You Need Help. But Which Kind?
When a New York business owner realizes they need administrative support, the first call is usually to a staffing agency. Robert Half, Adecco, or a local temp firm on Long Island. It is the path everyone knows. But it is not the only path, and for most small businesses, it is not the best one.
How Staffing Agencies Work
- Markup: Staffing agencies charge 25% to 75% markup on the worker's hourly rate. A temp making $18/hour costs you $25 to $32/hour.
- Temp-to-hire fees: Want to keep the temp? Pay a conversion fee of $2,000 to $10,000.
- Limited pool: Local agencies draw from local talent. In a tight NYC labor market, options are limited and turnover is high.
- In-office requirement: Most staffing agency placements expect a desk, equipment, and an office to show up to.
- Your management: The agency finds the person. You manage them, train them, and deal with them daily.
How a VA Agency Works
- All-inclusive rate: $8.99/hour. No markup games. No surprise fees.
- No overhead: No desk, no equipment, no office space, no benefits to provide.
- Global talent pool: Access to pre-vetted professionals who chose remote work as a career, not as a gap between "real" jobs.
- Managed service: We do not just find someone and disappear. We onboard, monitor quality, and provide replacements if needed.
- No conversion fees: Your VA is yours for as long as you want them. No buyout required.
Real Cost Comparison
A staffing agency admin at $28/hour (after markup), full-time: $58,240/year. Plus your office space, equipment, and management time.
A Remote Staff NY VA at $8.99/hour, full-time: $18,699/year. No overhead. No extras.
That is a $39,541 difference. Per position. Per year.
When a Staffing Agency Still Makes Sense
If you need someone physically in your office (warehouse work, in-person reception, hands-on tasks), a staffing agency is the right call. But if the work is phone calls, emails, scheduling, data entry, billing, or any computer-based task, there is no reason to pay a 75% markup for someone to sit at a desk doing work they could do from anywhere.
Nassau County Business Owners: Read This Twice
We work with businesses across Nassau and Suffolk County who spent years cycling through temps before discovering virtual assistants. The most common reaction: frustration that nobody told them sooner. Now you know.