Top Five Things To Look For When Hiring A Virtual Assistant
Do you also feel entangled with mundane tasks at work? In a current time-crunched world, the key to victory is making the most of your time. Let’s face it, as much as we would like to take care of all aspects of our business, we are not superheroes. These are tasks that take time and energy but, frankly, are better managed by someone else so you can focus on other vital things in your company. We should only have to handle the tasks that move the needle and delegate trivial functions to a virtual assistant. But, how do we go about hiring the right virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant is a self-employed independent worker who delivers administrative or technical services to a client while operating remotely, outside the client’s place of business. They typically help with tasks that take up significant time for their clients, such as scheduling meetings and appointments. Having a virtual assistant is a strategic decision that will allow you to reduce costs, improve productivity, enhance work quality, and have flexibility in your business. But, how to go about hiring the right one.
To help simplify this process, we have compiled a list of the top five things to look for when hiring a virtual assistant.
1. Identify the tasks you want outsourced
The first step is determining the tasks or services you want to be outsourced. And in case you are not sure of the functions, you wish to delegate. You can start with basic administrative services, including email filtering, calendar management, phone handling and appointment setting. Once you are more satisfied and confident with the Virtual assistant, you can slowly add more tasks or hire a second one.
2. Make a list of skills you want in a virtual assistant
It’s helpful to create a list of skills you want in a virtual assistant. There are two kinds of skills to look for: Hard skills include proficiency in spreadsheets and prolific in accounting software. Soft skills include leadership, punctuality, analytical, meticulous, organized. The specified skills will become the basis for picking the best virtual assistant qualification process.
3. Qualify at Every step of the selection process
The last thing you want is to employ a virtual assistant who goes through their checklist without investing time in providing quality work. The best virtual assistants are those who pay attention to details. They read instructions carefully to lower the risk of making errors. Conduct due diligence: review online profiles and identify potential red flags, do a simple search to see what you can find on the applicant.
4. Create a shortlist of candidates
Avoid hiring the first person you speak to; it’s not because they may not be perfect, but by hiring right away, you deprive yourself of the benefit of comparison through skill testing and interviews. When you weigh contenders in the different stages of selection, you are separating the wheat from the chaff. The ongoing process of elimination enables you to pick the best Virtual Assistant for your business.
5. Follow the 80-20 rule
Hiring the candidate with the most tenure and impressive credentials will not assure you the best Virtual Assistant. The 80-20 Rule means hiring a candidate based on 80% personality and 20% technical and fundamental qualifications. The theory behind the rule is that one can train anyone committed to the job to perform optimum proficiency. But a person whose values and personality traits are contrary to your own will never be productive regardless of their qualifications.
If you’re looking for a Virtual Assistant serving Clients across Canada, contact Assistify Virtual Assistants. We provide services to entrepreneurs and small business owners in various service fields. We customize our solutions to fit your needs by offering hourly rates or the option to purchase monthly blocks of time. Our goal is to ensure that your needs are met.
To learn more about our services, please click here. If you have any questions about virtual assistant solutions, get in touch with us by clicking here.