Hire a virtual assistant in the USA: Why local talent might be the right choice for your business

Multiple businesses are hiring virtual assistants to streamline operations and improve efficiency. While hiring a virtual assistant from overseas could come across as an affordable option, local talent in the USA could offer a unique advantage that could contribute vastly to the success of the business.

Hiring a virtual assistant in the USA could bring benefits like familiarity with local business culture, alignment with the time zone, easy communication, and a high level of trust. In this article, we have explored why hiring a USA-based virtual assistant could be the best choice for the business and how it could help elevate the operation to new heights.

What makes hiring a US-based virtual assistant different?

When it comes to hiring a virtual assistant, businesses will have to choose between local talent and outsourcing to international locations. While the international virtual assistant can offer competitive pricing, there are various unique advantages when you hire a virtual assistant USA that can majorly benefit the business. Hence, choosing a local virtual assistant could make a huge difference:

1. Local knowledge and cultural alignment

Businesses dealing with U.S. clients, customers, or partners benefit greatly from the profound understanding of American culture that a U.S.-based VA brings to the table. It can be difficult for international VAs to understand the subtleties of language, communication styles, and industry-specific standards, but they do. Effective communication with local audiences is essential for every task, including creating marketing materials and handling customer service contacts.

2. Improved customer support and experience

If a business is relying on customer service, having a US-based virtual assistant could provide a great advantage. Virtual assistants in the USA usually have a better understanding of consumer preferences, communication style, and customer service expectations in the USA. Whether it is answering inquiries, managing social media, or helping with customer support, they will be highly in tune with how to handle the American customers with the professionalism and care they expect. 

3. Easy to integrate and train

Training a USA-based virtual assistant is usually a quicker process when compared to overseas VAs. They are acquainted with American software, technologies, and business tools, which means they could hit the ground running with very minimal training. Moreover, cultural alignment and common language can help facilitate smooth onboarding; therefore, the VA will need less time to adapt to the business process. 

3 key advantages of hiring virtual assistants locally

As businesses are expanding and require support in multiple administrative tasks, hiring a virtual assistant in the USA could change the dynamics. Various companies will look globally for affordable talent, but hiring a US-based virtual assistant will offer advantages that can impact business operations. The three key advantages of hiring a VA based in the USA are:

1. Easy real-time communication and similar time zone access

One of the primary challenges when working with virtual assistants globally is the difference in time zones. Whether it’s a small time gap or a huge one, it will lead to delays in communication and execution of the project. When you hire a virtual assistant in the USA, you eliminate this issue. They work in the same time zone, which allows you to communicate in person without having to worry about waiting for a reply. Irrespective of whether it’s a quick email, a Zoom meeting, or a phone call, both parties could respond and collaborate during work hours. This will increase the efficiency and reduce the lag in decision-making, which will help in addressing issues as soon as they arise.

2. High data privacy standards and legal compliance

Data security and privacy are huge concerns for businesses in the current generation. When you work with international virtual assistants, navigating the complex process of data protection laws and privacy regulations could become a huge hurdle. US-based virtual assistants will operate within the framework of American laws, which could mean they implement the same privacy regulations as the California Consumer Privacy Act and the General Data Protection Regulation for businesses handling EU data. This will make sure that the company will remain compliant with essential data protection laws, thus reducing the risk of costly breaches.

3. Strong work ethic and professional accountability

When hiring a virtual assistant, you are trusting them with important tasks and responsibilities. A USA-based virtual assistant will bring a strong work ethic and a high level of professional accountability. The American workforce is famous for its dedication to quality, deadlines, and efficient execution of tasks.

Hiring a local virtual assistant means that you are working with someone who is more likely to be invested in delivering high-quality work and also maintaining a high standard of professionalism. Virtual assistants in the USA understand the expectations of American businesses, which include meeting deadlines, maintaining regular communication, and providing consistent results. This will often go hand-in-hand with clear accountability, thus making it easier to trust them with important tasks, from customer support to complex administrative functions. 

How much does it cost to hire a virtual assistant in the USA?

