Pros
One of the things that attracted me to Zirtual was their clear set of company values and culture - for a start-up its great for a young company to care and 'walk the talk’ in that area. Virtual co-workers are easy going yet professional - fellow co-workers have their own unique professional background experience or academia, which makes ZA’s quite interesting people. Likewise, clients (for the most part) are great to work with, and see the value in having a ZA. In some sporadic instances, I’ve had clients who would personally thank me over the phone or send me gift cards as a small token of appreciation - how awesome is that? :) Management is open and approachable if any concern is brought to awareness. I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of management in person, and I have had positive interactions with everyone. I feel very well taken care of and know if any issue comes up, I can always let my supervisor (aka PL) know without hesitation.
Cons
After 1 year of working with Zirtual, it does seem to be pretty different than when I joined, but in a really good way! There are many who left after the shift from IC to employee, and it was unfortunate to see that. However, I think those changes were made with good intention… I can understand with how some previous ZA’s feel like things are being changed a lot policy-wise, however, for a start-up that’s to be expected... and it takes a lot of patience to understand that. Also, it is true that you may not receive the most awesomest clients ever. It takes a high level of EQ to work with an array of clients from several different industries, each with their own personal preferences and quirks. So being a strong communicator with clear-set boundaries is vital in those situations with difficult clients. In general though, most clients will not be like that and are professionals. Some clients do have the big egos or are great communicators on the phone, but really bad at delegating/communicating via email. Which can make it quiet frustrating.