'll meet business goals.  When outsourcing, you should always set clear expectations and standards for deliverables so that you can be sure to avoid misunderstandings and disappointment down the road.