Filipino Virtual Assistants: Why Hiring from Agency is Better than Direct Hiring
There are three types of virtual assistants:
- Freelancers who are working independently
- Freelancers who are working with reputable online agencies
- Freelancers who are employed by office based companies
In this article, we are only going to focus on hiring freelancers directly and hiring a VA from an online agency.
Hiring from an office-based company is not an option for so many reasons which we will explain below.
There are hundreds of thousands of virtual assistants in the Philippines with different levels of skill sets and experience.
As an employer looking to hire a Filipino virtual assistant, the number could be overwhelming.
Whether you are looking to hire a VA for the first time, or want to add more people to your team, this article will help you decide on hiring your first or next VA.
Freelancers
Freelancers are virtual assistants who are not working under any agency or any company.
These people can be found offering their services in many job marketplace websites like Upwork, Onlinejobs.ph, Guru, Freelancers.com, and others.
Hiring these people means you are into “direct hiring” because you are going to negotiate with them directly without any third party involved.
Online Agency
Online Agency is an online company that has a large poll of virtual assistants ready to get deployed anytime. If you want to hire someone from them you have to contact the agency and not the VA.
The agency will analyze your needs and will give you options (depending on their process).
Office-based VA and Outsourcing Company
An office-based VA company has the same hiring process as the Online VA Agency. You have to contact the company instead of the VA. They will then assign a suitable VA based on your needs.
Basic Advantages
Direct Hiring
Hiring your virtual assistant directly has some advantages because you can immediately explain in detail what you want. You can also negotiate the rates without the involvement of any third party.
In short, the freelancer will receive the whole salary you both agreed upon.
Online Agency and Office-Based VA Company
They have almost the same advantages over freelancers. These include but not limited to back-ups and replacement, management oversight, and team access.
Working with a VA agency and/or VA company, you will have no shortage of replacement when your VA is not available due to a multitude of reasons.
You will also have access to some of the company’s resources and tools especially the software and applications.
In-Depth Analysis
Hiring a freelancer sounds a good option to many especially if they don’t want to deal with a company.
Although it is true that you can always negotiate with a freelancer about his/her salary, it does not mean you will always get the cheapest price.
Many experienced virtual assistants are overpricing themselves with most asking $15/hour and above (See Upwork).
The reason?
There are lots of clients who are willing to pay their price. This has been a constant conversation in many VA Facebook Groups.
Freelancers always have multiple clients because they want to maximize their earnings.
Though no one could blame them, this always possesses problem to any of their clients because their attention is divided and focus is always an issue.
Freelancers also have to pay their own Social Security, health insurance, and other government benefits so they must ask a higher rate to meet their needs.
Another issue with freelancers is that when they find a better employer, they will leave you especially if you are not increasing your VA’s rate for two years.
Even if most Filipino virtual assistants are loyal, this issue cannot be avoided especially when the VA thinks that his/her skill is worth a financial upgrade.
Hiring from an agency like Unique Workers has a great advantage compared to direct hiring and hiring from an office-based VA company.
Not only that you will be offered a number of talents, but another VA from the same agency can also help your VA if he/she needs special help without an additional cost.
In short, your VA will have a lot of resources around him/her.
Agencies always have inhouse training and when there is no client, VAs are given learning opportunities to enhance their skills while still getting paid.
This is what makes the VAs loyal, not only to their clients but also to the agency.
One thing that foreign employers don’t know about is the mandated government benefits.
A VA who is working under an agency is entitled to have all of these mandated government benefits without an additional cost to the clients. This includes SSS, PhilHealth, Pagibig, and 13th-month pay.
If you are a foreign employer who hired a freelancer, you cannot provide these benefits because your company is not registered here in the Philippines.
Cost. The costs posted on the agency website like Unique Workers are final and non-negotiable so you don’t have to worry about any additional cost.
How about the office-based VA company?
Even if office-based companies operate similar to online VA agencies, the cost has a big difference. They are paying office space and utility and of course, they need more funds to maintain this business.
This is the reason why we do not really suggest hiring from an office-based agency unless you agree with their rates.
Conclusion
Hiring is a tedious process and looking for a perfect VA seems impossible.
Rockstar Virtual Assistants are made and cannot be found somewhere else because they are so valuable that their employers would keep them forever.
Unique Workers has been operating for a while now and we already made a number of Rockstar Virtual Assistants who are ready to help you.
Ready to hire a Rockstar Virtual Assistant? See our services or contact us directly.