Looking To Hire A Virtual Assistant? Here’s Everything You Should Know

Virtual Assistants are the new wildfire for every single business organization-whether big or small. To get in-depth knowledge on why and how you should hire a virtual assistant, here’s a complete guide for you.

Hiring a virtual assistant (VA) for your business will help you reclaim all those hours that you waste in doing admin tasks when, in reality, that could be the time you put to your best use and reap benefits out of your talent. Imagine with all that time in your hand, and you can build a pool of clientele, think about ways to make more money out of your business, or even enjoy some free time.

A virtual assistant gives support from a remote location. The assistance is remote, tasks are completed online, and the assistance they usually provide can vary. These tasks generally include categorizing emails, research, data entry, any form of social media updates, analysis, calendar planning, editing sound/videos, and so on. Most of the tasks handled by a VA are admin-related and not-so-critical.

Typically a best virtual assistant is a freelancer who works for multiple clients at the same time. As the virtual assistant is self-employed, they generally don’t have the same rights as full-time employees, so for a business, it actually signifies less paperwork, forms, and taxes to complete. Doesn’t that sound great?

Before delving right into how a recruiter should hire a virtual assistant, let’s take a quick look at the benefits of having one.

Read More: 7 Tips For Hiring Best Remote Employees

Benefits Of Having A Virtual Assistant

A VA can actually make your life a lot easier than it already is. Here’s a list of benefits that virtual assistant services can actually get you:

• VAs are available outside of normal work hours, have no minimum hour commitment, and are only paid for the hours of work they provide to a company
• Client confidentiality is highly crucial, and VAs will treat your business like your own
• Your work which otherwise took innumerable hours to get done, will henceforth get completed on time or sometimes even way before the deadline
• VAs work from their own office space and therefore you don’t have to take that extra pain of arranging a workplace for them
• Using a virtual assistant for your business can assure you of the very best standard of customer service and professionalism

Follow These 4 Steps To Hire A Virtual Administrative Assistant

Recruitment is all about hiring suitable candidates for the respective client or company, but in the process of doing so, if you end up wasting time and resources, then you might just fail at the job that you’re doing. Your hiring manager will ask you to get an Applicant Tracking System to smoothen out the hiring process or probably warn you not to commit the common hiring mistakes. The rest depends all upon you! Similarly, outsourcing a virtual assistant can look easy (just like how you thought the process of hiring would be), but it’s one of the most significant hires that you’re going to make.

Once you hire your first VA, you can create new roles in your business and hire more effective team leaders.

1. Keep A Note Of The Tasks You Want To Redistribute

Make a list of all the tasks and processes that you intend to transfer to your VA. Since these are the tasks that a member of the company is already doing, ask them to create a guide for the smooth transitioning process. If you’re hiring a Specialized VA, document the outcomes you want them to perform instead of providing them with specific tasks.

2. Write A Suitable Job Description

Once you’ve created the list of tasks and the guide that you need to send to your newly hired VA, now is the time to craft that suitable job description.

Your job description must include the following:

• Background information about the company/business
• Level of education, relevant work experience, and/or skills required
• List of duties and responsibilities they will be performing
• List of specific apps, tools, and software they will be using or require prior knowledge about

3. Post The Job, Review Applications & Schedule Interviews

After creating a suitable job description, you now have to post it online and start reviewing the applications that you’re receiving. If you’re not willing to use LinkedIn or other platforms as such, you can use a VA directory to outsource your candidate too.

Below is a list of best directories and websites that can be helpful to recruiters when hiring a VA:

• Virtual Assistant Assistant
• Mr Outsource
• Priority VA
• Virtual Staff Finder
• QuickMonday

As your Applicant Tracking System narrows down and schedules interviews with each suitable candidate, don’t just simply question them about their work experience and skills they have harnessed. Ask them about their goals, what they like to do when free, how they like to work, how they prefer to be managed, and so on. Perhaps most crucially, ask them about their morals and beliefs. Several personality tests are available online that can help you with choosing a suitable VA in numerous ways.

4. Provide The Best Candidate With a Trial Period

Choose the best candidate for the job from the pool of CVs that were narrowed down and the numerous interviews that you had conducted. Start them off on a trial period, which can range from anywhere between 30, 60, to even 90 days. A trial period gives your virtual assistant added incentive to do a fabulous job for you, discerning that it will drive to a permanent role in the respective company. As a professional, you can’t skip the process of making them sign a suitable agreement too.

A lot of entrepreneurs believe that they can do everything themselves, and with a lack of efficiency, they often remain at the risk of burning out. Now that you know the basics of why a business needs a Virtual Assistant and the steps a recruiter can follow to hire one, go ahead and recruit one and grow your business.