We have seen many small businesses grow significantly after hiring a virtual assistant. After all, virtual support can help your business in many ways, from admin support to social media marketing and digital design. But is it better to hire local or offshore?
There are definitely pros and cons to both, so it is best to consider the needs of your business first. Here are three questions you can ask yourself to determine if you should hire a local or offshore virtual assistant.
1. Hiring A Virtual Assistant: Is Native Language Important?
Many offshore virtual assistants speak great English, but if you are looking to hire someone for a mostly writing role (such as running your social media pages, or writing posts for your blog) you may want to hire a native speaker. You could also hire someone from another English speaking country (such as the USA), but if you want your business to have a distinctly British tone (for instance, you may want to use local phrases and words in your articles), it is probably best to hire a local virtual assistant.
2. Are Time Zones Important?
Do you want to be in contact with your VA during normal business hours (9-5)? If so, it would be best to hire a virtual assistant who is in the same time zone as you. If you only want to speak once a week you can perhaps work around time zones; for example, London is 5 hours ahead of New York, so you could schedule meetings for 2PM London time/9AM New York time. However this isn’t the case for every time zone, so if you do want regular meetings, someone from Australia might not be the best option!
3. Do You Need To Save Money?
Is your business on a tight budget, or looking to cut costs? If so, an offshore virtual assistant could be a good fit for your business. The average hourly rate for a virtual assistant in the UK is around £17, but you can find cheaper rates in other countries (such as India) due to a lower cost of living. This is ideal for businesses with a shoestring budget, but you may want to swap to a native speaker as the business (and the budget) grows.
4. Finding A Balance
Ultimately hiring a virtual assistant is all about finding balance. You may decide to hire offshore VAs for basic admin work (such as data entry), but you may choose to hire a local VA for more important tasks (such as social media marketing or accounting). Remember that there isn’t one right answer; every business has different needs and requirements, so it is important to find someone who is well suited to your business (and your budget).
We pair high quality virtual assistants with both small and large businesses across the UK. Get in touch today to find out more about how we can help you and your business!
