There is a strong chance you’re reading this blog as you have heard about the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant. Whether it’s the range of skills, the efficiency savings or the peace of mind that has piqued your interest, your decision to take the plunge will ultimately boil down to cost. Is it worth the money?
Efficiency is the currency of an assistant. Like heading to the foreign exchange, assistants will convert your money into time; time you can then spend on growing your business or devote to your personal life. In 2013, the Harvard Business Review conducted a study of 15 different executives, whereby they ‘eliminated or delegated unimportant tasks and replaced them with value-added ones’. The result: nearly a fifth of their working week was shaved off. A full day’s work, in other words.
Yet, delegating low-hanging fruit to an assistant doesn’t just free-up your time for more business-critical activities. That low-hanging fruit will be picked and peeled more proficiently than if you did it yourself. That’s because virtual assistants are all clerical specialists. Some, like our Fyxers, also have a minimum of five years executive assistant experience. Handing over tasks to a virtual assistant, therefore, it is like giving your racket to Roger Federer.
Then there is the issue of flexibility. Hiring a virtual personal assistant is not the same as shelling out for a gym membership in January: it’s a pay-as-you-go model. Workloads fluctuate, so if one week you need more support and the next you need less, you only ever pay for what you use.
Ok, ok, I hear you say, but what are the figures? When comparing a virtual assistant to an in-house PA, there is no contest in terms of value. A top-level executive assistant commands a salary of between £40-50,000 pa (according to job site Glassdoor). Yet, a full-time employee costs more than just their salary. Factoring in potential recruitment costs of 20% (£8-10,000), desk rental (£6,000 @ £500 per month) and employers’ National Insurance contributions (circa £3,300), it’s no wonder that hiring a virtual assistant over a full-time employee has been estimated to save up to 78% of operating costs.
Soft costs such as training and management time aside, our Fyxers are a fraction of the cost at £12,600 per year. Yet, comparative value is one thing, how do Fyxers fare on their own? Well, let’s say you make your company £250,000 per year (and a Fyxer costs you £12,600 per year). For your company to break even, your Fyxer must make you roughly 5% more productive. In other words, save you three hours in a 60-hour working week. In reality, a Fyxer will save you considerably more than that. It may even be three hours per day.
Even three hours is a conservative estimate, as this only takes into account the direct time your Fyxer takes off your hands. When delegating non-critical tasks to a virtual assistant, a domino effect takes place. For example, less hours spent on draining administrative tasks will increase your productivity elsewhere. The same can be said for the reduction in stress and the increase in personal time. Hiring a virtual assistant fuels an efficiency economy.
Of course, not all virtual assistants’ services are the same. Like with a foreign exchange, the conversion rates vary immensely and executives should ensure they’re getting the best rate before heading to the productivity ATM.
“It feels as if I’m getting 15-20 hours of my personal time back, giving me back my sanity. Do I feel less stressed? Yes, one million percent.”
After an initial discovery call, we will put forward a proposal and ask for you to give us the go-ahead. Once the contract is signed we can deploy your bespoke team of Fyxers within 24-72 hours.
After our discovery call we create a team from our pool of talent that is matched to your particular needs. One advantage of working with FYXER is that you gain a team with multiple skill sets, experiences and capacities, working across different time zones.
In your kick-off call with your Account Director and lead Fyxer we will discuss current priorities and urgent tasks, also confirming the style of communication and working that best suits you. Once we are set up on your systems your Fyxers will start owning tasks on day 1.
You will have a dedicated Fyxer who leads the day to day delivery of work for you, supported by a team of Fyxers, matched to your specific needs. Our account management team will be your main point of contact and trusted advisors at every stage of working with FYXER.
Because you will have a team supporting you, it means when your AD or any Fyxers are away, there is always someone that is familiar with your needs and the specific support you receive from FYXER. This ensures you receive a consistent level of service.
We create a communication and management structure tailored to what works best for you. You will have regular and open communication channels to confirm tasks and priorities with your Fyxers, this usually involves a combination of Slack, email and calls alongside more structured weekly stand ups. Each month you have a monthly meeting with your Account Director to cover strategic priorities, feedback and any new projects or areas you need help with. Once onboarding is complete, your Fyxers use your systems so will be executing tasks and owning workstreams in the background whilst you get on with the important stuff.
Data security and confidentiality are of the utmost importance to us. We use secure, encrypted software which gives you the ability to share sensitive data, whether personal or business, safely and securely with FYXER. A fundamental pillar of your relationship with FYXER is having total trust that any confidential information you share with us will be treated as such.
We do meet clients in person regularly, however we pride ourselves on our ability to work remotely and the majority of our relationship will be remote.
We have working hubs in cities including New York, San Francisco, London, Manchester, Cape Town and Doha and local partners who can deliver in person tasks in other major cities across the world.
Our support extends across executive, business and personal tasks. Read more on our services page. However, if you need help beyond our regular services you can discuss this with your Account Director and we will create a bespoke solution.
