Full Time Employee vs Virtual Assistant
As your business scales, bringing on new team members allows you to expand on how you do business and gives you more selection on what you personally choose to focus on each day. You have a few options when bringing on a new team member - you could hire a W2 employee or a 1099 contractor.
Both have their benefits and drawbacks and it’s important to understand those so that you can make the best decision for you and your business.
Let’s take a look at the facts of hiring a standard employee versus a virtual assistant.
Schedule
The biggest factor - and the only that is most commonly referred to when considering an employee vs. VA - is the team member’s schedule. There are fine lines between what you can and cannot explicitly tell a contracted worker to do. You may request that they complete their work during certain hours or that they be available to complete a project by X day but, you cannot tell them that they must work “8am-1pm”. Legally, contractors can set their own hours. Employees on the other hand offer you, as a manager, a bit more control over their schedule and when they work.
2. Payment
Employees may be paid a set salary or by the hour. What’s important to note when budgeting for employees is that you’ll be paying payroll taxes and contributing to your state unemployment insurance for each employee. It’s also typically up to you to make an offer on what that employee’s pay (salary or hourly) will be; there are no paid vacations or sick days. Contractors usually set their own rates and indicate in their contracts whether they want to be paid monthly, weekly, etc. (or even by commission for certain roles, typically business development). Contracted virtual assistants, like us, also offer retainers for set hours. Overall, a virtual assistant is more cost effective than an employee.
3. Onboarding
You are responsible for more of the onboarding process with a W2 employee including whatever company presentation you have, providing office equipment, and fostering your preferred workplace culture. Experienced virtual assistants will walk you through their own onboarding process and are usually already trained on certain systems and processes. They are a more “ready to go” option for your team.
4. Turnover
The cost of turnover for the company can add up to 33 percent of an employee’s annual salary. A full-time employee is a significant investment so it will be a significant loss if it doesn’t work out and you need to hire someone new. You are most responsible for creating a culture (virtual or in person) that retains your team members, especially now following the Great Resignation. Since virtual assistants are contracted, they have less of a tie to your culture and are less likely to leave their position. There are also lower overhead costs associated with letting go of a contractor versus an employee.
Are you ready to bring someone onto your team? Click here to schedule a time to chat with us to learn more about how our virtual assistants can start supporting you.
If you’re still wondering what all you may handover to a new team member, check out our Stay Focused & Outsource Guide for a comprehensive list of tasks!