One of the most common trends in today’s world is to outsource a lot of your different projects to those who are willing to work on them. Even small tasks like managing your email, social media, or website can be outsourced to personal assistants so that you can focus on growing your business. However, it has been much more common to get overseas personal assistants due to how they are usually much more affordable compared to local workers. Now, let’s look at what we know about where to get overseas personal assistants and how much to pay them.
Popular places to get overseas personal assistants
- India:
India has emerged as a hotbed for overseas personal assistants and is arguably the most abundant in terms of supply due to the fact that there are so many skilled, educated, and motivated workers in that country. With over 1.4 billion people living in India, it is quite easy to find a suitable overseas personal assistant for a good price.
Cities like Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai are hubs for some of the most skilled Indian freelancers who are willing to provide virtual assistance. It is also common knowledge that India is one of the most popular places for outsourcing different jobs, including customer support and tech assistance.
- The Philippines:
Known primarily for having some of the best English speakers in Asia, the Philippines is a great place to get customer service-oriented workers who have excellent communication skills, adaptability, and work ethic.
Most Filipinos are well-adapted to Western clients due to the fact that the Philippines has always had close cultural ties with the US. It can even be argued that it’s going to be difficult to differentiate a skilled Filipino English speaker from an American one. As such, the adjustments in cultural differences between you and a Filipino personal assistant won’t be too difficult.
The biggest Philippine cities when it comes to personal assistants are Manila and Cebu because these destinations are tech hubs in the country. But Davao is also rising as a prominent source of virtual assistants for overseas clients. Filipino personal assistants are excellent in tasks that involve customer assistance, email management, writing, and research.
- Eastern Europe:
Eastern European nations, such as Ukraine and Romania, are also good sources of overseas personal assistants. One of the reasons why Eastern European nations have the advantage over their Asian counterparts is their stronger educational backgrounds. While some Asian nations, such as the Philippines, have better English speakers, not all of them have good educational backgrounds.
One of the things that make Eastern Europeans in demand in today’s virtual market is their versatility because they are skilled at content creation, social media management, and data analysis. As such, Eastern Europeans are seemingly better options when it comes to tasks that require specific skills that need education or training.
Common compensation
There are different pay rates for overseas personal assistants, depending on where they’re from and how much the common pay rate is in their location. The assistant’s skill set and experience should also factor into their compensation.
- Hourly Rates:
In a lot of instances, the hourly rates for overseas personal assistants don’t go under $5 but don’t always go over $20. Those who are starting out and are still lacking in experience are the most affordable. However, the most skilled workers are able to demand $20 or more per hour.
Compared to the usual hourly wage that you can get from workers in the US or any other Western country, the pay rate in countries like India and the Philippines is quite low. You can get cheap labor in the US but their skill level won’t be on par with some of the most skilled workers in other countries.
While you may think that paying a skilled worker $5 an hour won’t guarantee you good results, it’s worth noting that $5 an hour is already a lot better than what most of these workers make in their countries. For example, the minimum daily wage of a Filipino is somewhere close to $10. So, if your overseas personal assistant is making $5 an hour or $40 for an eight-hour workday, that’s already a lot more than what they could be making in their own countries.
The complexity of the task can also affect the hourly rate of most workers. Tasks like video editing, web development, and other similar tasks that require training and experience tend to be more expensive.
- Monthly Salaries:
If you’re willing to pay monthly salaries, some personal assistants are willing to work for a rate that’s somewhere between $500 to $3,000 a month. The most skilled personal assistants are able to command higher salaries that are closer to $3,000. But it’s quite rare to see an overseas personal assistant that’s capable of commanding such a sum.
While some workers aren’t comfortable with monthly wages because the sum total won’t be as much as what they could have earned if they worked on an hourly basis, there are some personal assistants who prefer security. As such, some overseas assistants are willing to get paid $500 if they are still starting out as long as they know that they are going to get the full amount at the end of the month.
Common Responsibilities
- Administrative Support:
Administrative support, such as managing emails, scheduling your day, and handling regular administrative tasks are some of the most common responsibilities given to overseas personal assistants.
- Research and Analysis:
Some personal assistants overseas are actually just as educated as the ones living in Western countries but are willing to earn more than half as much. As such, there are some clients who would rather outsource research and analysis to other countries, where labor is much more affordable but is just as skilled and educated.
- Customer Support:
Countries like India and the Philippines are hotbeds for customer support. Call centers are established in these countries to provide an abundant number of customer support assistants for Western clients. But there are also some freelancers who are willing to handle customer support.
- Content Creation:
Skilled personal assistants are also capable of content creation, such as writing blog posts, creating images and videos, or managing social media accounts.
- Project Management:
You can find personal assistants who have the skills and experience needed in organizational management to take on project management tasks, especially when it comes to managing deadlines, coordinating different people and departments, and managing responsibilities.
