As a result of researching virtual assistants, you have decided to delegate some of your work to one of them. Now how do you pick the most appropriate one?
By hiring a person in your company, you can easily delegate your work to them. By spending eight hours each day with someone, you discover that person’s adorning qualities. How can you delegate your job to someone who is not close to you? And how can you delegate to someone who is unknown to you?
It's good to know
When you first contact the virtual assistant, don’t be afraid to ask anything that interests you. When you wish to get an overview of his/her knowledge and skills, you may ask for:
- Relevant work experience
- Education and certifications he/she holds
- Challenges they face and their approach to solving them
- The expectations they have of you
- Tools they use for business
Skills you want your virtual assistant to have
The virtual assistant you choose should have the same qualities as your employee if you are planning on collaboration. These are some of the most important ones:
Being communicative
Everyone today looks for this quality in employees. It is even more important with virtual assistants. Your expectations and what you delegate must be clearly understood. Therefore, you want to have all questions and doubts answered before a job or during it. It is important that your virtual assistant asks for clarifications and ambiguities without shame or fear so that the work is completed exactly how you desire. Miscommunications cost a lot to fix.
Reliability
Trust is the foundation of any type of business. In other words, you don’t want any part of your job to be shared beyond you and your virtual assistant. Contractual obligations dictate that data you exchange between you and your virtual assistant must be kept confidential. In other words, you need to ensure that the virtual assistant is handling the task at the same standard of quality as you.
Desire to learn
If one holds a strong desire, learning something new is not difficult. Although you may not use the same tools, a virtual assistant can learn to use those tools you do or suggest those they think will be useful for your future work. Keeping up with your business development, each VA will learn and grow with you.
Organization
A virtual assistant could help you in your business. If you are looking for someone who can’t organize themselves in business and creates more chaos than good, you don’t need that person. An assistant can manage your email, organize meetings, and help you keep track of your calendar – whether it is business or personal.
Sincerity
Since honesty is of greatest importance in everyday life, it also is in this instance in your relationship with the virtual assistant. Having this feature is something that a virtual assistant will also expect from you. Be honest about your thoughts and expectations, and expect the same from your virtual assistant. It is possible to complete every project in a quality manner if you work without having a “fig in your pocket”.
If you are planning to collaborate with a virtual assistant, how can you be sure it has all the features listed? Get to know each other. Virtual assistants usually offer two weeks of trial work to see how well they work. Next, determine if they are meeting your expectations and have completed the tasks within the agreed-upon deadline.
Adding a virtual assistant to your daily routine is something you are still looking for? We would be delighted to meet and discuss the possibilities.