Virtual Assistants from Different Time Zones

Do you want to hire a virtual assistant for your business? Wait! A VA can be of different time zones. Before you proceed, learn the benefits and challenges of hiring virtual assistants from other time zones. In this blog, we will discuss it. Therefore, without further delay, jump into the blog to learn the essentials of hiring a VA.

Choosing a VA

A VA is a remote employee of a business who works for another organization. A VA is a professional person who can take off your tasks and help run your business smoothly. They can handle all your complex and time-consuming tasks. Thus, you can get more time to invest in high-priority tasks.

When choosing a VA, a situation may arise. Suppose, you are a US brand and outsource VA to the Philippines. Then, the time differences become crucial. The Philippines is 12 hours ahead of Washington DC, USA. If the time in the USA is 10:00 A.M., the Philippines time will be 10:00 P.M. From this example, you can know the time differences between the countries.

However, different zones may have benefits and challenges. Below, we have discussed them.

Benefits

First, we will discuss the benefits of hiring a VA for different zones. Time differences can provide various benefits to you. Below, you can find them.

  • 24/7 Support – Here is the first benefit of hiring a VA from other time zones. When you hire a global virtual assistant, they can support your clients round-the-clock. Thus, you can resolve the queries and issues of the clients properly.

  • Increase Productivity – Next, hiring a VA can help you increase productivity. When hiring virtual assistants from different time zones, you can assign and your VA will work when you are asleep and deal with work the next day. Thus, you can run your business 24/7. This way, your productivity will increase.

  • Cost-Effective – Hiring a virtual assistant from another country or time zone can also be cost-effective. Picture this situation: Suppose you hire a VA from the Philippines or India. Then, you can get top-notch VA at a reasonable price than the developed countries.

  • Stay Focus All Day Long – You can focus on your tasks by hiring a VA. Assigning a VA from other time zones will rarely interrupt you during your work day.

Challenges

We have already discussed the benefits of hiring a VA. Now, we will discuss the challenges of hiring virtual assistants from different time zones. Below, you can find them.

  • Loss of Direct Supervision – When hiring a VA, you must supervise them to maintain the quality of the tasks and increase their productivity. However, you can not manage your VA when you hire a VA from a different country or time zone. Thus, it can result in low productivity.

  • Communication Barriers – Communication barriers can also be a big challenge. To get relief from this, you can strategically plan and use effective communication to mitigate the gap.

  • Coordination Issues – Next is coordination issues. Hiring VA for other time zones can create problems coordinating tasks and deadlines. You need proper management to ensure everyone is on the same page and working toward common goals.

  • Delayed Decision-Making – In a global work environment, you must make important decisions fast. However, time differences can delay responding to emails, messages, or requests. Thus, it can create delays in making a decision.

  • Delay Project Timeline – When you work with a global virtual assistant, there can be delays when you have to work on time-sensitive projects.

They can effectively manage your books and accounting tasks. Hence, you can free up your valuable time and invest more in the business process, and strategy building to generate more revenue.

Working with Virtual Assistants from Different Time zones

A VA can be a strategic move toward business success. Some VA services provide VA for your desired time. However, there are benefits and challenges to hiring a virtual assistant from different zones. Time differences can cause communication barriers, late decision-making, supervision issues, etc. But it has some differences like cost-effectiveness, high productivity, etc.

Whenever you are choosing a VA – make sure to assess the availability and flexibility of the VA. For better results – we recommend you choose the VA for your local time. Need help finding the best assistant that fits your business, read our latest blog.

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