Many people across the world are being urged to work from home whenever possible. This has caused companies to rethink what to expect from workers and how to help them become more productive. You cannot just put traditional processes into online channels while demanding the same output.

It’s challenging to adapt to a virtual work environment but it’s also a chance to try different kinds of job structures and schedules. These changes need not only be active while our normal lives are being disrupted by the pandemic but for the future too.

Why consider hiring a remote assistant

As your team and business becomes more comfortable with remote working, this may be the opportunity to hire Filipino remote specialists, especially if you’re planning to scale. There are countless advantages to virtual personal assistance rather than finding another full-time employee, including:

• They have experience in working with foreign clients in different time zones.
• They are unlikely to complain about any of your instructions regarding their work.
• They know how to juggle tasks and deliver results in an offshore setting.
• They are fluent in English, and sometimes in other languages like French or Japanese.
• They are capable of keeping up with the pace of their counterparts in the US or Europe.
• They typically ask for a lower salary and fewer benefits than that of an onsite worker.
• They specialise in a wide range of niches, be it marketing, bookkeeping, or animation.

Additionally, hiring a virtual assistant in the Philippines is an excellent means for you to access hidden talents who are unable to work in traditional settings. It might be that they are caring for elderly relatives, raising children on their own, or pursuing further studies so may only work online.

How many hours they should work

Since they aren’t required to report to an office to do their jobs, it’s not always necessary for them to follow a typical 9-to-5 schedule. They don’t have to work 40 hours per week either as you may hire a virtual assistant part-time instead to save money.

You might be thinking to hire them for as few hours as possible to really reduce costs, but we recommend that you stick to 20 hours as the minimum. Here’s why we believe this is the best starting point for when outsourcing to a VA in the Philippines.

You underestimate how much work you have

Being an entrepreneur or manager, it’s easy to think that you have less work than you actually do. You’re used to getting as many things done within a day and doing everything on your own, which is why you might overlook how much you’re doing overtime already.

You have your hands full of repetitive tasks

It’s good to have a routine for you to follow, such as always publishing social media posts in the morning then answering emails in the afternoon. Your schedule quickly becomes overrun with these tedious assignments though, and you realise that these alone take up 20 hours and more.

You gain hours to perform core processes

By outsourcing 20 hours of your own work, you’re freeing up that time to do more important jobs, such as talking to potential clients and negotiating with your business partners. You’ll have greater time to develop new products and services as well as think up fresh marketing campaigns.

You develop your management skills more

A freelancer requires less supervision than a part-timer who has to work for 20 hours every week. The former tends to demand more flexibility with their work arrangement so much of the managing you’ll be doing is in checking their output but not really with attendance or anything else.

You help them adjust to your company better

A trained remote assistant is capable of handling different tasks, be it CRM management, bookkeeping, or content creation. However, they also need time to learn about your company, mission, vision, and expectations. Asking for a 20-hour service helps them get a better grasp of these things.

You get quicker responses to messages

If your personal assistant in the Philippines is working for only 10 hours a week, this means they are working for several clients at the same time. More clients means they have less time to respond to any of your queries, so it’s going to be hard to ask them to handle any rush tasks.

You boost your capacity and productivity

While a part-timer works half the number of hours a full-timer does, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are able to finish only half of the duties that a full-timer can. You’ll find that your part-time VA is accomplishing more per hour since their deadlines feel closer with a more limited schedule.

With that said…

When you hire Filipino remote specialists, make sure that you ask them to work for 20 hours at the very least. A VA in the Philippines makes for a wonderful addition to any professional team but ensure that you help them reach their full potential by providing a productive work environment.

Are you ready to hire a virtual assistant part time? We at Remote Workmate are a recruitment agency that helps companies to find offshore talents to meet staffing needs. Regardless of the niche or industry that your business may be in, we’ll aid you in recruiting the best candidate.