This is a question most people ask, but the real question for business owners is: do you value the growth of your business ? With a VA, you’re paying for an experienced individual that can help save you time, and potentially, perform tasks quicker than yourself.
So, another thought for you to think about is: how much is your time worth?
When people see the going rate of £25-£30 per hour, their first thought is “oh wow, that’s high”, but let me break this down for you.
A PA on average earnings (£29,500 based on total jobs current statistics https://www.totaljobs.com/salary-checker/average-pa-salary) works out roughly £16 per hour. So, you’re probably now thinking a full-time employee is cheaper than a VA… WRONG! Don’t forget to add:
- £2.20 per hour employee National Insurance @ 13.8%
- Holiday pay (usually 20 days + 8 bank holidays)
- Sick pay (roughly 10 days)
- Employers’ pension contributions
- Cost of HR / Recruitment
- Overhead cost (office space, computer, phone etc)
Let’s not forget the downtime you are paying for. This includes lunch breaks, coffee breaks, changing print cartridges, IT downtime, the quick chat to a colleague that turns into a 30-minute discussion and so on.
Now, all of a sudden that £16 hourly rate has increased not only to £’s but your business productivity has been affected. You are paying for those wasted hours, which I call the “grey areas”.
If you have an average 8 hours working day then how much of that is used productively? I calculated the actual work getting done in an office is roughly 3 hours 45 minutes. But, according to another data source most, 8-hour employees are only really productive for 2 hours and 53 minutes per day https://www.bestofbudgets.com/virtual-assistant-statistics/. As an employer, you think you are paying an hourly rate of £16 plus all the benefits of having salaried staff when in fact you’re actually paying nearly double a VA’s hourly charge.
The Benefits of a VA
The benefits of having a VA is you will only be charged for when the work starts and then finishes. That’s not turning on the computer or making a quick cuppa, that is actively working on your work! A VA won’t charge you for their downtime, or shall we say, the ‘grey area’. You will only be charged for the work performed, so your productivity for your company is at its full potential.
Another aspect to look at is while your PA/EA is fantastic at their job, they may not be a specialist in one field. So if you have a big event coming up why not get a VA who specialises in this area? This will ensure you are getting excellent value for money and not wasting time on somebody researching when the job can be performed in half the time.
I recently read a fabulous quote which I would like to share with you.
Virtual assistants have completely transformed the way modern companies and entrepreneurs conduct their businesses. Tim Ferriss, famed author of the “4 Hour Workweek” credits virtual assistants as the key for him to be able to scale his business all at the same time working less. In short, VAs is the unsung heroes of successful businesses the world over.
So, I ask again: is a VA cost effective? Hopefully, as a business individual, you will now see the benefits of a VA to any SME or Entrepreneur. Contact Milestones for cost saving solutions for your business https://milestonesva.co.uk/contact/ .
