Virtual Employee

An innovative approach to getting more done

20 years of helping companies has given us an indepth understanding of the human resource challenges most buisinesses face; Turnover costs/delays, hiring the wrong person, inadequate skill sets, bottlenecks in projects due to incompetence, or employee absense to name a few. One of the biggest impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the rethinking of the traditional workplace and the shift toward working vitually. An extension of this is the Virtual Employee.

The virtual employee is a relatively new concept that refers to using an outside person or service for tasks formerly done by payroll employees. This novel approach combines the convenience and flexibility of doing things in house with the added benefits of dedicated expertise, speed and major cost savings.

The challenge with bringing people in-house

Do any of these sound familiar?

“Unfortunately the person in charge of that has left so we need to train someone else.”

“We are just too busy to to get that.”

“We were hoping that so-and-so would be able to handle that but they are not able to.”

Unmet Expectations

An effective website and solid online strategy is an essential part of every successful business and maintaining this is a continuous and constantly evolving process. Due to the ongoing nature of this, many compaines decide to hire someone dedicated to this task thinking this will be more efficient. Sounds good. However, this is what we usually see happen: An organizations tries to hire a Unicorn- A mythical employee who can design, code, do SEO, write content, provide tech support and more, all for an entry level salary. This generally goes one of two ways. 1. The employee is found to not have the skill level hoped for or 2. They are good at the job (but still not a unicorn) and move on to a better opportunity in short order.

The problem remains, many companies are looking for senior level talent but don’t have the budget.

Limited Perspective

A traditional employees only see challenges in relation to the company they work for. A virtual employee works on challenges from many different buisness and across a variety of industries thus bringing a much broader perspective and better solutions to the table.

The challenge with quotes in today’s digital age

Outsourcing web projects to developers is not a new concept, but the arrangement needs to adapt. Websites and online applications are constantly evolving and time and time again we see people end up with what they asked for, only to realize it’s not what they need! This wastes precious time and money and can be avoided by working with with clear goals, an excellent plan and an experienced team who knows how to help you.

Quoting small tasks

Streamline your process by paying as you go and save the time and effort of going through the quoting process for multiple small tasks. Not only is this more efficient for you, it means your virtual employee is spending their time where it counts- on your project.

Solution: A Virtual Employee

We created the virtual employee service to help mitigate some of the risk associated with implementing your online strategies. Using us will speed up your project, eliminate inefficiencies and reduce your spending. You get the very best work and you pay for only what you need.

Time Tracking

We track our time as we go and you pay only for what you use. You will receive a monthly invoice showing exactly how your time was spent.

No HR issues or loaded costs

A traditional employee costs more than just their annual salary. Benefits, training, sick days, time off, “water cooler” time and more all contribute to the overall loaded cost.

A trusted adviser

We often talk ourselves out of work. If there is a faster or cheaper way to reach your objectives, we will recommend it. If there is a plugin that can do what you need, we are not going to try and re-invent the wheel. If your team requires training or support to complete a project on your own, we can do that too. We offer the advice but, as with an in-house team, you are the boss. We are here to provide as much or as little help as you need.

Conclusion

Having someone at their desk for 40 hours a week doesn’t mean you are getting that many hours of productive work out of them. And it certainly doesn’t mean you are getting the best expertise. By hiring top level experts and only paying for the time you need, you save money, time and hassles. Best of all, you will have peace of mind that your digital goals are in the best hands.

 

Below are some of the types of services we can provide as virtual employee…


Consulting/ Strategy

You have questions, we have answers. We have been doing this a long time and have seen many scenarios so we can advise the right technologies to use for your specific request, advise against potential pitfalls and educate you and your team of good ways to do things. Thinking of some big new idea for your website? Involving us early in the process could save you time, money and guesswork.

Search Engine Marketing / Optimization

Understanding what your online traffic is doing and how you are ranking is an ongoing thing. We can advise of popular terms in your industry, track how you are ranking for them, provide insight on what the stats mean, benchmark you against your competitors and help make sense of the numbers.

Accessibility/ AODA Compliance

Accessibility is hot topic for many organizations these days as they try to understand the AODA guidelines to either make their site compliant or put a plan in place to do so. We can audit your site or guide you through the process to help you understand what has to be done.

 

Working with 3rd party designer/developer

Already working with a designer or developer for certain things? No problem! We can work with them on your behalf to ensure your objectives are being met. It is easy for tech people to overwhelm those less techie. We can work with your vendor to ensure your goals are met.

Graphic Design & Creative

Any kind of graphic work you need whether web or print, we can help you out. We can also help you procure stock images to use in your marketing material.

Design Integration

Got something designed in Photoshop, Illustrator, XD, back of a napkin, etc. ? We can wire it up and make it easy for you to update.

Custom Programming

When a plugin just wont cover it we can always develop something custom. Plugins are great as they keep costs low, but you often have to live within the constraints of the plugin. Developing something custom give you complete control of the options and user experience. We can either flush out the idea in full before getting started (aka waterfall method) or just get going and adapt as we go (aka agile method).

Content/ Data Entry

While not the most exciting work, it has to get done and we are very fast at it. We can upload, optimize, import whatever you need and save you time & money.

Support

Where consulting is upfront advice, support is more reactive advice. There are many things that can go wrong on the internet or with your website. Website issues, email problems, DNS, SSL, DDOS attacks, etc. We can give you the peace of mind to know your issues can be dealt with in a timely manner.

Interested in learning more ?

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