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Hiring A Virtual Assistant With A Simple 5 Step Process

 

Hiring A Virtual Assistant With A Simple 5 Step Process

 

For some businesses employing a virtual assistant for the first time may be more daunting than taking on a full-time employee who is office-based.

Firstly, there will be no physical presence, which may mean that you fear you can’t form a bond with your co-worker. Working with a freelance virtual assistant may leave you feeling apprehensive at the prospect of working with a person who may be thousands of miles away.

A dedicated virtual assistant also has a contract, but they are often hired on a project-by-project basis instead of a person based in the company office.

Hiring top virtual assistants will drive your company forward and, in turn, save your business money while increasing productivity. It also means your company becomes more flexible, which improves the standard of work produced.

We all understand that business owners sometimes feel that they haven’t got the time or the patience to hire virtual assistant services, but the money saved will be worth the effort.

Here are five tips to follow when you hire virtual assistants:

A Tried And Tested Process

1. Find Your Most Time-Consuming Tasks

Exciting new opportunities have presented themselves for businesses and workers alike due to the increase in demand for people with a wide-ranging skillset who are able to carry out virtual assistance work.

While there is still a need for mundane tasks to be carried out, a good virtual assistant will be able to perform all the tasks from data entry right through to social media management.

Firstly, you must decide which repetitive tasks or services you need to outsource and then clearly state which qualifications are required so that you hire the best person suited for the job description.

Prime example, the administrative tasks you would require a VA to perform when dealing with your Accounting department are as follows:

  • Preparing financial statements
  • Payroll
  • Bookkeeping
  • Preparing disbursement schedules
  • Preparing invoices

Sometimes you will just need basic tasks taken care of, such as:

  • Preparing presentation materials
  • E-mail filtering
  • Answering calls
  • Calendar management
  • Preparing presentation materials
  • Setting appointments

Over time you will build trust in the virtual assistant’s ability to perform more skilled tasks, and you can slowly ask them to perform various tasks.

2. Determine The Required Skill Sets

You will need to compile a skills list that your general virtual assistant will need to be successful working for your business.

The specialized virtual assistants will need to have two different sets of skills.

Hard Skills

Certain skills are essential for different aspects of each individual job. As listed in the example above, the hard skills which are needed by a virtual assistant who is responsible for daily tasks needed when managing accounting work.

  • Good knowledge of accounting software such as QuickBooks
  • Proficient in spreadsheet management
  • They must have good typing skills
  • Efficient data entry skills

Soft Skills

This broad range of skills is more geared towards the VA’s personal attitude and diligence to their work. Valuable time can be saved if a virtual assistant has the soft skills listed below to help your business needs.

The most suited virtual assistant to help your business will be the one who displays the required skills you have pinpointed below:

  • Communicate effectively by having outstanding communication skills
  • Must have a proactive approach to tasks while displaying great leadership
  • High capabilities for solving problems
  • Must have excellent time management skills
  • Organised and attentive

In order to find virtual assistants with the best skills to help you save money, the selection process will be based on the skills you have identified.

3. Careful Selection Process

You want to hire a virtual assistant that is right for your business needs for any specific tasks. The remote location worker must qualify for the role at each stage of the hiring process.

Step 1: Post Your Job Description

When hiring a virtual assistant, the job advert must have a direct instruction. This will be at the end or the middle. Example below:

“Write ‘For the attention of Spongebob’ at the upper right-hand corner of your covering letter.”

Quality virtual assistants will be the ones who will be careful not to make mistakes by reading instructions meticulously.

You want to employ the best person so applicants who do not follow instructions well will not be suited. This is vital when hiring a specialised VA.

Step 2: Screen All Applicants

A due diligence review is needed of all applicants who passed pre-qualifying instructions.

  • Check their social media accounts for any irregularities
  • Try to find unsavoury information on the applicant; a Google search works well.
  • Check up on references.

This is a valuable step when trying to find the right person for the job.

Step 3: Initial Interview And Trial

Happy with the people you have selected after doing due diligence? Time to interview:

  • You must use a communication tool such as audio and/or video chat interview
  • Try to record the interview process
  • Interview questions must be job-related, address their skill set according to their resume, and ask about themselves

Some companies find scheduling meetings for the top two candidates to carry out a paid trial period of up to 2 hours each is a good way of seeing who performs the best. This way, you can identify any internet or communication problems and provide feedback.

4. Create A Short List Of Favourite Candidates

It is a good business practice to make a shortlist of ideal people who best meet the job description. Don’t just hire the first person who responds.

Imagine the talent you could be missing out on if you hire a virtual assistant who was the first one to apply?

Different stages of selection are paramount to identifying the most talented person for your company. An interview stage should consist of 3 to 5 people who have the best chance of working for your own business.

5. Balance Skills And Personality

A common mistake is to hire someone based on their technical qualifications alone. The person may have all the qualifications on paper but not be a well-rounded individual who will take pride in their work. This is a rookie error by small business owners.

They may not get on well with others, which could cost you valuable time and money. It is imperative that you use the 80-20 Rule. The 80% is the personal qualities, and the 20% is the qualifications.

A motivated virtual assistant who works hard can always be upskilled to the standards your company requires. If a virtual assistant does not adhere to the same values as your company,, it will cost you money.

Remember, you trust this person to represent your business and make it a continued success. Trust between the person providing the service and the client is vitally important, so both sides must have realistic expectations to build a strong relationship.

Take A Hassle-Free Approach To Hiring A Virtual Assistant

Time is money, right? You do not want to spend weeks, even months, hiring a virtual assistant when we can take care of all the time-consuming stuff for you.

If you have a specific project or ongoing tasks you need help with, then we are willing and able to provide a VA from our high-quality team to help you save time.

Our talented VA’s can deal with general or high-value tasks, including:

  • Data entry/menial tasks
  • Manage real estate listings
  • Social media management
  • Fielding phone calls and secretarial tasks
  • Email and digital marketing
  • Creating content
  • Project management of one-off projects

Small businesses sometimes need detail-oriented or unique projects which require a graphic designer, content manager, or lead generation/content creation.

As one of the leading virtual assistant companies, we will find, screen, train, and hire the right independent contractor/freelancer for you. It will cost you, the business owner, just $7 an hour to hire a Philippines-based VA.

That means we take care of managing virtual staff, allowing you the time to pursue other clients.

What are you waiting for? Our team is ready and waiting to deal with your support services needs.

Take your business to the next level today! ENQUIRE NOW

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    1300 792 310

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