Hiring Virtual Assistants Becoming More Popular in Australia, Report Says

It seems that more and more Australian business owners are realising the value of hiring virtual assistants or VAs. According to reports, over the last few years, Australia has become one of the leading countries wherein businesses prefer to outsource business processes instead of hiring in-house employees.

This has prompted a US-based global job outsourcing marketplace to open up a branch in Australia to cater to the growing demand of local businesses for remote online staff. Elance-oDesk said it is launching its Australia office this month. "It’s our second largest market globally and number one when measured per capita. We’re also seeing a lot of domestic trade between Australian businesses and Australian freelancers," said Kyri Theos, the group's Australian country manager.

According to observers, the arrival of the California-based company is a clear indication that many Australians are hiring virtual assistants because it is more convenient and more economical than hiring in-house employees. In fact, the state government of Victoria itself is jumping on the bandwagon of utilising the talents and skills of capable VAs. Just recently, the Victorian government announced that it will invest $6 million to outsource ICT infrastructure for the Centre for IT Excellence. It said that the move is geared towards implementing changes in the procurement of services in 2014 to 2015. Technology Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips added that the state government will outsource ICT jobs to transform the ICT services that underpinned the state government.

With Elance-oDesk setting up an Australian branch and the Victorian government looking to outsource jobs, it seems that Australia as a nation is indeed embracing outsourcing. Well, this is fairly understandable. After all, it is no secret that Australia has relatively high wages and inflexible industrial relations conditions as compared to other countries. And with the rising costs of services and commodities these days, local business, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, couldn't help but look for cheaper yet better alternatives to getting quality help beyond the Australian border.

Based on certain studies, hiring virtual assistants is indeed more cost-effective than hiring a full-time staff. It can improve business efficiency and at the same time, reduce spending. For instance, for the fraction of the cost of obtaining the services of a local SEO company, you can get quality SEOservices from an experienced SEO practitioner from the Philippines or India.

In addition, virtual assistants can be hired on an "as needed" basis. You can get quality professional services without having to hire someone to be a permanent part of your company. Not only is this convenient, it is a huge time-saver as well, which is why more and more businesses are keen on hiring VAs.