The advent of technology is quickly revolutionizing business strategies, and the rapid growth of the virtual assistant business model is a testament to that. Business Research Insights reports that the global virtual assistant market size is expected to reach $8.6 billion by 2028, making it one of the fastest-growing industries currently.
Virtual Assistants are proven to increase productivity, reduce costs, and overall increase company profits. Global entrepreneurs are racing to hire the best VAs for themselves, and in this competitive rat race, you need to have expert guidance to know all about the Virtual Assistant business.
In this VA hiring guide, we are going to cover how to hire a virtual assistant. This step-by-step guide will cover what a virtual assistant is, the responsibilities of a VA, the key benefits of hiring one, and the steps you need to follow to get the perfect VA for your needs.
Keep reading to find out expert tips on the common mistakes to avoid when hiring your virtual assistant, and the skills you should be looking for!
Before learning how to hire a Virtual Assistant, we need to break down what a Virtual Assistant is. A Virtual Assistant is an independent contractor hired by companies who can provide administrative, logistical, and all other necessary support, from outside the client’s office. Virtual Assistants, as per the job title, operate primarily remotely.
Virtual Assistants handle all sorts of responsibilities, from scheduling appointments and keeping track of emails and calendars, to bookkeeping, handling accounts, and communicating with clients.
They can also handle marketing, including coming up with different marketing strategies and social media management. Companies often entrust Virtual Assistants with client communication and customer support.
There are broadly two categories of VAs:
- General
- Specialized
General Virtual Assistants for entrepreneurs handle day-to-day administrative and logistical tasks, such as bookkeeping, appointment scheduling, responding to emails, etc., while specialized virtual assistants are experts in specific fields who can do related tasks, such as Real Estate Virtual Assistants.
Why should you start looking into hiring a Virtual Assistant immediately? Numerous research articles, statistics, and industry experts have proven the many benefits of hiring VAs.
Virtual assistant benefits range from increasing productivity and efficiency, lowering company costs, greater flexibility, and increasing innovation by focusing on core business tasks. Let’s analyze the key benefits below.
Here are three key benefits of hiring a virtual assistant:
Cost Savings
Virtual assistants are not full-time employees; they are independent contractors. This distinction between VA vs Employee means you will be hiring VAs on an hourly basis or purely based on the project you are working on.
This reduces overhead costs and the amount you need to pay since they are not working on a full-time salary, but rather on the hours they have worked. This is much more cost-effective compared to hiring full-time employees.
Additionally, virtual assistants are already experts in their field. Hence, you don’t need to pay exorbitant amounts to train them. The training and onboarding costs are significantly lower when you have open access to a global marketplace of experts who are waiting to be hired.
Flexibility
One of the best aspects of hiring a virtual assistant is the increased flexibility. You can easily manage both long-term and short-term projects, and quickly hire VAs to fulfill the demands of those projects.
You can scale up your business operations rapidly and hire VAs to keep up with sudden bursts of increased demands. Since VAs work remotely, they are also often available at odd hours, which increases your flexibility to complete projects faster.
This, combined with increased productivity and cost savings, can help you rapidly scale up your business.
Your VAs can be part-time, project-based, or only on-hire for specific tasks. This increases the flexibility of their working hours and also allows companies to operate multiple projects at the same time.
Focus on Core-Business Tasks
The biggest advantage of hiring Virtual Assistants for entrepreneurs is the increase in productivity. VAs can take care of the day-to-day administrative and logistical tasks on your behalf. You don’t have to worry about repetitive tasks like scheduling appointments, organizing emails, or 24/7 customer support anymore.
This allows team leaders and project managers to focus more on core business and operational tasks, leading to an increase in productivity. In the long-term, this is beneficial for innovation, and having more profits for the company.
How to Hire a Virtual Assistant - The Steps
We’ve covered the core responsibilities and key benefits of hiring virtual assistants for entrepreneurs. In this section of our VA hiring guide, we’ll look into the step-by-step breakdown of how to hire a virtual assistant for your company.