Hiring a virtual assistant can be an affordable solution to help businesses manage administrative tasks, social media management, customer service, and much more. However, when it comes to hiring a US-based virtual assistant, the costs could vary significantly depending on multiple factors like the experience, skill set, location, and industry of the virtual assistant. The cost to hire a virtual assistant in the USA is $37T – $58T every year. 

You might be wondering, “What are the average hourly and monthly rates for virtual assistants in the USA?”. Based on the latest insights from Glassdoor, the hourly rate is $19.27 – $30.21, and the monthly rate is $3083.3 – $4833.3.

You may also be interested in knowing the salary of a remote virtual assistant, or “where should I hire a virtual assistant?” Global Squirrels has helped many companies hire these professionals from countries like India and the Philippines, because of the large talent pool of skilled VAs, English speaking and writing proficiency, and their experience working with US companies. 

Source: Glassdoor

Why do businesses still choose USA-based virtual assistants despite the higher costs?

While hiring a virtual assistant from the USA has become a popular choice for businesses that are looking to save on costs, various companies are continuing to prefer US-based virtual assistants despite the high price tag. This decision is not just based on the cost but also on its value, efficiency, and the advantages that come with hiring locally. Some of the key benefits of why businesses still choose VAs based in the USA include:

1. Legal and tax compliance

When hiring virtual assistants globally, businesses will face complicated legal and tax implications, especially when it comes to contracts, payments, and worker classification. Virtual assistants in the USA are familiar with the US labor laws, employment standards, and tax regulations, therefore making it easier for businesses to stay compliant with the state and federal laws.

2. Quicker onboarding

Hiring a virtual assistant in the USA will help with faster onboarding and integration with the business. Because they are already familiar with the American culture, business tools, and communication norms, they can get up to speed much sooner than an international talent who will need extra training or an adjustment period.

3. Strong client and partner relationships

For businesses that rely on strong relationships with the US-based clients or partners, having a local virtual assistant could be of great advantage. US VAs are more likely to understand the local business etiquette, communication styles, and expectations. 

Employee misclassification: A major challenge faced by many companies, and how Global Squirrels helps overcome it

Many businesses hire full-time employees but often misclassify them as contractors to avoid fundamental employer obligations, such as payroll taxes, overtime, minimum wage, etc. Worker misclassification has been commonly observed throughout the USA over the last decade, especially in sectors like construction, restaurants, and logistics. 

This is illegal, has legal and financial consequences, and can severely impact the worker in many ways. Various states have enacted laws and regulations to prevent it from happening, for instance, the ABC Test in California. Some of the risks you could face include massive fines of up to $25000/case, tax penalties, the obligation to pay all back wages, and more. Many business owners who were unaware of this act had to shut down their operations due to multiple cases of worker misclassification revealed by regulatory authorities.

Global Squirrels can help you hire virtual assistants and mitigate the risks and penalties due to non-compliance with labor laws. We offer a staffing and payrolling platform that handles all the steps involved in the hiring and post-hiring phases. If you want to hire a contractor, our platform will make sure that a proper contract agreement is shared with the talent, which will contain all the necessary details, such as the type of worker, scope of work, wages, taxes, etc. Since our platform will make payments to your independent contractors, we will also ensure they complete the essential forms, such as the 1099 NEC, according to the mandate given by the IRS. 

How to hire a virtual assistant in the USA via Global Squirrels?

If you are looking to hire a local virtual assistant, the Orange Plan would be an excellent fit as it will cover recruitment and EOR/payrolling. To onboard a self-sourced talent, the Purple Plan will handle this also take care of the payroll and benefits administration.

Here are the steps involved:

• Log in or sign up and post the job requirements along with the hiring location, ie, USA.
• In 2-5 business days, you should receive an email notification to review three curated profiles on the portal.
• Conduct an interview and shortlist the ideal candidate for the onboarding process.
• Review and approve the offer letter and pay the new hire’s onboarding deposit fee. Here, the one-month hiring cost is equivalent to the payroll cost and the flat license fee.
• Global Squirrels will onboard the virtual assistant in the USA and will handle the HR related duties like payroll, compliance, and benefits.

Hiring top virtual assistants in the USA does not have to be complex or expensive if the right staffing partner is chosen. 

Understand in detail the functioning of our staffing and payroll platform and see how Global Squirrels will make a difference in hiring talent locally. Take a tour today.