|
Virtual Assistants:
A frank discussion about advantages, disadvantages, best tools, and practices of working with Virtual Assistants, particularly foreign VAs |
July 7, 2025
Over the past several years, I have had occasion to gain experience working with Virtual Assistants (VAs), particularly in the Philippines. Virtual assistance is also readily available in places like Central America, Eastern Europe, and the East (India & Pakistan).
Domestically, it's also widely available. No longer are employment choices constrained by proximity. We can choose what works best for us, regardless of location. This is all good news.
(Indeed: in a sense, I myself am a domestic Virtual Assistant. I'm able, willing, and happy to work with clients face-to-face on site, but most of the time, my work has been remote, especially since COVID.)
The advantages are obvious: saving money, and getting the best, most qualified help (versus what is nearby). I would say cost saving is the number one incentive to use VAs.
Out of curiosity, I asked Chat GPT for best tools and practices employing VAs. Here was its answer.
Let's summarize the answer:
So that's as far as Artificial Intelligence takes us (unless you ask more follow up questions).
What else?
Trade-Offs. Well, so it's a bargain. What's the trade-off? What's the catch? Have you ever wondered that? Here are some that I've noticed.
But I'm not here to throw shade on employing VAs. Sometimes it makes a lot of sense, and in some cases there can be very pleasant surprises. There are some real gems out there.
You've heard the saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt." I've seen this happen where co-workers are too close. Maybe they're kin (nepotism), or have just known each other so long that they take each other for granted and lose respect.
(There are also cultural disadvantages to employing Americans, from which employing foreign VAs is a welcome relief! American workers can be rude and entitled, whereas VAs can be courteous and grateful!)
In this way, working with VAs has been downright refreshing. Because the working relationship is very arm's-length, they can be profoundly respectful and pleasant compared to nearby alternatives. This makes the cost savings icing on the cake. It's a double win.
Over the past several years, I have had occasion to gain experience working with Virtual Assistants (VAs), particularly in the Philippines. Virtual assistance is also readily available in places like Central America, Eastern Europe, and the East (India & Pakistan).
Domestically, it's also widely available. No longer are employment choices constrained by proximity. We can choose what works best for us, regardless of location. This is all good news.
(Indeed: in a sense, I myself am a domestic Virtual Assistant. I'm able, willing, and happy to work with clients face-to-face on site, but most of the time, my work has been remote, especially since COVID.)
The advantages are obvious: saving money, and getting the best, most qualified help (versus what is nearby). I would say cost saving is the number one incentive to use VAs.
Out of curiosity, I asked Chat GPT for best tools and practices employing VAs. Here was its answer.
Let's summarize the answer:
- Be Prepared to manage the VA relationship by working out detailed job descriptions, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and expectations. (I have found that VAs thrive with clear structure and expectations, and suffer from ambiguity.)
- Be legally compliant.
- Pay fairly.
- Vet with trial tasks and short term contracts.
- Be Prepared also with legit time tracking and collaboration infrastructure.
- Meet up regularly to oversee, coordinate, and update.
So that's as far as Artificial Intelligence takes us (unless you ask more follow up questions).
What else?
Trade-Offs. Well, so it's a bargain. What's the trade-off? What's the catch? Have you ever wondered that? Here are some that I've noticed.
- Recognize that VAs are in compromised, "sketchy" parts of the world. In places like the Philippines, India, and Mexico, institutions are under developed compared to American norms, and corruption is widespread. Bribery is normal. How might this living environment affect your assistant(s), and the work they do for you (and by association, your customers and clients)?
- Time zone differences. You'll always need to take this into consideration when scheduling meetups.
- No face-to-face (F2F) interaction. Everything is remote.
- Visibility is limited to what they share or reveal. They can be inscrutable.
- Cultural differences. In my direct experience, as well as reading I've done on the subject. VAs in places like the Philippines and India probably feel apprehensive about broaching any subject that could be construed as troublesome, controversial, or confrontational. Hence they might want to gloss over problems instead of solving them, and you will have to make extra effort to make sure that nothing is being glossed over, that small problems are solved before they fester into larger ones.
