Should You Hire a Temp or a Virtual Assistant?

You find yourself in a position of needing temporary administrative assistance. As an entrepreneur and small business owner, it is necessary for you to minimize expenses. Should you hire a temporary assistant or retain the services of a Virtual Assistant (VA)?

If you decide to contact a temporary staffing agency to hire a temporary assistant, they will send you someone who has the experience to complete the necessary tasks. However, the agency's fee will be more than the salary you would perhaps pay your own staff. You will also be paying for downtime, breaks, bathroom trips, personal phone calls, time around the water cooler, etc.

In the future when you need temporary assistance and you hire the same agency, it is not a guarantee that they will staff you with the same temp you work with before. Therefore, you will have to repeat the same instructions and office procedures to the new temporary worker.

There may be an occasion when you need specialized services; for example, bookkeeping, e-mail marketing campaign, or website design, and you realize that temporary agencies do not offer these types of services. In both cases, you have a spent a lot of energy and time.

However, if you choose to work with a Virtual Assistant, especially one with a team of associates, they will provide you with administrative assistance, as well as other particular services. They will become familiar with your business practices; therefore, you will not have to repeat the same instructions, which would be the case if you hire a temp.

Another benefit in working with a VA as opposed to hiring a temp is you will not have to pay for downtime. You will pay only for the actual time used to complete your tasks.

There are several occasions that may require temporary assistance, including helping your current staff with overflow of work. The same Virtual Assistant you retained to complete your temporary administrative and other specialized functions can also assist your staff with overflow of work. Since they are already familiar with your business operations, no instructions will be necessary.

An additional advantage in retaining a VA rather than a staffing agency is they will have a vested interest in your success. A role of a Virtual Assistant is to help small business owners to reach their next level of success. Since they are also business owners, they understand what is required to develop and grow a small business. A temp will just show up to complete your tasks without concerning themselves with your business success. They are not business owners; they are employees and will not have that business acumen, which leads to a different mindset.

Whether you have an in-house staff or not, outsourcing your administrative tasks (ongoing or temporary) make good business sense. A Virtual Assistant can be thought of as having an assistant in a satellite office, except you are not required to provide the office space or equip it with the necessary office equipment and supplies nor pay for the employee-related benefits or taxes.

When you find yourself in the position of needing temporary assistance and/or specialized services, and you want to save energy, money, and time, consider retaining the services of a Virtual Assistant rather than contracting with a temporary staffing agency.