Outsourcing – A Positive Approach for Small Businesses
by Jagmohan Saluja
Outsourcing is the strategic use of outside resources to
perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff
and resources. Small business owners can outsource non-core
functions to specialized and efficient service providers.
It is required of businesses to hire special contractors
for particular types of work or to meet the demands put
forth by sudden spurts in the workload. Recently, the trend
of partnering with firms whose capabilities complement their
own giving them an access to resources that were beyond
their individual reach has come up.
The difference between simply subcontracting and outsourcing
is that outsourcing involves the wholesale restructuring
of the corporation around core competencies and outside
relationships. As a consequence, has emerged a new class
of skilled entrepreneurs – the Virtual Assistants.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an independent entrepreneur
providing administrative, creative and/or technical services.
Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication
and data delivery, a professional VA assists clients in
his/her area of expertise from his/her own office. A VA
completes your projects using his or her own equipment,
and carries out the work through email, fax, telephone and
postal service. Therefore, the location of your VA is not
important. This gives you a liberty to look for professionals
best suited to your needs located anywhere on the globe.
Since they're paid only for time-on-task, businesses can
hire several VAs in dispersed locations and have 24-hour
support -- paying far less than an employee or temporary
would cost for such comprehensive assistance.
The services offered by each VA differ according to his/her
skills. The list of services includes general administration
services, database and website development, graphic design,
internet research, sales support, presentation preparation,
telephone answering, bill payments, travel arrangements,
bookkeeping, desktop publishing, computer training, medical/legal
transcription… the list is endless! Not all VAs offer all
of these services. However, by being part of VA Networks,
your VA can guarantee client satisfaction by a qualified
VA. If your VA cannot complete your task, he/she will find
another VA who can.
Why to outsource the work to a VA?
The primary benefit of outsourcing is economizing since
the VA can do it cheaper. VAs only charge for actual time
worked. By outsourcing to a VA rather than hiring an in-office
assistant, you will never need to pay employment insurance,
vacation pay, sick pay, or contribute to retirement plans
and worker’s compensation. A VA has his/her own hardware,
software, training, etc. thereby reducing your capital investment.
So there is no wear and tear on your office equipment or
a need for special equipment. Engaging a VA gives you time
allowing you to do what you do best. You can focus on delivering
the higher value and service to your customers. As skilled
VAs are chosen to perform particular tasks, they can do
it better as they do it all the time. It is their business.
Like you, VAs are entrepreneurs and understand the needs
of businesses today, ensuring the success of their clients.
VAs value each and every client; it is because of these
clients that VAs can ensure the success of their own businesses.
The resources of the VA can give your business access to
technical advances you would not normally have access to.
With modern day communication, projects can be accomplished
without ever having to meet the client face to face. With
the growing ease of the Internet, finding a VA almost anywhere
in the world is quite simple to accomplish. More so in the
developed nations like USA, Canada, Australia, UK and many
other European countries the VA industry is highly organized.
The potential of developing countries like India can too
be exploited to provide skilled VA services.
About the Author
Jagmohan Saluja is a Virtual Professional providing support
services to small businesses. To know more about him visit
http://www.internet-researcher.com.
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