Having your own business and being an entrepreneur is not the usual 9-5 work grind but rather a 24/7 with no days off job. As demanding as it is, it’s hard to keep tabs on everyday to-do list while thinking of more ways on how to make the business more profitable.
Thanks to technology and globalization, an upward trend of hiring Virtual Assistants has been the key for entrepreneurs to escalate their business’ productivity and profitability with a lesser cost.
Hiring a great virtual assistant for your company is tedious and not an easy task. You should know if both of you can work together as partners and the skillset, he/she has that will be useful for the company.
So how would you know that he/she is a perfect fit for your company and where can you find VA’s?
Having the job title of Virtual Assistant has a lot of gray areas to cover. The position is too broad since a VA can do lots of tasks depending on one’s skillset and experience. This just proves the flexibility of a VA on their job.
Here are some of the tasks a VA can help in your business:
One of the leading sites for freelancers, here you can hire all sorts of virtual assistants with different skill sets and experience. The good thing about Upwork is that it has a thorough screening process that weeds out the bogus candidates from the real ones. Also, it has its own billing and time-tracking system which makes it more convenient for both the VA and business owner. From hiring to managing a VA, Upwork makes sure that you and your VA have a hassle-free work relationship.
A freelancing site built by Filipinos for Filipinos. Filipinos are known to be honest and a hard worker so it’s not surprising that a lot of business owners hire their VA’s on this site. Also, the labor cost is so much lesser compared to having an in-house employee or hiring from other freelancing platforms. It’s both a win-win situation for the parties. Navigating on their site is also easy for both the employers and job seekers. You can also manage your VA on their site with their built-in billing and time-tracking software.
One of the leading virtual assistant agency online that offers workers who have a minimum of 3 years experience. The price of their service is costlier compared to others, but you will surely get what you paid for.
Customization is the name of the game for this company that sets them apart from others. They will match you with a virtual assistant that fits your wants and needs for your business and even complementary to your personality. They have proven to have long-term work relationships with their clients to prove that their system actually works.
Their company base the selection process through a relationship-based approach. They personally handle the hiring process by having an initial interview with you and pair you with your perfect VA match. Afterward, they also handle the coaching of your VA for 100 days to check both of your progress.
It’s important that you hire a Virtual Assistant that loves what he/she is doing and not just for the sake of it. Also, asking an open-ended question will help the candidate talk more about himself/herself and ease the tension. This replaces the usual “Tell me more about yourself” question.
This question not only gives a continuous casual atmosphere while having the interview but this also makes the candidate feel that you are interested to work with him/her. You would also be surprised to know what his/her interests are after work hours. He/She may be managing his/her own business on the side. This information may be helpful in the future.
This question helps you gauge on what skill set you want your VA to have. It’s important that your VA knows his/her strengths and weakness. Honesty is important in a healthy work relationship and it’s best that you don’t start on the wrong foot. Also, if a candidate says that he/she doesn’t have any weakness, then move on to the next one. The last thing you want is an arrogant VA who doesn’t accept constructive criticism.
Some would answer that they will go to the nearest café to work or have a back-up internet connection in case of an emergency. But the most important thing a VA should do is contact the employer and give information about the situation. Proper communication is the main key for the best work relationship and work-related updates should be given to know one’s progress and status.
This helps you gauge if your candidate can commit to your work or not. It’s best to clear things up on the interview rather than discussing the complications afterward.
This helps you track down the tasks done by your VA and how much he/she spends on each of them. This gives you an overview of your VA is being productive or just slacking off. Trust is a crucial part for every worker and employer relationship, but it’s best to verify things just to make sure. Besides, work is work and it’s expected that VA’s should deliver.
Recommended Tools: Toggl, Hubstaff, Time Doctor
One thing about the online world is that people come and go so easily. You’ll never know when someone will go MIA on you. To lessen the effect of this blow, it’s best to document your processes and SOP’s so that you won’t start from scratch every time you hire new VA. Better to be ready and prepared.
Recommended Tools: Loom, Zapier, Snagit
Communication is very important for this work setup. Weekly meetings and daily updates should be done to keep each other on the loop. Make sure to choose a communication tool that suits you both.
Recommended Tools: Skype, Viber, Line, Hangout, GroupMe
This is the most advisable payment terms when still starting with a new VA. After 6 months or so, you can move to a monthly payment instead since you’ve already established trust between you two. Make sure to communicate this properly to your VA to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.
Recommended Tools: PayPal, Transferwise, Western Union
To make things legal and binding, it’s important to establish terms and situations into writing. This also holds your VA accountable for any unethical practices that may arise.