1. Define Your Needs
The first step in your journey of knowing how to hire a virtual assistant is to define your needs. As mentioned earlier, there are different types of VAs available for clients with various needs. No VA can be a one-size-fits-all solution for all companies, however, there are specialized VAs who can provide profession-specific support.
You need to assess your company and identify the gaps in your system. What processes can be optimized? What repetitive tasks can you outsource to an independent contractor? Where are the scopes for improvement?
Understanding your needs will help you know what type of VA you require. Do you need someone to provide administrative and logistical support? Do you need someone who can provide top-notch customer support? Or are there other areas that require improvement?
Defining your needs makes the job more approachable for future VAs who can apply, and clear communication is necessary. When you have a clear definition of your expectations and what you’re looking for from a VA, you’re likely to get the best applicants for that job.
2. Set Your Budget
Different roles require different budgets. You need to set your budget according to your requirements, and realistic expectations of what the company can afford to spend on a VA.
Firstly, decide on a project timeline. Will this be a long-term or short-term project? Based on that, you can allocate a budget for the VA. You should also determine whether you need a part-time or full-time VA to help you out. Knowing these factors will allow you to budget better.
Secondly, you should look into the different price ranges for VAs. TVA rates vary depending on several factors. More experienced VAs typically charge higher rates. Generalized VAs are usually more affordable since they don’t offer specialized services.
According to many articles, the rates of VAs differ depending on the service offered. In the US market, for instance, Real Estate VAs can ask for anywhere between $35-$45/ hour, while a virtual customer support assistant would ask anywhere between $8-$25/hour.
The exact rate depends on the expertise level of the virtual assistant. Upwork for instance states that their VAs range anywhere from $10-20/hour. Additionally, the rates vary geographically. For example, if you’re hiring VAs from India, the rates may be $2.5-$4/hour, while in the Philippines you might expect to pay around $5/hour.
3. Where to Find a Virtual Assistant?
There are broadly two categories of spaces where you can find VAs for hire. The first are freelance platforms. Platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer can provide you access to hundreds and thousands of freelance VAs who are looking for work. The second is dedicated agencies that provide virtual assistants to clients.
There are pros and cons to each one. Let’s look at the first category. The first advantage of using online freelancing websites is the vast array of options available. The online VA market is highly competitive, and as a result, it’s oversaturated with VAs seeking work.
The second advantage is that the options may be more affordable. Since there are VAs with varying degrees of expertise on these online platforms, you will find a more distributed price range, with plenty of affordable options to choose from.
However, these online platforms also come with their share of cons. Firstly, you cannot verify the VA’s skill level before hiring, and there are security risks involved in hiring someone who hasn’t been properly vetted. Additionally, since the online spaces are so oversaturated with VAs, you may find it difficult to sift through those applications to find the right fit.
Hence, our prop tip would be to use dedicated agencies who can link you up with VAs. The benefit of using agencies is that they provide vetted, secure, and professional VAs, minimizing security risks.
Additionally, the best agencies already have specialized VAs, so you don’t have to separately train them. Not to mention, you won’t have to create systems for task delegation, as those are often in place in these agencies as well, and there are absolutely no security risks. If you’re in the market for reliable VA agencies, check out Green Feather Technologies for more information on VAs who can maximize your efficiency!
4. Conduct The Interview
Once you have decided to create a detailed job description and linked up with a reliable agency, get ready to conduct interviews! You will have to carefully screen the resumes, portfolios, and profiles of prospective candidates. Additionally, you should conduct carefully structured interviews.
Your interview questions should accurately assess the skills, capabilities, work experience, and expectations of your VA. Furthermore, you should discuss working hours, time zone preferences, and offer flexibility to your VA. Not to mention, the interview is a perfect place to communicate about communication tools you will expect the VA to be using.
You can assess the skills and capabilities through specific analytical test questions, or standardized tests. Furthermore, you can take up a trial period with the prospective VA. A trial period is when they work on a limited-scope project for a set amount of time, allowing both of you to understand each other’s expectations and accurately assess the VA’s potential.
