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Virtual Workers Can Cause Real Trouble, Unless You Check Them Out

Can’t Afford Employees? Consider Hiring Virtual Ones

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From: Inc.com | By: Tamara Schweitzer


A common challenge for sole proprietors is that they simply don’t have enough manpower to accomplish everything. If hiring extra employees isn’t possible, maybe it’s time to bring on a virtual business partner.Biz2Go, a British online resource portal for small businesses, recently launched My Virtual Business Partner, a service designed to help entrepreneurs who need the extra hands.My Virtual Business Partner, or MVBP, connects business owners with an online network of freelance employees, saving them the cost of having to recruit and train additional staff, but creates the experience of having a partner or highly-skilled employee on board. MVBP is a pay-as-you-go service and users determine the length of the service based on their needs. Users can sign up for hourly, daily, weekly or monthly subscriptions and are assigned a virtual “partner” for the duration of that subscription.Users also fill out a job-request form that details the work to be completed. Some of the typical tasks that virtual business partners assist with include creating presentations, doing research, dealing with customer complaints or queries, and administrative duties. The service also provides small business owners with a support network of on-call professional facilitators.

For the entire article go to Inc.com

Corra believes the concept of virtual employees certainly has its merits. For one thing, hiring virtual employees can reduce your office space and lower your overall costs. By allowing people to work from home and offering flexible hours, it is possible to recruit employees who may otherwise not be as accessible.

Your recruiting efforts are not just limited to those in your immediate locale. You may recruit highly qualified candidates from all over the country. If you are located in a major market where living expenses are hire, you may be able to employee people in second tier markets where salaries and expenses are less.

Since there is no real and immediate oversight on these employees, you want to be sure your candidates are capable of working and producing without supervision. You want to be sure they are qualified and that they will work the requisite hours.

A pre-employment screening program will help determine who is qualified. Education verification and employment verification are key background searches for virtual workers. These searches will help you determine the veracity of their claims. By running a credit report on your candidate you will be better able to determine their personal responsibility. A worker who is mindful of his personal finances, will generally be more responsible when it comes to doing his job.

Check them out before your hire.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.