Freelancers Can Be Tedious; Virtual Employees Are Plain Sailing
These are the top 5 reasons why a virtual employee is so much preferable to a freelancer:
1. No nasty surprises! You have invested more than just money.
You have invested your time, energy and resources in first painstakingly training the raw recruit. You have introduced the freelancer to your business model, explained the way you want things done, and when you want them done. Deadlines have been set, channels of communication decided upon and you sit back relieved that your non-core functions will now get executed fast. But, what's this? Without warning or prior notice, your freelancer has sent an email citing flimsy reasons why this project cannot be finished. You are left high and dry, with a deadline looming and your efforts in shambles. Ok, this is a worst case scenario, but these things have been known to happen. And there's little you can do about it.
Now, had you outsourced the same work to a virtual employee, there wouldn't have been any such nasty surprises. Why? Because you actually got to handpick the employee you wanted instead of having to settle for the first available freelancer you came across on an online portal. So, the chances of your remote employee abandoning you or your project midway are slim.
2. Not matching your expectations.
There's always this risk with hiring a freelancer, who may have exaggerated their qualifications and experience merely to bag the job. So, you don"t need too many botched up assignments or failed deadlines to realize that you just may have made an error of judgment in hiring the freelancer in the first place. Either you plod on regardless, tolerating sub-standard work or once again begin scouting around for a better alternative.
When you hire a virtual employee, you know exactly what you are getting. Since you are so closely involved in the entire recruitment process, right from screening their resumes to interviewing likely candidates and, finally, zeroing in on the one who suits your requirements perfectly, there is virtually no room for such disappointments.
3. Freelancers are all for short-term. What then?
A majority of the freelancers work on short-term projects purely because they usually work for more than one client at a time. Repeatedly contracting with freelancers can create an imbalance in work proficiency and productivity. Apart from being tedious "" you have to explain everything to them again from scratch "" you also have freelancers of varying expertise, so there is no uniformity in the work that you receive. If you find a great freelancer, consider yourself lucky but that is not always the case.
A virtual employee is your very own dedicated employee, who works full-time only for you and no one else. Over a period of time, your remote employee gets intimately aquatinted with your business model and work requirements, and moulds himself accordingly to your work culture and ethos. Most importantly, a virtual employee is there for the long-term projects.
4. You are always in control
Many outsourcing companies feel rather powerless when it comes to working with freelancers. That's because once a project has been handed over to the freelancer, it becomes their responsibility how to work on it. In addition, the freelancer works from home and at hours that suit their convenience. The monitoring and supervision is almost minimal and the organization can only hope that all is progressing well at the freelancer's end.
On the other hand, a virtual employee gives you no such cause for sleepless nights. Whether the work shifts are different, overlapping or the same, you know your virtual employee is diligently working, and is being supervised by a team of HR personnel at all times. If any issue bothers you, all you need to do is to contact the managers who are available 24x7 and have it sorted out amicably. You are in control over what's going on, on a day-to-day basis.
5. Data security
Can your freelancer guarantee you data security? The freelancer operates alone and is not monitored or is legally answerable to any company or contract. So there is no surety that your precious information is being adequately protected or not.
A virtual employee works for the outsourcing service company and enters into a legal, watertight contract with both, you and the vendor. There is also a Non-Disclosure Agreement clause in the contract which is absolutely binding upon him. Plus, the outsourcing company's infrastructure ensures data protection from its own end as well.
Still need a reason why a virtual employee is the better option?
1. No nasty surprises! You have invested more than just money.
You have invested your time, energy and resources in first painstakingly training the raw recruit. You have introduced the freelancer to your business model, explained the way you want things done, and when you want them done. Deadlines have been set, channels of communication decided upon and you sit back relieved that your non-core functions will now get executed fast. But, what's this? Without warning or prior notice, your freelancer has sent an email citing flimsy reasons why this project cannot be finished. You are left high and dry, with a deadline looming and your efforts in shambles. Ok, this is a worst case scenario, but these things have been known to happen. And there's little you can do about it.
Now, had you outsourced the same work to a virtual employee, there wouldn't have been any such nasty surprises. Why? Because you actually got to handpick the employee you wanted instead of having to settle for the first available freelancer you came across on an online portal. So, the chances of your remote employee abandoning you or your project midway are slim.
2. Not matching your expectations.
There's always this risk with hiring a freelancer, who may have exaggerated their qualifications and experience merely to bag the job. So, you don"t need too many botched up assignments or failed deadlines to realize that you just may have made an error of judgment in hiring the freelancer in the first place. Either you plod on regardless, tolerating sub-standard work or once again begin scouting around for a better alternative.
When you hire a virtual employee, you know exactly what you are getting. Since you are so closely involved in the entire recruitment process, right from screening their resumes to interviewing likely candidates and, finally, zeroing in on the one who suits your requirements perfectly, there is virtually no room for such disappointments.
3. Freelancers are all for short-term. What then?
A majority of the freelancers work on short-term projects purely because they usually work for more than one client at a time. Repeatedly contracting with freelancers can create an imbalance in work proficiency and productivity. Apart from being tedious "" you have to explain everything to them again from scratch "" you also have freelancers of varying expertise, so there is no uniformity in the work that you receive. If you find a great freelancer, consider yourself lucky but that is not always the case.
A virtual employee is your very own dedicated employee, who works full-time only for you and no one else. Over a period of time, your remote employee gets intimately aquatinted with your business model and work requirements, and moulds himself accordingly to your work culture and ethos. Most importantly, a virtual employee is there for the long-term projects.
4. You are always in control
Many outsourcing companies feel rather powerless when it comes to working with freelancers. That's because once a project has been handed over to the freelancer, it becomes their responsibility how to work on it. In addition, the freelancer works from home and at hours that suit their convenience. The monitoring and supervision is almost minimal and the organization can only hope that all is progressing well at the freelancer's end.
On the other hand, a virtual employee gives you no such cause for sleepless nights. Whether the work shifts are different, overlapping or the same, you know your virtual employee is diligently working, and is being supervised by a team of HR personnel at all times. If any issue bothers you, all you need to do is to contact the managers who are available 24x7 and have it sorted out amicably. You are in control over what's going on, on a day-to-day basis.
5. Data security
Can your freelancer guarantee you data security? The freelancer operates alone and is not monitored or is legally answerable to any company or contract. So there is no surety that your precious information is being adequately protected or not.
A virtual employee works for the outsourcing service company and enters into a legal, watertight contract with both, you and the vendor. There is also a Non-Disclosure Agreement clause in the contract which is absolutely binding upon him. Plus, the outsourcing company's infrastructure ensures data protection from its own end as well.
Still need a reason why a virtual employee is the better option?
