Hire a Virtual Assistant in the Philippines

So, you want to hire a virtual assistant in the Philippines or Mexico. Or perhaps, you are looking for US based employees in cheaper states. Either way, this blog is going to answer all of your questions. We’ll cover:

Cost comparisons between in-house, virtual US based and virtual assistants in the Philippines (you’ll be blown away by how much you can save)
How does working with a remote foreign virtual assistant work? (it’s easier than you think)
How to hire a remote virtual assistant in the Philippines or Mexico? (there are companies that basically do it all for you)
How do I manage a remote virtual assistant in another country? (again, there are options that are practically hands-off)
The pros and cons of working with a Philippines or Mexico based remote employee (way more pros than cons)

If you’d rather get on a call and have all your questions answered faster, here’s our number:

Comparison: Local In-House, US Based Remote and Foreign Based Remote

Let’s analyze the costs and overhead behind hiring an assistant locally vs. a virtual assistant in the US vs. a virtual assistant in the Philippines or Mexico.

Hire a Local In-House Employee

Without a doubt, a local in-house employee is the most expensive option of the three (especially when compared to a virtual assistant in the Philippines).

A personal assistant’s salary in the US can vary greatly depending on experience, education and location. However, the average salary for a personal assistant is $50,000 per year, or about $4,167 per month.

On top of that, you’ll need to factor in:

Healthcare and benefits (estimated at an additional $6,000-$10,000 per year, or $500-$833 per month)
Payroll taxes (varies by state, but averages 7.65% of gross salary)
Workers compensation insurance (varies by state, but can be around 0.6% of payroll)
Unemployment insurance (also varies by state, but is generally between 1-5% of payroll)
Office space and equipment (varies greatly, but a safe estimate would be $500-$1,000 per month)

All in all, you’re looking at an overhead cost of around $6,000-$12,500 per year, or $500-$1,042 per month when hiring a local in-house employee.

The lowest minimum wage in the US is in Georgia, where it’s just $5.15 per hour. In most states, the minimum wage is between $7 and $9 per hour. Keep in mind, however, that a minimum wage employee will not likely have the skills or experience you need to hire for your business. This means further costs in terms of training and, something people often overlook, rehiring. Minimum wage employees have the highest turnover rates, which can end up costing you more in the long run.

Hiring to replace an employee who left can cost you between 30-150% of that employee’s salary. So, for example, if you’re paying an in-house personal assistant $25,000 per year, it will cost you $7,500-$37,500 to hire their replacement. And if you lose the next person… Well, you get the picture. Keep this point in mind for when we look at hiring a foreign remote virtual assistant.

Hire a US Based Remote Employee

We’ll tell you right off the bat that hiring a virtual assistant based in the US is going to be cheaper than hiring an in-house assistant, but more expensive than hiring a virtual assistant in the Philippines. While a personal in-house assistant will cost you anywhere from $60,000 onward when you account for all costs in a major city (again, the actual costs will more than likely be way above this in a real world hiring situation), a remote based virtual assistant, say, in Georgia will be a lot more affordable.

If you hire a person at $7 per hour in Georgia to be your virtual assistant, then your overhead will be around $14,560 per year, or $1,213 per month without accounting for all other costs involved. This is assuming that you’re paying them for a 40 hour work week, 52 weeks a year. While this is more expensive than hiring someone in the Philippines, it’s still much cheaper than hiring an in-house personal assistant.

One thing to keep in mind, though, is that you are still obligated to adhere to keep in mind hiring and labor laws in the process. Here’s where it gets tricky. You know how to follow local hiring and labor laws but, now, you are also obligated to follow remote employees local labor laws. So, you do not have to pay them your state’s minimum wage – you pay them their state’s minimum wage. BUT, you are also now obligated to follow all of their local laws as well. The best thing is to consult a labor board in your area for more information. It varies from state to state and some states are way more complicated than others.

Keep in mind also that if you hire a virtual assistant in another state and at a low wage, you have to consider quality factors. Using Georgia as an example, education in the state is ranked 50th in the nation. This means that, while you may be getting a low wage, you’re also likely getting someone with a limited skillset. Georgia is also managing an unemployment rate of 5.4%. So, you’re likely going to have to hire and train someone new every few months, which is another investment in your journey to hire a virtual assistant abroad.

