Hire a Green Virtual Assistant

August 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment

It is no surprise that a virtual assistant is cost-effective.  But just for giggles, lets think through how a virtual assistant compared to an employee effect the environment.  Are Virtual Assistants Green?

#1 No commute - Your virtual assistant usually works from their home.  Not only are you saving the earth from all those emissions, you are also enabling someone to work from home that might have had to go out and get a job with a commute with someone else.  Bravo!

#2 Electronic Communications - Since everything is virtual, the need and temptation to print things is much less.

#3 Clarity - Since you do not see each other face to face, you are forced to be very specific and clear in your instructions.  This will reduce errors that could have a negative impact on the environment as well as an additional cost to redo the project.

#4 Utilities - Chances are your virtual assistant was going to have heat and utilities in their home anyway.  When you have fewer employees in an office and have more people in homes where the utility use does not change much more, you get a great environmental bonus.

#5 Sick Leave - OK, this one is more of a proficiency issue, but if you do not have everyone in one office, you cut down on illnesses getting past around.  And when people work from home, they can suffer though some issues that may have required them to call off if they were going to come into the office.

#6 Relocation - If you have a fast growing business and everyone is in an office, you will find that when you outgrow that office you lose a lot of hours moving as well as the negative impact on the environment when you need to move.

#7 Less Printing - A virtual assistant is going to be much less likely than an in-office employee to print things out.  After all, when they need to send their client something, they will usually use email.  Keeping documents and reports electronic is the only option that makes sense.

I do not know how big the GREEN impact is.  However, it is not hard to see that replacing some of your staff with virtual assistants will have a big impact on the environment and on your bottom line.

Are you worried about work at home issues?  A virtual assistant that is contracted will usually go to great lengths to achieve results for you because they want to maintain the relationship.  So hiring a virtual assistant is going to give you leverage that you may not have with work at home employees.

This is probably the best example of green also making fast financial sense.  You just have to be ready to make a shift in your thinking.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

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