Sometimes it is difficult to cross the bridge between virtual assistant and employee. Especially when potential growth and cost are the two most important factors to consider.

In this article, we'll cover the key differences between employees and virtual assistants, as well as compare their benefits and costs. You will have a full comparison, of their weaknesses and strengths, and will be able to determine whether to hire an employee or a virtual assistant.

The main difference: Virtual Assistant vs employee

The main difference between a virtual assistant and employee is that

• A virtual assistant is an independent contractor who works remotely on an hourly and project basis, or according to the needs of the business. If you want to know about what a virtual assistant can do, click here
  

• On the other hand, the employee is a permanent staff member who usually works from 9 to 5 in the company’s office place.

Depending on their differences, they both impact productivity, flexibility, control over issues, cost, and quality of the work. In addition, they affect the skill sets and services they provide to the company. Let's take a closer look at their benefits.

Learn more: Why should companies outsource their work in 2024?

Benefits of hiring virtual assistants

Businesses are looking to reduce costs and increase flexibility. In this regard, the number of virtual assistant agencies is rapidly increasing as they provide the complete package of remote services that is a time and money-saving solution for businesses. Some main benefits of hiring a virtual assistant are

Flexibility

• Virtual assistants are flexible in giving their services according to the needs and capacity of the business.

• In contrast to employees, they can easily scale up and down their services according to the size of the business.

• Companies only pay for the services a virtual assistant will provide to them.

• As they are independent contractors, so virtual assistants can easily change the working hours according to the workload as compared to employees.
  

Relevant: How can you maximize productivity with virtual assistants?

A vast pool of skills

• Virtual assistants can provide a wide range of skills and services as they specialize in different niches like administration, digital marketing, content writing, SEO, and customer services.

• You have the option of hiring a virtual assistant from anywhere in the world, which makes them resourceful and versatile in contrast to employees.

• Virtual assistants have a pool of ideas and skills as they work with various cultures and business environments.

• In terms of adaptability and agility, their capacity to adapt to different circumstances and perform multiple duties makes them superior to employees.

Learn more: Top 7 trends of virtual assistants in 2024.

No need for a workspace

• Virtual assistants work remotely, so there is no need for offices and equipment for them.

• Elimination of electricity bills, taxes, and furniture expenditures of workspaces is the ultimate benefit of hiring a virtual assistant vs a full-time employee.

• Hiring a virtual assistant saves time and money spent on travel to and from work or transferring employees for work purposes.

Benefits of Hiring Employees

Businesses can also get various benefits by hiring full-time employees but it depends on the nature of the business. Some of the potential benefits of hiring employees are

Security and Control

• With employees, you can have a sense of control over different tasks and the quality of the work.

• Managers are also assured of the protection of the company's data. Hiring full-time employees can ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information as compared to virtual assistants.

• Employers have control over the performance and work schedule of permanent employees.

In-Person communication

• The ultimate benefit of hiring an employee over a virtual assistant is physical communication and collaboration. Direct interaction is a useful approach for delivering work, brainstorming ideas, and receiving feedback.

• In-person communication builds a sense of teamwork and community among the employees

Investment in Talent Development

Working as a full-time employee also benefits the workers as they find opportunities for personal development and growth.

Also, Employers are investing in employees and training them to evolve according to the new trends in the work.

Cost comparison of Employee vs Virtual assistant

Employees cost

In terms of expense and cost, employees not only need salaries but also look for

• Health insurance

• Paid vacation leaves

• Paid sick leaves

• Office expenses

• Worker’s compensation

• Bonuses

• Taxes

However, these elements depend on the qualifications, experience, and job responsibilities of the employee. Employees also demand higher salaries compared to virtual assistants as they are permanent staff members so this is the major expense of hiring a full-time employee.

Virtual assistants cost

In contrast to this, virtual assistants are charged on a project basis. They charge only for the services they are providing to businesses and only for the hours they are working for them.

No additional or overhead costs in terms of health insurance and taxes. Moreover, Virtual assistants are independent workers so they have their own equipment and software to work from home. No need to purchase anything for them.

