Tag: hire a virtual assistant

How to Make the Most Out of Having a Virtual Assistant

How to Make the Most Out of Having a Virtual Assistant

Having a virtual assistant at this time is one of the smartest moves an entrepreneur or an executive would do. With the advancement in technology and easier means of working regardless of your location or time zone, having a remote assistant is no longer a problem. 

In truth, there are tons of benefits that you could reap by having a virtual assistant, which you could start with flexibility. Meetings or even coordination about tasks would no longer be limited to seeing each other personally. Even if you are traveling around the globe, you can relay your thoughts, ideas, and requirements to your VA with ease.

However, in order to make the most out of having a virtual assistant, there are things that you should try to practice. The following are just a few:

Get rid of your menial tasks first. If you are new to having a remote assistant, the best thing to do first is getting rid of your so-called ‘menial’ tasks. These are activities that take much of your time every day, but can actually be handled by your assistant, which will free up your schedule for more important business matters.

Some business people are too hesitant to assign tasks to their VA, which is normal, so considering the menial tasks as a start would be a smart idea. Once you have seen that your virtual assistant is working efficiently with the initial activities you have assigned, you would have a better assessment on what other tasks to disseminate in the near future.

Work with them side-by-side. To reap the utmost advantages of having a VA, it is best to have them with you during your working or operational hours. Flexibility may be considered the best option by others, but if you want to be assisted well enough, then the virtual assistant should at least be reachable whenever you need him or her.

By having your VA work during your operational hours, even if there are urgent matters at hand, you will be assisted. Furthermore, coordination would not be delayed. Flexible schedule may keep your virtual assistant from clarifying some things, which could in turn hold off the completion of certain tasks.

Additionally, working alongside your VA may also help you observe his or her work performance much more effectively.

Give sufficient time for adjustment. Every virtual assistant has the right to have enough time adjusting to their new work environment. If you will rush a VA to have the know-how of everything in your business immediately simply because he or she is experienced, you may encounter issues going forward.

Bear in mind that your operations may differ from that of your VAs’ previous employers’. Furthermore, even if you may be using software applications that your virtual assistant is proficient at, you still need to convey your expectations clearly.

By giving a reasonable adjustment period, you would be able to support your VA from working effectively in the long run. It is somehow your means of orienting them on what your business goals are.

Be open to correcting their mistakes. There are entrepreneurs or executives, who simply decide to give up having a virtual assistant after a single mistake and not allowing him or her to correct it. 

If you want to make the most out of having a VA, treat them as a typical office employee, who may err from time to time. With proper guidance and correction, he or she would improve by seeing mistakes as their learning curve.

Moreover, if you do not present the errors done by your virtual assistant, it would be difficult for him or her to even keep up with your standards or requirements. Guessing what should be done is not the way to go in having a VA.

Allow learning of new skills. You should not limit your virtual assistant to doing the same things in the long run. If you would allow him or her to learn new skills, which are beneficial for you, then it is a good move. 

For instance, instead of allowing your VA to work on administrative tasks solely, you should also be open to the possibility of getting help in advertising or sales. This is in consideration to getting the nod of your virtual assistant and assuring that his or her workload is still fair.

Instead of getting more and more people to do tasks separately, an efficient VA can get a lot of things done with sufficient time, resources, and support.

From the provided practices, you would realize that a virtual assistant could be the independent contractor or employee that could fill in the gap in your operations. All it takes is to carry out the said steps and you would be able to get the most efficient assistance you could find.

Are Virtual Assistants Difficult to Work With

Are Virtual Assistants Difficult to Work With?

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You may be among the business people, who are still hesitant to hire a virtual assistant. This is probably due to the speculations that you would encounter a lot of issues in having one. For instance, you may think that virtual assistants would not be similar to office-based workers in many ways, such as in productivity or performance in general. This is understandable since not all entrepreneurs or executives are still open to the idea of remote staffing.

Despite technology advancements, there are still businesses, which are behind what is expected of them. They will still prefer to stick to their traditional ways than go paperless. However, if you are among these companies, do you think that your conventional operations are still benefiting you or it simply got you stuck where you are since the beginning? If it is the latter, then a change in your firm may be the solution for progress.

With companies considering the use of digital solutions for their operations, they become more competitive in their industries. Additionally, they tend to simplify their once difficult activities, such as sales and marketing.  As a result, they save more and earn more. Why deprive yourself of the same leverage opportunity?

