10 Skills Every Virtual Assistant Needs to Have

Virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular among businesses looking to improve customer experience and reduce costs. However, finding the best VA for your business isn’t always easy. Here are some of the qualities you should look for in a great virtual assistant.

1. Self-Motivation

A good virtual assistant needs to know how to prioritize tasks. To ensure they’re working efficiently, ask them about their daily schedule and goals. You might even set up weekly meetings where you review progress together.

2. Communication Skills

Communication is key for any relationship, including those with customers and colleagues. Good remote workers are skilled communicators. Ask them questions about themselves, such as why they chose this career path. This way, you can determine whether they’re comfortable talking to people or prefer to remain behind the scenes.

You’ll want to find out what type of communication style works best for your virtual assistant. Does she prefer texting over emailing? Or does she enjoy chatting via video calls? Find out ahead of time so that you can adjust accordingly.

3. Multitasking Ability

Good virtual assistants can multitask well. They can handle admin tasks, repetitive tasks, and multiple projects simultaneously without losing focus. They’re also flexible enough to adapt quickly to changing priorities. For example, they could switch gears mid-project to answer support tickets, respond to emails, or update social media posts.

Virtual Assistants are here to make our lives easier. They’re there to take care of mundane tasks like scheduling meetings, booking flights, sending emails, creating reports, etc

4. Personality-match

A great virtual assistant needs to fit into your company culture and your employees’ personalities.

5. Knowledge and familiarity with remote software

You’ll want to find out about their knowledge and skill sets. How much experience do they have working within your industry? What types of software programs have they used? These are some important things to consider.

6. Reliability

Reliability is essential if you’re looking for help with anything — whether it’s common tasks like scheduling a meeting or email marketing and email correspondence. You don’t want to waste time trying to figure out how to find someone who can do something for you. Instead, look for people who are consistently good at what they do. They might not always be able to meet deadlines, but they’ll make sure everything goes smoothly.

A reliable VA will save you time and money in the long run because you won’t have to spend hours searching for someone who can help you. Plus, you’ll avoid having to pay hourly rates for work that could otherwise be completed in a few minutes.

Make sure you know exactly what you want before asking anyone for help. If you’re not clear about what you need, you’ll end up wasting everyone’s time. And if you’re vague, you risk being disappointed.

7. Attention to Detail

A good virtual assistant should know what it takes to make sure you don’t miss anything important. They should be able to handle the small stuff like scheduling meetings, tracking down documents, creating reminders, and answering emails. If you want a VA who can do everything, you’ll probably end up paying a lot more money. But if you hire someone who knows what they are doing and isn’t afraid to ask questions, you could save yourself some money and headaches.

8. Adaptable

A virtual assistant must be flexible enough to change course based on client feedback. For example, when speaking to potential clients during phone calls, a VA should be able to distinguish how the conversation is going and take initiative to steer an uninterested customer towards a positive outcome.

9. Planning and Scheduling Skills

A good virtual assistant should know what it takes to plan and manage tasks. You want someone who knows how to set up automatic reminders, organize your calendar, and keep track of everything you need to do. If you’re looking for a virtual assistant, make sure he or she can handle scheduling and planning.

10. Dependability

A reliable VA should communicate well, provide clear instructions and guidance about their availability and progress. Good communication skills come in hand when handling several projects at once. You want someone who is honest and trustworthy. If they are willing to work for free, it’s a red flag.

Ask about their availability, communication style, and whether they are able to multitask. Be wary of people who say they can do everything, because they often cannot. They might be good at one thing, but not another.

A great virtual assistant needs to be able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously while maintaining focus and composure. You want to hire people who are passionate about helping others succeed. People who are excited to work with you and your team because they love what they do.