Throughout this whole series of blog posts, you may have concluded that while employing virtual assistants can propel your business, it can only be deemed as a strategic and frugal business move if you do it right.
The following Guide To Hiring Virtual Assistants for Business Owners will come in handy for anyone who is looking to put together a team of virtual assistants of their own, or wants to raise the quality of their existing team.
Are You Ready For A Virtual Assistant?
- Set Your Expectations Right
While a VA can be deemed as your personal assistant, he or she is still a human being. Treat your VA with respect and more importantly, have constant open communication lines especially on what is expected out of them for each assignment. Only when this is established, will both parties not be disappointed with the outcome of the working relationship
- Know What Can Be Outsourced
And more importantly, what you wish to be outsourced. Not all tasks will be better off when given to a VA. For example writing an email will require some degree of personalization, otherwise the recipient will be puzzled by the level of oddity between the two of you. On the other hand, leaving the research works of your upcoming side project to your VA while you concurrently proceed with the timeline planning sounds more feasible.
- How Much Is Too Much?
Hiring a VA is an expense and outsourcing work to areas that are totally out of your expertise will allow you to manage your costs more efficiently. Stick to your priorities and look out for quality VAs such as those from Virtual Assistants Singapore. It is an ironic coincidence that it pays (you) to spend on quality than on quantity.
Qualities Of A Good Virtual Assistant
- Good Command of English
While this is subjective to a certain extent, almost all of the communication and works produced will probably be in English. As such, it is crucial for your virtual assistant to have a strong grasp of the English language, both in the spoken and written form. You will want to make sure that you can get your points across and vice versa, to reduce miscommunication which may lead to a decline in productivity.
- Proactiveness
It is granted that virtual assistants act on the instructions conveyed to them but a sense of initiative is definitely a very telling sign for a long-term working relationship. A proactive VA will not only be able to perform the tasks on hand but follow up with you on any other similar tasks or even take on a job that is of similar scope. This willingness is a soft attribute that often distinguishes between the good and better VAs.
- Professionalism
This is possibly one of the qualities that is the epitome of a VA, yet is the most difficult to identify. It encompasses everything from punctuality to honesty and even the act of humility; standing up to admitting one’s mistake when indeed it was committed. While this trait takes a while to be shown, you can always refer to written reviews or informal recommendation by peers prior to hiring the VA.
By following the 6 points above closely, you will be one step closer to hiring a proper VA or ensuring that you have a good one in your team. While it is quite unfortunate that a super VA does not exist, it does not necessarily mean that all is lost for you as a business owner.
Keep those yardsticks handy at your fingertips as you go along your hiring process, whether it is through word-of-mouth, social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook or dedicated virtual assistants portals and organisations such as Virtual Assistants Singapore.