The advantages are pretty clear. You hire someone who is familiar with your country’s culture (but perhaps not with your state’s culture. You may have room to pay a bit more, which may help with overturn. And, of course and as we mentioned before, the costs to hire a virtual assistant abroad within the US means savings in overhead. Also, you’re not paying for their commute, office space, equipment or anything else. You’re only paying for their time – and that’s it.

Hire a Virtual Assistant in the Philippines

Now, we get to the main point of this article – should you hire a virtual assistant in the Philippines or not? We’re going to say yes, absolutely. We’re not saying that you should hire anyone from the Philippines. Just like with local employees, there’s a process.

Let’s look at the typical hiring process with a local employee. You find someone you like, you interview them, hire them and then pay for their training. With a virtual assistant in the Philippines, it’s exactly the same process – but with one big difference. The costs.

When you hire an in-house personal assistant, as we said before, you’re looking at an investment of $50,000 per year at least. When you hire a remote based virtual assistant in the Philippines, you’re looking at an investment of $7 per hour x 40 hours per week x 52 weeks per year = $14,560 per year. That’s it. No other costs are involved. It’s simple and straightforward as far as pay goes.

You save on:

– Training

– Equipment

– Office Space

– Taxes

– Benefits

You’re also getting someone who is already familiar with your country’s culture (through training and experience) and who you can trust to work independently. All of these factors play into the cost savings when you hire a virtual assistant in the Philippines. The Philippines has some of the best English speakers in the world and they are very trainable.

The Philippines education is also ranked higher than many other countries. In fact, the Philippines is ranked 3rd in Asia for education. The Philippines also has a large pool of talent to choose from with a population of over 100 million people.

Disadvantages of Hiring a Virtual Assistant in the Philippines

There are some disadvantages to hiring a virtual assistant in the Philippines that you should be aware of.

The time difference is probably the biggest disadvantage. The Philippines is 13 hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States and 16 hours ahead of the West Coast. This can make communication difficult at times. However, there are ways to work around this. You can hire a virtual assistant who is available during your working hours or you can hire a virtual assistant who is available during their working hours and is willing to work nights and weekends to accommodate your schedule.

Another disadvantage is that you’re not able to see your virtual assistant face-to-face on a daily basis. This can make it more difficult to build trust and rapport. However, the pandemic has shown us that this is a non-issue as more and more jobs are going virtual.

The last disadvantage is that you may have to pay a bit more for a virtual assistant in the Philippines than you would for someone in another country. This is because the cost of living is higher in the Philippines and so are wages. However, as we mentioned before, the savings in other areas more than make up for this. Plus the quality of employees in the Philippines and Mexico is some of the highest in the world.

Overall, the advantages of hiring a virtual assistant in the Philippines far outweigh the disadvantages. When you factor in the thousands you save, it’s a simple solution to choose.

The Process of hiring a virtual assistant in the Philippines

Of course, you’re also going to want to make sure that they are properly vetted. How do you do that in the US? That’s where a BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) company comes in. A BPO company will help you with the entire hiring process, from start to finish. They will help you find employees, vet them, and, some of them, will even help you contractually bind them.

You will also want to ensure they are properly trained. You can train them yourself just like you do with your local employees or have a BPO, like GlobalityNet, do it for you. Here’s why GlobalityNet is a leading BPO company that stands out from other foreign remote employee hiring companies.

They contractually bind employees (this means that all employees are held accountable. If you hire on your own or use a common BPO company, you may miss out on this critical part of the process)
They handle your hiring process from the search, to the training, and to the management afterward
They create hiring manuals that you can even use for your own employees
They have an actual office in the Philippines and in Mexico
They have the best pricing for a 5 star BPO company available

All in all, if you are looking to hire a virtual assistant in the Philippines – as you can see – the process is easier than you think. The savings are incredible. And, here’s one more thing to consider. We mentioned that an employee in another state would be happy to earn a few dollars more. Imagine how loyal, caring, and dedicated an employee would be when they are offered the chance to make double or triple a national wage?

Hiring remote employees in the Philippines or Mexico is a win-win for everyone involved. And GlobalityNet makes that process even easier.

For a limited time, GlobalityNet is offering a FREE 3-hour training for your new hire. Just mention “blog” when you sign up.