The savings in hiring a virtual assistant is given, but in terms of the difficulty in handling one, the whole picture may still be unclear to you.

Primarily, you should know that virtual assistants are not less competent compared to office-based workers. The truth of the matter is, some of them are even office employees previously. In other words, they are aware of how things work regardless of the environment. Furthermore, if being qualified is what you worry about, then you should know that virtual assistants are not short in degrees or fields of expertise. Due to lots of experience, some could even handle both administrative and technical work simultaneously. Conclusively, you will not have an issue in working with them if performance is your concern.

Moreover, virtual assistants will never be difficult to work with since communicating with them could be seamless. You simply have to open doors to make this happen. Apart from e-mails, you can simply allow your VA to get in touch with you even through messaging platforms. You could also set up a conference or direct mobile calls, when necessary. Hence, seeing them face-to-face would not be even difficult to achieve.

In the instance of ensuring they do not abuse their freedom of working without you being there to supervise them in the flesh, then you could simply rely on an agency or a supervising company. This virtual assistant firm will allow you to have peace of mind since they will guarantee your VAs will be supervised accordingly. In other words, every minute you pay for will not be wasted.

Furthermore, virtual assistants have the initiative to report their progress frequently. This is to give you assurance that they are delivering what is expected of them.

For the case of time differences, a virtual assistant is honed to work based on the time zone of his or her client. This is how the online industry works in order to provide the employers the utmost advantage. If you want to work hand-in-hand with your VA even if it is nighttime on his or her end, then it could happen.

With the aforementioned facts above, would you still think that virtual assistants are difficult to work with? Hopefully, your doubts have now dissipated, and you are now ready to take in remote workers.

Can You Assure Professionalism From a Virtual Assistant?

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Oftentimes, businessmen or professionals in need of assistance with their work find it easy to hesitate in hiring a virtual assistant. This is understandable, especially if it is a fairly new concept for them. However, this common misconception about virtual assistant being an ineffective choice of employment should be debunked. There are many reasons why, and you could start with the utmost professionalism offered by virtual assistants.

There is not much of a difference. Did you know that even business people could attest that there is very little difference in terms of hiring a local-based employee and a virtual assistant? This is due to the fact it is simply true. You could say that the most apparent discrepancy between a VA and an office employee is the location of their workplace. The former is at his or her home, whereas the latter is at your company headquarters.

VAs do not need much of an adjustment. Most virtual assistants have years of experience working in an office-based setting. Thus, it is rather incorrect to assume that they are not aware of how things work in a company.

Furthermore, one cannot deny that once a VA is on board, he or she has to follow rules and regulations, which they have complied with previously, as well. Obviously, there is nothing much to worry about in terms of their adjustment. Once again, the major difference is where they will work, which is at their home.

Virtual assistants are used to a fast-paced environment. Most projects or work required in an online setting is subjected to a deadline. You could be certain that despite the urgency of tasks in your workplace, you would not encounter the VA faltering or complaining. Why? This is due to the fact they are used to such a situation, wherein they have to manage their time effectively to assure submission of work without missing the completion time. This can also be attested by the fact VAs work on an hourly or per-project basis.

Communication can still be seamless. If you worry about the coordination proper, then you should know that communication can still be seamless with a virtual assistant. With the advancement in technology, you have tons of options on how to communicate with your VA – e-mail, voice call, video call, or message. Relaying information, assigning a task, or even conducting a meeting is undeniably easy.

Virtual assistants also guarantee that the said communication means will not be affected throughout their shift given they use a stable internet connection. Should there be a cut-off, a backup is just right the corner.

Absences or late reporting should not be an issue. With the convenience offered by their setup, virtual assistants are less likely to report late or miss their work. This is regardless of their schedule, particularly if it is a night shift one. This keeps you from worrying about delayed projects or missed deadlines. Take note that office-based workers often report late or miss work due to their issue with the difficulty of transportation.

With the aforementioned facts, there is no refuting that hiring a virtual assistant could be your easy solution to common problems you encounter with your employees.

Virtual Assistant Skills Are Best Gauged Through Work Than Words

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When selecting a virtual assistant, you definitely have this set of standards to follow or requirements in mind. Hopefully, the list of yours does not specifically include the need for someone, who is good at speaking in English verbally (except if you need a telemarketer or someone who would speak on your behalf). Be reminded that virtual assistant skills are not limited to good English verbal communication skills.