Tip: Employers may consider introducing prizes to keep virtual assistants motivated and dedicated to the company's work to guarantee potential growth and effectiveness of the job. Employers must know the techniques to motivate their virtual assistants. In case you are unaware of those techniques, explore them here.

Learn more: How to effectively manage remote teams?

Recruiting and Replacing cost

When we consider hiring, we must also consider replacing.

Employees:

Do you know that employee turnover can cost millions of dollars to companies? According to the Society for Human Resources and Management, employee turnover is estimated at 50% to 100% of employees' annual salaries.

Recruiting, training, post-interviews, onboarding, and orientations, all are factors in replacing the employee which will cost time and money for the businesses.

Virtual assistants:

On the other hand, What is the cost of replacing a VA? Advertising and the fees charged by the platform with which you choose to hire a VA. That's all.

It can easily determined that in the cost comparison of virtual assistants vs employees, the former provides significant benefits to businesses. Not only they are cost-effective, but you can also scale up or down their services according to the evolution of your business. But for employees, you have to pay full salaries and overhead costs regardless of the size of your business.

Learn more: Benefits of hiring virtual assistants for your business.
A must-read: How to hire a virtual assistant. A complete guide for entrepreneurs

Training and development: Employee vs Virtual assistants

Time and resources required for training

Employees: Training and development of employees are time-consuming. Also on hiring an employee, the procedure’ll take months. Companies need training materials and purchase software or resources for employee training.

Virtual assistants: Virtual assistants are well-trained and well-skilled in their services. As they are independent contractors, they can be trained using online tools which will require no physical resources. Virtual assistants stay up-to-date on evolving business trends, making them an invaluable asset for companies looking to adapt to new behaviors and technologies.

If you don’t know about the online communication and management tools for virtual assistants you must check this.

Integration into the company culture

Employees: Companies often find it challenging to onboarding new employees and adjust them to the company culture if they do not know the industry’s traditions. As opposed to virtual assistants, it takes time and energy to revamp the employees and build a sense of teamwork with other colleagues.

Virtual assistants: Virtual assistants are easy to adapt to any culture as they used to work with various companies across the globe. Remote work also doesn’t need onboarding materials and resources.

Career development opportunities

Employees have expectations from the company's management to provide opportunities for career growth and development that may include international courses and training workshops.

On the other hand, Virtual assistants don’t have these expectations as they are taking training from online platforms that make them open to work for different business behaviors.

Learn more: Why do more and more companies choose to outsource?

Ethical considerations

Several kinds of ethical issues emerged when we compare employees vs virtual assistants. Some of them are discussed below

Fair labor practice

While working with virtual assistants, laws of labor policies are not followed by employers as compared to working with employees. So companies and managers must ensure that virtual assistants are being paid according to the labor policies with sufficient working conditions.

Lack of job security

In contrast to employees, virtual assistants usually have job security issues as they work on a project basis. Employers must consider the ethical practices of stable work conditions with them.

Automation bias

Automation bias means depending on automated methods like virtual assistants to perform all the tasks. Employers usually dive into the comfort and efficiency of the automated methods of virtual assistants that they forget to follow the ethical process and do not provide them with basic tools, protocols, and guidelines.

Communication issues

Working from different places other than the company's office raises communication barriers. So employers must provide the proper instructions and feedback to avoid misunderstanding when working with virtual assistants.

Wrap- up

The Comparison between employees and virtual assistants cleared all the drawbacks and features of both. Companies and employers think critically before deciding the right option in choosing employees vs virtual assistants.

Managers should consider the nature of the work, and then think of the factors like budget, control over supervision, productivity, and the ultimate goal of the job. Maybe in some situations hiring both options is suitable for the companies. But most of the time when budget and productivity are the main factor, then hiring a virtual assistant is a win-win for companies.

So if you are looking for a budget-friendly, yet efficient team of virtual assistants Vaforus has got you covered. Schedule a meeting here to explore the most effective and tailored options for your business.