6 tips for choosing the right VA for your business

So you’ve finally decided to hire a virtual assistant. You've done the research to fully understand the whole shebang of how a VA operates and what they can do for your business. But the real question is, how do you pick the right person who will have the same mindset as you do?

There’s a plethora of available VA’s on the Web offering different services with respect to their niche. It can be exasperating to go through a multitude of interviews during the hiring process. So, I’ve created a list for you to ponder on and help you organise your thoughts and hopefully, help you decide on what type of VA is applicable for your business.

1. Create an "outsource" plan.

Divide your priorities and the little things that you can delegate to your VA. For example, You are in the retail industry and you have to answer all the emails and questions from your consumers, but you’re busy creating another awesome product for your business. Reemoote helps you to handle incoming client contact.

If you’re still perplexed with the whole idea, ask yourself these 3 questions:

• What tasks should I prioritise?

• What tasks can I not do? (e.g creating brochures)

• Is there any area in my work that I need assistance for?

2. Create a Job Description.

You’ve narrowed down the tasks that you would like your VA to do, the next step is to create a description and the requirements that your VA should have, such as:

• What your business is about/the scale of your business

• The tools that you will be using

• Their job history

• The delegated tasks that they will perform for your company

• Language requirements (for offshore VA’s)

• References

• Technical requirements (Internet speed, computer RAM, memory)

Here’s a Sample VA Job Description:

We run an online Patisserie that mainly operates within the Facebook platform. We receive multiple queries and orders on a daily basis. We are looking for someone who has a background in the following areas: Customer Sales Representative, Chat support, Social Media Management, and Content Creation.

Duties include:

• Answer questions via Facebook Messenger

• Manage our account - follow people, send invites, etc.

• Create and upload content (We will provide photos and caption)

• Book orders and Dietary requirements

• Report analytics and grievances via email

The Candidate must possess the following requirements:

• Available on weekdays

• UK time (GMT)

• Internet speed of 25 Mbps

• Typing speed of at least 20 words per minute

• Bubbly personality

• Proactive

• Problem solver/detail-oriented

• Sweet tooth (optional, but preferable)

3. List down your interview questions.

You’ve finished your 1st filtering process, It’s time to write down the questions that are related to your business e.g., Are you familiar with the different types of dietary requirements? Do you know any other apps or tools that we can utilise to make our answering time more efficient?

Related: 12 Questions to ask when hiring a VA

4. Test

Of course, everyone who would like to be employed would give you the best answer to be a part of your company, but it’s wise to let your top 3 candidates take an exam. Create tasks for them that are relevant to your operation and see how they handle the tasks.

5. Create guidelines.

In a perfect world, your new-found assistant will give you an excellent performance straight away. But, everyone has to go through the familiarization process to make your operation immaculate.

It’s best that you write down guidelines for your assistant, e.g create a spiel or script for them with regards to answering a customer query, let them know the ethos of your company, the objectives, and so forth. Make them feel that they are a part of your business as well.

“If you find yourself butting up against the ceiling of your own capacity and your business is flat-lining because of it, it’s time to bring on some help.”– Nick Loper, Founder of Side Hustle Nation

6. Conduct a paid trial period.

Put your newly hired employee on a trial period (30, 90 days?) so you can evaluate and find out how well they perform and if they can walk the walk, Reemoote offers a free trial service for new clients by the way.

So, with all that being said, I hope this blog has given you some ideas and tips on how to find your perfect VA. Goodluck. Feel free to contact us and we’ll help you find the perfect VA that is tailored to your needs.