How Virtual Assistants Combat the Great Resignation and Cut Costs

Before digging into how virtual assistants can help, let’s define and explore The Great Resignation and its effects. 

The Great Resignation describes the high rates at which employees in the United States left their jobs starting in the spring of 2021. By then there was a big labor demand, low unemployment rates, and COVID-19 vaccinations were reducing the severity of the pandemic.

Due to this, many businesses faced serious labor shortages. They could not maintain the same productivity levels as before.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 47 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs in 2021. 

With such a challenge, businesses had to find new solutions to stay competitive. 

Here’s where business service providers and outsourcing became the solution. It’s important to note that although the number of quits declined, it keeps affecting businesses. Data from August 2023 showed that 3.64 million American workers left their jobs, and about three in ten people are considering quitting their jobs by the end of 2024. 

So yes, Great Resignation 2.0 is happening now! As published in Fortune, a study by LinkedIn and Microsoft warns that more people want to leave their jobs now than in 2021. And you can’t risk going understaffed. Moreover, if your business is growing or you are planning on expanding, you’ll need a larger workforce. The most effective way to address the issue is by utilizing virtual assistant services. This enables maintaining operational efficiency, ensuring smooth workflows, and saving costs, thus increasing revenues.

Why People Quit and Virtual Assistants Are Here to Stay

There are several factors that lead to massive resignations. Employees prioritize their well-being and seek better work-life balance; therefore, many opt for flexible work arrangements or career changes. Some of the main factors include:

• Strong competition for workers: This is seen in the high rate of job offers.
• Change of priorities: The pandemic made workers reevaluate their priorities and prefer to reduce their working hours.
• Seek for higher pay: According to a survey, 56% of workers listed this as their main reason, while 43% wanted better benefits. 
• People want to work remotely: When companies started demanding workers go back to their premises, many preferred to quit. 
• Burnout: A study performed by Gallup showed that about three in four employees sometimes suffer burnout, while one in four experience it “very often” or even “always”.   

As a business owner, it’s important that you recognize these changes and find ways to maintain productivity. The way to go is to implement remote work solutions like delegating tasks to virtual assistants. This course of action allows companies to continue operating without the risk of having employees quit. 

Outsourcing companies count on a large base of trained workers. So, if for any reason one of your outsourced remote team members is unavailable, the business service provider will immediately assign you a replacement. You won’t have to worry about ensuring business continuity. 

Virtual Assistants: A Strategic Solution to Combat Labor Shortages

Outsourcing tasks to virtual assistants is a flexible staffing solution. Businesses can delegate essential and routine tasks, from administrative work to customer service, you name it. Additionally, with virtual assistants, businesses can scale their workforce up or down based on their current needs. This ensures that even during periods of high demand, you can maintain operations smoothly. 

But what can virtual assistants do for you? VAs can cover roles such as:

• Administrative tasks
• Customer service
• Marketing support
• Social media management
• Prospecting services
• Transaction coordination, and many more. 

At Virtudesk, we offer comprehensive virtual assistant services designed to fill any staffing needs. Regardless of your business field and the tasks you need your remote team to do, we’ll provide you with a customized solution. 

Beyond Combating the Great Resignation Virtual Assistants Save You Money

Hiring virtual assistants doesn’t only solve the problem of labor shortages but also brings important cost-saving benefits. 

Besides having to pay employee benefits, hiring an in-house employee requires investing in terms of office, equipment, training, and utilities. With virtual assistants, you eliminate these costs, among others.

These are some of the cost-saving advantages of hiring a virtual assistant:

Overhead Cost Reduction: As virtual assistants work remotely, you won’t have to pay for maintaining an office, investing in equipment and technology

Flexible Staffing: You can increase or decrease your remote staff as needed with no obligations in the future. You won’t have any long-term commitment with your remote workers. 

No Training Expenses: Virtual assistants are already training on many tasks, both in hard and soft skills, so this will noticeably save you time and money. 

You Only Pay for Productivity: You will only pay for the hours worked or the completed tasks. 

Cheaper Labor Costs: As most virtual assistants are from regions where labor costs are lower, outsourcing companies usually reflect that on their pricing packages.

Ensured Business Continuity: With virtual assistants from reputable service providers, you won't have to worry about disruptions due to sick leaves or sudden resignations. If a virtual assistant in your team is unavailable, your provider will immediately assign you a replacement without you having to pay for additional hiring costs. Your operations will continue normally without affecting productivity and revenues. 

With the service of virtual assistants, you’ll be able to maintain or increase productivity and quality of service while noticeably reducing your costs. And this, of course, translates into increased gains. 

The Benefits of Using Virtual Assistants for SMBs

For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), hiring virtual assistants can be a tremendous game-changer giving businesses a cutting edge over their competitors. Outsourcing allows you to:

• Save costs: According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average cost per hire is $4,700. By outsourcing, you can avoid these expenses and you’ll only pay for the hours worked.
• Scale easily: You can adjust your team size based on your needs, without long-term commitments.
• Access a wider talent pool: You can easily access trained customer representatives or virtual assistants who have specialized skills in diverse areas. 

 Virtudesk’s Virtual Assistants: The Solution for Resignation

At Virtudesk, we provide businesses with highly trained virtual assistants who fill various, including customer service, transaction coordination, and more. Our Virtudesk Virtual Assistant Services are designed to meet the needs of businesses across industries, ensuring you have the right support when you need it most.

Our team members undergo rigorous training at the Virtudesk Academy, where they learn industry-specific skills. In addition, we equip our remote staff with the latest technology tools. These tools help businesses maintain and augment their productivity, even during times of labor shortage.

Real-Life Success Stories

At Virtudesk, we are proud of the increasing list of clients who have already experienced and keep experiencing the benefits of hiring virtual assistants.

“Having an assistant take over some of the day-to-day tasks has allowed me to grow my business while I maintain the relationships with my clients. The coaches at Virtudesk help make sure everyone is on the same page. The assistants I've worked with have been great and the rates are reasonable.” Kelly M. 

“I have been working with Virtudesk for almost a year now. They are very professional and very flexible in accommodating our needs. They match you with the right person who meets your needs. I am extremely happy with my VA and will be hiring him for a full-time position. Highly recommend them!!!” Shaista Y. 

“My Team uses Virtudesk and we absolutely love their service and especially our Executive Virtual Assistant, Mitzie, part of our Real Estate Team's success is due to the efficiency of Virtudesk and the hard work of our Executive Virtual Assistant, Mitzie.” Juan M. 

Want to know more about our clients' success stories? Read their testimonials.

The next one could be yours! 

Conclusion 

Indeed, the Great Resignation has caused serious challenges to businesses of all types. As many workers left their companies, companies struggled with staffing shortages that strained their regular operations. This sudden problem augmented the costs of recruitment and training. 

However, those who adapted to the situation and started hiring virtual assistants noted many benefits.  Hiring virtual assistants made the process of bridging the gap smooth, cost-saving, scalable, and efficient. 

With highly professional virtual assistants, businesses can function smoothly and stay competitive in today's marketplace without the risk of experiencing workforce shortage. 

Are you ready to beat all labor shortage odds? Do you wish to give a boost to your business operations? If you answered yes, check out Virtudesk's virtual assistant services today.

Contact us at +1 (800) 470-8136 or schedule a free discovery call and discover how we can assist you in finding the right virtual assistants for your particular needs.