Indeed, it is quite difficult to work with someone, who cannot communicate well. Nonetheless, remember that the entirety of a person’s performance should not be measured based on how they speak. In the end, it is all about their output or how they carried out their job.

The aforementioned statement implies that if you are going to hire a virtual assistant, you should not depend solely on how a person speaks well during the interview. You should focus on their background or on what they have to offer.

Prior to rejecting an applicant after an interview given he or she does not possess the accent you prefer, check out his or her profile first. Find out if he or she has a considerable experience you need. A good example is when searching for a web developer. Determine if the applicant has your specified years of experience in the field instead of paying particular attention to his or her grammar.

Never give in to an applicant right away due to his or her interview answers. Take note that you could already check out possible interview questions online.

If you are really concentrated on how a person explains his or her capabilities, then dig deeper when questioning. Instead of inquiring if he or she could do something, try out to be technical. For instance, if a person is really good in calendar management, he or she will not simply say he or she will ask for the date and time of a meeting to be scheduled. The applicant will explain that as a virtual assistant, he or she will have to check the availability of the calendar’s owner and avoid conflicts.

Based on the example above, you definitely do not need someone with your similar accent if website development is concerned. The person you need will not even have to speak with anyone other than you or colleagues to complete his or her work. Simply give him or her inspirations for the work, specifics on what you want to see on your website pages, and other requests, and you are good to go.

It is understandable that you are quite doubtful to give a person the job based on his or her resume or curriculum vitae alone. Then, why not give him or her a chance to prove himself or herself? Freelancers are totally open for trials. After assigning the virtual assistant a task to work on for a short period, and if he or she did not deliver as necessary, then you could decide to put a halt on getting services from him or her.

You must remember that English cannot always be a standard in appraising someone’s capability. A person, who comes from a French-speaking country, can be really good in digital marketing without necessarily having to be great in English.  In contrary, a person speaking English fluently cannot always assure a seamless work in search engine optimization.

Try changing how your selection of virtual assistant is done going forward by considering the facts above. For certain, you will end up with better talents for your company.

Identifying the Requirements You Need for a Virtual Assistant

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Finding the right virtual assistant is not only about the employee alone. Be reminded that your selection will be based on what you have stated as requirements. There are cases wherein clients somehow point fingers when it comes to unsuccessful obtainment of virtual assistance. Be reminded that in the first place, you are the one to identify what you need for a virtual assistant. You need to think big – you may have actually made a mistake in conveying your expectations for one.

If you want to find someone, who is perfectly fit for your firm or your personal assistance needs, there are pointers you could consider, such as the following:

Identify your time-consuming and routine tasks. You would find out the tasks you need help with if you could specify those that seem repetitive and take much of your time every day. Usually, these activities are clerical and administrative work, such as documentation, e-mail management, calendar management, and even invoicing among others.

Once you have carried out this step, you would be able to list down the skills you would need for a virtual assistant. Take note that not all tasks are meant to be passed onto your VA. Only let go of those that you believe can be handled by a rank-and-file staff and is not that sensitive or critical. Assigning bigger assignments or projects to a VA is advisable once trust is already established.

Never forget to specify your preferred personality. Clients should also give way to pinpointing the personality traits of their expected virtual assistant. For instance, you would need someone who is very organized, for you need that trait to sort out your end as well. On the other hand, you may state that you would rather work with someone who is punctual and can keep up with a strict schedule since your personality is such.

Keep in mind the schedule. There are clients who forget how essential specifying your desired schedule for a virtual assistant is. Be reminded that commonly, VAs have other part-time work as well (which is usual for gig workers and freelancers). Thus, if you do not want any conflicts and you want to ensure the virtual assistant would dedicate his or her focus on your tasks, then a schedule must be set.

Alternatively, if you are a client, who does not mind a free-flowing working relationship with your VA, then it could work as well. You simply have to clarify that you would not bother about a flexible schedule as long as the deliverables are submitted without missing the deadlines.

Special requests are always welcome. Clients have the privilege to ask for VA with traits, which are not normally required. For instance, you prefer someone who has worked with an employer of the same nationality as you. In such way, you would not have issues with the VA adjusting to your culture. Also, you may ask for a VA, who has a keen interest in art and music, for your industry is centered on those.

If you would follow the aforementioned statements, you would have easier means of finding out what you need for a virtual assistant. Once done, you would find out that a good start would definitely give you a better experience in getting virtual assistance.