During the trial run, you can assess your VA’s analytical and critical thinking abilities, communication skills, ability to work under pressure, and maturity in handling constructive criticism, to determine compatibility.
5. Onboarding and Training
Once you have found a ‘perfect VA’ match for your company, you should begin the onboarding and training period. If you’re working with an agency, chances are that your VA has already been trained. Regardless, it’s recommended to provide some basic onboarding training for your VAs.
Outline the terms and conditions of your arrangement and provide clear onboarding training materials to your VA. Your training should cover the job’s basic requirements, clear expectations for the VA, and details about any tools or software they need to learn to perform their tasks effectively. Additionally, they should be well-versed in the communication tools you use in the company.
Discuss expectations of working hours, project deadlines, and communication guidelines clearly with your VA. They should also have a solid idea of performance evaluations, metrics, and any other necessary information from your side.
6. Manage and Monitor
If you have successfully followed all the previous steps, then congratulations! You now know pretty much everything there is to know about how to hire a virtual assistant. Once your VA is onboard, the next step is to continuously monitor and provide feedback.
There should be constant, open communication between you. You should regularly provide feedback on their performance and guide them toward improvement if needed. Always have an open communication channel, and provide constructive feedback to maintain a positive working relationship.
Additionally, you can use tools to track, monitor, and manage your VA’s work, including Trello, Asana, and Time Doctor. You should implement continuous monitoring and continuous improvement strategies to ensure the best working standards. Additionally, be open to adjusting their responsibilities and workload as needed.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a VA
Another important consideration to think about is whether you are making a common mistake when hiring VAs. There are several steps you should not take during this entire process!
- The most common mistake is setting unclear expectations. If you don’t have a detailed job description, or you don’t communicate clearly during the interview about what you’re expecting from your VA, both of you will have trouble moving forward. Poor communication will never lead to a positive working relationship.
- Secondly, you should not micromanage your VA. There needs to be a certain level of trust that you put in your virtual assistant. Delegate the tasks properly to them, and monitor and manage as required. You don’t need to look over every little detail!
- You should also set clear expectations about performance management. If you don’t set clear performance expectations, project deadlines, and proper guidance on how to meet those expectations, your VA won’t be able to deliver.
- Most importantly, you should always strive to create a positive working environment. No one will respond well to a lack of boundaries, overlooking working conditions, or ignoring cultural considerations. You should provide an empathetic, positive, and communicative workspace for your VA.
Top Skills to Look for in a Virtual Assistant
An ideal VA should possess many important skills. It’s crucial to understand these skills before thinking about how to hire a virtual assistant.
- Tech-savvy: Firstly, they should be tech-savvy. VAs should possess basic knowledge of communication platforms (Zoom, Google Meets), productivity tools and software (Asana, Notion), and collaboration tools (Google Docs).
Additional technical proficiency like WordPress knowledge is always a bonus. They should also have an idea about organizational tools, email management, and calendar coordination. - Time-management Skills: VAs should always have impeccable time-management skills. They should deliver projects on time and strictly adhere to deadlines. Not to mention, they should possess top-notch communication skills.
- Detail-oriented: Ideally, your VA should always pay close attention to detail. This will ensure all your projects are completed with utmost passion and perfection. Not to mention, they should be creative, reliable, and self-motivated.
Having basic knowledge about technical writing, copywriting, and social media marketing will always be a bonus to have, although those are not mandatory skills, and can easily be taught!
Conclusion
Corporations are currently competing to have the best virtual assistant. In this highly saturated field, it’s in your best interest to understand how to hire a virtual assistant who can revolutionize your company.
If you haven’t already, you should hire a virtual assistant to access lowered costs, increased productivity and flexibility in your work. You should start by defining your needs and budget, partnering up with an agency, and then slowly conducting the interviews and onboarding.
Make sure you partner with the right agency, and don’t forget to check out Green Feather Technologies’ Virtual Assistant services to find your perfect virtual assistant today!
