I hired my first VA in 2005.
I now have 60+ people in the Philippines working for me.
I've learned a lot of lessons over the years.
#1 - Hiring through an agency is worse
When I first hired, there wasn't another option. Unless I went to the Philippines myself, an agency (who was on the ground there) was the only option.
Now I realize it's a worse option.
I just use the word "worse" because it's worse in almost every way.
- They pay the VA 1/3 of what you pay the agency. Yeah, you pay the agency $2000 and they pay the VA $650. Your VA hates this. You hate it. Worse.
- They don't actually find you "the top 1%". That's great marketing speak. In practical reality for an agency, it's impossible. They have to recruit from within their geographic region, and find people who are willing to come in to the office. Those are NOT the top 1%. Usually they're just some warm body who walked in off the street who the agency gives a little training to. Worse.
- They don't treat your person well. Not nearly as well as you'd treat them. Worse.
- Commutes to the office in the Philippines are long. 2 hours is normal. That's 4 hours/day. Worse.
- You could have found that same person (or likely someone better) on OnlineJobs.ph with no commute, no wage markup, no middleman, no geographic constraint. Better.
#2 - The night shift mistake (and solution)
The agency said to me "Do you want them to work on your hours?
I hadn't considered this...
Yes
3 weeks later Joven (my VA) emailed me and said
Sir, the night shift is really hard for me. It's affecting my health and my family. My work isn't dependent on being online during your hours. Could I work a day shift?
YES!
Here's what I've learned since.
Having someone work the night shift is totally possible, but so much better if they're already used to it. And even better if they're already a night owl.
If you try to take someone who is an 11pm - 7am sleeper, and have them switch to working from 11pm - 7am, it's a disaster.
Find someone who is already sleeping from 3am - noon.
Or...
What I find is a lot of my people are night owls, and some of my people are early morning people. Some work normal 9am - 5pm...but not many.
Those who are already night owls already want to work like 6am - 2pm my time. That's a lot of the day already covered.
Then the morning people are coming online at like 1-3pm. Afternoon/evening covered.
And I didn't even have to make someone change their natural rhythm.
They're happier, more productive, and more likely to stick around long term.
If you NEED them online during specific hours, that's totally fine. You can easily find these people.
If you don't, don't.
Tips #3 and #4 coming next.
John
OnlineJobs.phOFSGuide.com
