“He who represents himself has a fool for a client.”

This adage, famously counseled by Abraham Lincoln, perfectly illustrates the reasons so many management companies encourage communities not to self-manage. It’s easy to prove the value of hiring a professional. After all, without the skills and experience to avoid common challenges, the stakes of going it alone can be unexpectedly high.

In fact, management companies bring in professionals of many specialties for their clients. From attorneys to do collections and manage legal challenges, to CPAs to perform audits and file taxes, to arborists to diagnose trees and help manage the landscaping. And yet, somehow, when it comes to applying this same practice to their own business, many management companies opt to go it alone instead of bringing in a professional team.

Take, for example, hiring remote employees. Supplementing your existing team with virtual remote employees can be very rewarding. Management companies who successfully implement virtual employees see a number of benefits from simplified recruitment to faster onboarding, not to mention the significant cost savings.

However, not all management companies see these benefits. You may find that your virtual employees cost more in the long run if you have to dedicate significant time and energy from your existing staff to recruit, train, maintain, and retain virtual team members.

How Prepared Are You for a Staffing Storm?

Before you bring on virtual employees to supplement your management team, you should consider the challenges that can come from taking the DIY route of hiring and managing VEs on your own versus the benefits of hiring a professional agency:

Recruitment Challenges

DIY: So you’ve decided to hire a virtual employee to help out your management team. How do you find one that’s going to fit your company’s needs, have the required skill set, and fit your company culture? Virtual employment websites exist, but can you really tell if a person is the right fit from a single-paragraph bio?

Pro: Professional agencies like HireSmart Virtual Employees excel in recruiting the “best fit” virtual employees. We know exactly what to look for to find and attract top talent, and we test and provide training to ensure their skills are up to par. We even set up interviews with our recommended candidates so you can find virtual employees who are not just qualified but are also the perfect fit for your company.

Training Challenges

DIY: Training virtual employees in-house requires significant investment in time and resources. Without experience in remote training techniques, you risk incomplete or inconsistent knowledge transfer which can affect productivity and service quality, not only from your virtual employee, but from your other team members who have to pick up the slack.

Pro: With a professional agency, you get custom onboarding programs that are tailored to onboard and train virtual employees, ensuring a consistent level of service from your virtual team. This frees you and your in-house team from the burden of onboarding and ensures that your virtual employees can get up and running quickly and efficiently.

Performance Challenges

DIY: Regular monitoring and performance evaluations help internal employees stay on task, and help avoid lost work or client dissatisfaction. But how are you doing performance monitoring and evaluation for your virtual employees? If you don’t have systems and strategies to do so, your quality of service may suffer.

Pro: A professional agency brings effective systems and strategies to foster high performance from your virtual employees. With regular monitoring, check-ins, and performance reviews, a pro can help you maintain the highest standards of service, which your customers demand.

Retention Challenges

DIY: Retaining remote talent can be more challenging with virtual employees due to a lack of engagement and connection to the team and company culture. Without proper strategies, you may see higher turnover rates, which can disrupt workflows and increase recruitment costs. And it puts you right back into the grind of finding a new virtual employee, onboarding them, training them, and monitoring their performance.

Pro: Not only can a professional agency provide you with retention strategies that will help you keep your talent over time, but HireSmart Virtual Employees provides its Filipino VEs with health and dental benefits, educational scholarships for their children, and leadership training opportunities. HireSmart invests in its employees so that they’re invested in clients for the long haul.

At the end of the day, using a professional agency to build your virtual team is much like hiring a management company for a self-managed community. If you want to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that come from a lack of experience and the proper tools, you have to bring in the professionals.

5 Tips for Building Greater Connections with Your Staff

From recruitment and training to performance management and retention, a professional agency like HireSmart Virtual Employees brings expertise and systems that can save you time and resources while maximizing the productivity of your entire team. Ignoring the professional option may not only hinder the growth of your management team but can also result in higher long-term costs and missed opportunities.

Contact us today to let us take on these challenges so you can experience the benefits.