Why Hire a Virtual Assistant?
A virtual assistant is a professional who provides administrative, technical or creative assistance from a remote location. Services can include personal or business support, such as handling email, making travel arrangements, online research, social media management and more.
Tips for Hiring the Right VA
The virtual assistant industry is growing rapidly as technology advances and more people work remotely. Businesses of all sizes can benefit from the services of a virtual assistant to help them save time and money. If you’re thinking of hiring a virtual assistant, here are some helpful tips.
1. Hire a competent candidate
The first step to hiring your first virtual assistant is to find the perfect person for the job. Be sure to take time when looking at candidates’ resumes and portfolios to ensure that they have the skills needed for the position. Choosing someone with previous experience will require less training, but a fresh candidate may be more motivated.
2. Provide a detailed job description
To give your virtual assistant a good idea of what you expect from them, create a clear and thorough job description. List all of the responsibilities you would like your assistant to perform as well as any requirements for the position, such as education or previous experience. Include the hours that you would like your assistant to work each week.
3. Offer competitive compensation
As with any job, pay is important to virtual assistants and can affect how dedicated they are to their work. To attract quality candidates, offer a salary range that is fair for this type of position. Review virtual assistants’ past projects to get an idea of how much time and money they saved their previous employers, then set your salary accordingly.
4. Send new hires on training sessions
To ensure that all virtual assistants are operating on the same page, send all new employees to training courses on business protocols and computer programs. These sessions will help your virtual assistant learn everything he or she needs to know about your business, which will lead to more efficient work.
5. Build strong relationships
It’s important for virtual assistants to feel that they are respected and valued by their employers. So, try to build a relationship with them that is both professional and friendly. Take the time to learn about your virtual assistant on social media so that the two of you can connect on a more personal level.
Is a virtual Administrative assistant right for my business?
So, you think hiring a virtual assistant is out of your budget? Think again! A lot of people believe that outsourcing administrative work to a VA would cost them an arm and a leg. It can be less expensive than you might imagine.
In fact, the average hourly rate for US-based VAs ranges from $10-$50 per hour – which means that even if you have just one task delegated to someone else each week, the savings could add up quickly. Plus, there are many other reasons why hiring a virtual assistant can pay off in the long run: they save time on tedious tasks so you’ll have more time for bigger projects; they can help with skills or expertise that aren’t part of your company’s efforts; and they can help you maintain a 24/7 work schedule.
If you’re still not convinced, here are some more reasons why hiring a VA can benefit your business:
- Virtual assistants can help with a wide range of tasks, from answering customer inquiries to managing your social media accounts.
- They can also take care of other administrative tasks, such as bookkeeping, data entry, and billing.
- By hiring a virtual assistant, you can free up time to focus on more important tasks that will help grow your business.
- Virtual assistants save time on tedious tasks so you’ll have more time for bigger projects; they can help with skills or expertise that aren’t part of your company’s efforts; and they can help you maintain a 24/7 work schedule.
- Hiring a VA pays off in the long run – they can increase your efficiency, take care of daily tasks, save time for more important projects, and manage your social media accounts.
- Plus, it’s not as expensive as you think – the average hourly rate for US-based VAs ranges from $10-$50 per hour.
- This career choice is growing fast. It’s predicted to rise by 38% in 2020—faster than other jobs on the market!
- So if you want to take your business to the next level without decreasing your productivity, hiring a virtual assistant could be just what you need to succeed.
In the end, the decision to outsource online is all up to you. While there are pros and cons in every situation, it seems that when businesses hire a virtual assistant for their needs, they always find ways to take advantage of this opportunity. The next step is deciding how much time and money you want to invest in finding the right person for the job. Once you have done so, getting started will be so worth it!
Still wondering if a VA is right for you, check out this video!