- Data security & fidelity to customers. Say you hire a VA to work in your CRM or accounting system. Now they have access to customer and prospect contact info. If they're in your accounting, they have access to vital financial information. If they're helping with payroll or tax return preparation, they have access to sensitive employee and/or client contact information, including Social Security numbers. When you employ foreign VAs, how can you assure your clients that their data is confidential and secure? Answer: you can't. So you're imposing (often secret) risks on your clients to cut your own costs and maximize your own profits. How ethical is that? How do you feel about that?
- They can flake out, or ghost you, or just disappear with all the work and confidential access you've entrusted to them. Due to the nature of long distance remote work, bonds of loyalty and affection are just not as strong as those forged in a closer, more direct working relationship.
- And by the way, what about patriotism, loyalty to American workers? Is that a part of your value system? I'll bet it is.
But I'm not here to throw shade on employing VAs. Sometimes it makes a lot of sense, and in some cases there can be very pleasant surprises. There are some real gems out there.
You've heard the saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt." I've seen this happen where co-workers are too close. Maybe they're kin (nepotism), or have just known each other so long that they take each other for granted and lose respect.
(There are also cultural disadvantages to employing Americans, from which employing foreign VAs is a welcome relief! American workers can be rude and entitled, whereas VAs can be courteous and grateful!)
In this way, working with VAs has been downright refreshing. Because the working relationship is very arm's-length, they can be profoundly respectful and pleasant compared to nearby alternatives. This makes the cost savings icing on the cake. It's a double win.
Back to the CHAT GPT Recommendations: PROPER PREPARATION. Referring both to my own direct experience, and what we learn from AI, I conclude that employing VAs, both domestic and foreign, can work well with proper preparation.
What is that, exactly?
Employing VAs right is a tall order. The temptation is to Wing It and Choose Easy. If you do it right, you can enjoy the advantages of employing VAs with peace of mind, mitigating most, if not all, of the trade offs.
For professional help employing VAs well, please contact me. Believe me, it'll pencil in terms of improved productivity, profitability, and peace of mind.
Thanks for reading.
What is that, exactly?
- Choose a platform for collaboration and time keeping. The work they do for you, and their record of doing it, needs a home. Forget about spreadsheets, word docs, and email attachments. I've seen data get lost with such expedients. The Chat GPT piece lists several options that threaten to thicken your tech stack. I've enjoyed great success for work handling, time keeping, and many other things on one platform: QuickBase. My VAs love it.
- Be serious. Be professional. Don't "wing it" or "choose easy." Do your own homework. VAs suffer when employers do this, and their productivity is deeply compromised. They can do so much more for you if you've got your own act together. If you don't, you'll just wind up throwing wasted money at them while they twiddle their thumbs, suffering from both anxiety and insecurity, knowing that if they're not consistently productive, their jobs are at risk. They thrive on structure, clarity, and consistent progress.
- Write those detailed job descriptions, SOPs, and expectations. Develop those KPIs and track them. (QuickBase is great at this, too.)
- Make time for those regular meetups, and have advance written agendas prepared for each one. Don't just schedule meeting times, then show up with a blank mind and react to whatever happens or act on impulse. Plan your work, and work your plan. Having a good work handling infrastructure can make a world of difference in this regard because you can run WIP (Work In Progress) reports in advance of each meeting, taking the meeting itself to a higher, more strategic level. (Without such an infrastructure, you're left winging it with ad hoc Zoom meetups, stuck at a very low tactical level that work about as well as a bad episode of Hollywood Squares!)
- Protect your clients by using carefully set permissions in your work management system. QuickBase is excellent at this too. Permissions can be controlled down to individual fields.
- Make sure your Governance game is on point with adequate coordination, oversight, and leadership. I specialize in this.
Employing VAs right is a tall order. The temptation is to Wing It and Choose Easy. If you do it right, you can enjoy the advantages of employing VAs with peace of mind, mitigating most, if not all, of the trade offs.
For professional help employing VAs well, please contact me. Believe me, it'll pencil in terms of improved productivity, profitability, and peace of mind.
Thanks for reading.
