Myths around virtual staffing that need to be shunned!

Humans have been known for their inquisitive nature, and their zeal to explore such that - No rational human being accepts the first choices she/he is provided with. This feature of human beings leaves them dubious of numerous aspects. 

One such topic that individuals are still dubious about is the surging influx of virtual assistance and its rising prominence in human life. Even though statistical credentials  validate the various benefits virtual assistants can provide, people are still skeptical about embracing this industry. One of the major reasons that this doubt has sprouted up and made an abode in people’s minds is because of numerous myths about virtual assistants that have originated. Such myths have contributed in creating a false image of virtual assistants, and thus these need to be debunked.

One of the major myths that prevail about virtual assistants and is a significant reason why employers are reluctant about hiring them is because they believe that virtual assistants are not reliable. Employers find it hard to wrap their head around the fact that they can imbibe their trust on virtual employees, as they are not physically present in front of their eyes. 

Some employers often feel that hiring a virtual assistant is not safe because they are sending their money to an unknown place, from where it may never come back. But employers often miss out that there are a lot of credible firms that are working with the sole purpose to provide your business with adroit virtual employees. One such firm is Growup Technologies. Growup is your one step solution to cater to all your virtual assistance needs. Such credible sources help business establish an exemplary virtual base. 

Another aspect of this issue is that employers find it difficult to trust employees who they cannot monitor physically. They believe that monitoring virtual employees is an impossible task, and thus you can never know the details of the work done by them. 

But they are oblivious of the fact that one can monitor virtual employees, and in fact, monitoring virtual employees is easier than monitoring regular employees. All credit goes to the technological advancements and multifarious apps that have come into existence, and have assisted in this escalation of virtual assistance industry. There are a plethora of options, from video conference apps that enable you to conduct regular work to daily management apps that help you keep a track on your employees progress. Many applications have been formulated to help employers track the work done by the employees, for instance, Time Doctor is an application that helps you supervise the time your virtual employee is putting into work, and the amount of time your employee contributes to other activities in a day. This enables a platform where employers can supervise a virtual employee just like a regular employee. Conducting meetings is also made a facile task with the help of video conferencing apps like Skype, Zoom call etc. Every day to day business activity can thus be performed with the help of these alternatives without any predicament. All these factors have helped employers supervise virtual employees effortlessly.

One of the most impetuous myths that exists is that virtual assistants are more expensive than regular employees. If we go by facts, IBM is reported to have saved more than $50 Million in real estate costs by relying on virtual employees. Virtual assistants have been known to help businesses reduce costs significantly. Not only are they more affordable, but this also helps in cutting other costs like infrastructure requirements, IT requirements, etc. These costs constitute a major chunk of a company’s total expenses. Virtual assistants help in a substantial decrease in these costs and thus are in fact much more affordable than regular employees.

Even after employers are convinced about hiring a virtual employee, they are in a misconception that they can only hire virtual employees for back-end jobs. But, this again is a false image of virtual assistants that have been portrayed in the mind of employers. Virtual assistants can perform any job a regular employee can, only excluding getting your coffee in the office! (Even that can be ordered by Food-Delivery Applications) Virtual assistants are highly trained in their field and can perform numerous jobs. From audit and bookkeeping to social media networking and SEO, virtual assistants can do it all. There are various diverse arenas where your virtual employee can contribute towards. So the next time you feel that you can not hire a virtual employee for any task that requires expertise, you should shun that myth right away!

Transitioning to a new habit is never easy, but you gradually get accustomed to it. Employers often think that supervising virtual employees is an arduous task, and thus they are often reluctant in hiring them. They have a preconceived notion, that virtual employees will consume more of their time and require more supervision. But, on the contrary, virtual employees help in reducing your workload substantially. They take up numerous day-to-day tasks that perturbed your schedule and thus help you make time for important tasks. They do not require more supervision, as they actually love their jobs due to the elimination of unwanted stress and better work-life balance. Thus, they are even more productive than regular employees.

Another misconception that prevails among the employers is that the virtual employees workforce majorly constitutes of work from home single mothers or housewives. They often consider virtual assistance as a means to pass-time for women and consider it as a hobby, rather than an industry. But then again, this is just another addition to the above list of myths. Although virtual employees workforce do consist of single mothers and housewives but they do not constitute to be the major proportion of the workforce. Virtual assistants comprise of professionals and adroit workers from all genders. A large proportion of the working population is shifting to remote working after considering the immense transition it can make in one’s life. Due to this, virtual employees consist of highly experienced professionals from diverse backgrounds. 

On the same lines originates another myth about remote working. People have postulated that anyone who has a laptop and a WiFi can become a virtual assistant. This myth is quite common among both the employers and the employees. While we do not deny the existence of people who do claim to be a virtual assistants on the basis of ownership of the above two requirements, but there also exists numerous regular employees who get hired on the basis of the fake premises they enlist in their resume. There always exists some amount of the abominable constituent of every industry, which further leads to the creation of stereotypes and misconceptions regarding that industry. These “self-regarded” virtual assistants neither possess the knowledge about the industry they claim to be a part of nor the skills that an actual virtual assistant has. 

Virtual assistants that are connected with trusted companies are carefully vetted and then hired. They are often even provided necessary training and after all the necessary boxes are ticked, only then do they become eligible to work with a company as a virtual assistant.

The next time you rely on any of these myths and decide not to hire a virtual employee, think again! You'll save lots of time time and money.