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New
Trends Create an Alternative to Hiring Employees
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The paper aims to identify the role human
factors play in determining the success or failure or knowledge management
initiatives.
by Grainne Foley
Contributing Author
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Current trends in business are conspiring to create a revolution in the way
that small and medium sized companies do business. These forces have created
an environment in which growing companies can make maximum use of their
labor dollars, while accessing a talent base previously unreachable due to
the costs involved with hiring top talent.
(article continued below ...)
The first trend is towards self-employment.
Entrepreneurship is at an all
time high. According to a study by Register.com Inc, 47% of U.S. adults have
taken initial steps toward starting their own business or supplementing
their income. However, once out of the corporate world, many small business
owners find that they have budgets too small to access the level of talent
that they took for granted in the corporate environment. A small business
owner will typically have to choose which skill set is needed most when
deciding to hire. In other words, the decision to hire is driven by a need
for human resource, administrative, financial, marketing, sales, legal,
skills etc. The problem, of course is that the budget of a small growing
company will often require a choice as to which specialty is needed most, to
the exclusion of the others, while also limiting the level of professional
one can hire.
A second trend is the emergence of Virtual Assistants.
Virtual Assistants
are typically some of the professional level people mentioned above, who
have left the confines of corporate America to start their own businesses.
Virtual Assistants are independent contractors who work from home providing
a variety of services to businesses. This trend allows these highly skilled
professionals to bring their knowledge to bear for a whole range of
companies that would otherwise not have access. While VA's were once limited
to more administrative tasks, they now encompass the entire spectrum of
professional skills. If it can be done from home, there is a VA doing it.
This leads to the inevitable question- how do VA's find employers, and
how do employers find VA's?
Enter a Virtual Staffing Service. With a virtual staffing service, the
VA's have already been interviewed and screened and are ready to hit the
ground running. The benefits of using a staffing service include a backup VA
when your individual VA is on vacation or sick, you may discover that you
need assistance with marketing which your particular VA does not offer but
rather than start the search process again, all it will take is a quick call
to your staffing service and they will have a VA ready for you the next day.
One of the main advantages of utilizing the services of a staffing service
is that you can choose the VA from a variety of resumes and if there is a
problem you will be able to switch VA's easily.
What companies are starting to appreciate is that Virtual Assistants cost
companies a fraction of the cost of actual hires. A company employing
Virtual Assistants can utilize the services of a whole range of
professionals instead of having to choose which specialty is needed most as
the company grows. For the cost of one salaried Administrative Assistant, a
business owner could utilize approximately 1400 hours of assistance divided
among any number of top professionals. Utilizing Virtual Assistants allows
businesses access to the exact services that they need, it also allows
businesses to shift gears more quickly and efficiently by investing in
growth rather than payroll because they are paying only for the time spent
on their project. There is no longer a reason to worry about taxes,
benefits, vacation pay, and time wasted by the water cooler.
More and more businesses are coming round to the idea of Virtual
Assistance; it's a win-win for everyone involved. It gives businesses the
help that they need without the hassle of hiring a full-time employee.
About the Author:
Grainne Foley is the owner of A Job Well Done, a virtual staffing service
created to provide Virtual Assistants to businesses. Complete information on
services offered can be found on her web site. Don't forget to subscribe to
her FREE newsletter, "A Virtual Revolution".
August 5, 2005
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