Where are the hidden costs?
It’s easy to know what the main costs of recruitment and initial employment are:
- Job adverts
- Recruitment firm fees
- Time taken to short-list and interview
- Salary and benefits
- Any additional training costs
But there are hidden costs too; costs that drive the hourly cost of your new recruit higher than you imagine:
- Providing initial induction and support
- Office furniture, laptop, phone and any other technology
- Additional licenses for software
- General HR and payroll administration costs
- Additional pension or benefit payments
- Time taken from management to manage recruitment
- Time taken for new employee to adjust to role
- Potential business lost or reduced during recruitment and initial training period
These costs are less tangible, but no less real. And they mean that, in your first year, your new employee might actually cost you nearly twice the salary you’re paying them.
What are the hidden issues?
The other unknown cost element comes from the fact that you need to recruit the right person first time. That’s a tricky thing to do if you’re looking for an experienced administrator who has the knowledge and skill to handle a range of tasks, such as general admin, bookkeeping duties, marketing, and finance administration. That’s effectively four support staff roles handled by just one person.
In fact, someone with that range of skills may be more expensive than you want or can afford to pay. So do you reduce the work you want them to cover – still leaving a gap in your support – or do you hire two people instead of one, which bumps your costs up even further?
If you go with a single hire, and it doesn’t work out, you have all the costs associated with terminating a contract, and then you have to go back and start your recruitment process again which, as you already know, is an expensive business.
Is there an alternative?
A virtual assistant team is not only an alternative; it is the alternative of choice for many small businesses. That’s because outsourcing some of your day-to-day support tasks in this way gives you cost control, flexibility and a reduced management responsibility, allowing you to focus on your business and your customers.
So, what is the virtual assistant experience like?
“Oneresource’s professional support gave me the time I needed to focus on the key areas of the business. I was pleasantly surprised with the way they quickly understood my business, my needs and how I liked to work.” Dan Hartveld, Director
It may be daunting for your business to contemplate sending work outside, but it really does pay – both in terms of time and money. Instead of spending on expensive recruitment, and taking on all the costs and hassles that being an employer brings, you can use a virtual assistant business as your support staff. With skills in administration, finance, marketing, social media, diary management, travel and more, you get experienced virtual administrative support at a fraction of the cost, because you’re only paying for the time you use.
Even a small-time virtual assistant will take the time to get to know your business, understand what you are looking for and deliver the service you need. You may start with one or two key tasks and then choose to outsource more, helping you to manage vital aspects of your business without spending all your time trying to do it yourself, or all your money paying a permanent employee to do it for you.
Taking the next step
If your business is in need of experienced support staff, consider outsourcing rather than overpaying. You can access a business admin support service that helps your business to grow, and you can access people that have significant business experience, up-to-date knowledge and a willingness to help you do things even better.
If you’re short on time and would like to talk to us about how we can support you, or if you need help with how to delegate work effectively to a virtual employee service, feel free to call us on 0800 994 9016 or use our contact form in the menu above.