Outsourcing in Real Estate isn’t new, but there is another option to the traditional approach that means less day-to-day management, staff cover for leave is provided, and retention is no longer your problem.
While the direct costs of a Managed Service are higher there are some key differences in the offering that needs to be closely considered when you evaluate outsourcing options.
These start with how the new staff member will be employed. A Virtual Assistant will be a member of your staff just based in a different location whether that is in NZ or overseas. A Managed staff member is employed by ManageMe as one of our staff who performs tasks on your behalf. This difference in alignment impacts everything from the hiring process, staff cover, through to team culture and performance management.
The upfront costs of hiring staff are high and often underestimated. Recruitment and wage costs are obvious direct costs but what about the time that goes into onboarding, training, and setting up staff within a professional working environment?
Managed Service or Virtual Assistant?
When deciding between a Virtual Assistant and Managed Outsource, service staff cover is a major consideration. A Virtual Assistant will give you access to one person but with a managed service you’re not hiring an individual but rather a team to perform your required tasks. These tasks are completed every working day whether people are sick, on holiday or they resign.
Staff retention is extremely important in any business and a high turnover rate means increased costs and lost productivity. The responsibility of integrating your staff member and building a great team culture falls on the company when hiring staff under a Virtual Assistant arrangement. This responsibility is transferred to us when using a Managed Service. Staff well-being and retention is a high priority for us as it is core to the success of our business as it is to yours.
Security with offshore staff is important. Will you be providing staff with their own PCs or will they be providing their own? How will they access your systems and is this secure? If they are working from home rather than an office how secure is the location and is it conducive to a productive working environment? These along with a host of others should all be considered when making your outsourcing decisions.
Staff Management can be time-consuming and can take you away from spending time on higher-value add activities in your business. With a Managed Service, you are effectively outsourcing the management along with the service to complete your tasks to a third party. Forget about performance reviews, interviewing new staff, and any retention issues you may have.
Conclusion
Virtual Assistant and Managed Service outsourcing arrangements both have their place. Ultimately what works for you will come down to your business back office setup, how much involvement and time you want to spend on managing staff, building a team culture, and the type of tasks that are being undertaken. Are they repetitive, do they need to be done every day, do you have cover?
For a quick comparison of the different types of outsourcing services take a look at this Comparison Chart.
Click here for more information on using a Managed Service.
