How to Know If You Need a Virtual Assistant
Jan 24, 2023 • 8 min read
Delegating some of your workload frees up time to do things you enjoy. But how do you know whether you need one? There are many different types of virtual assistants out there, each offering unique skills. Some VAs offer basic administrative support, such as scheduling appointments, answering emails, and updating your social media accounts. Others specialize in specific areas, like marketing, customer service, or even accounting. And still, others provide specialized services, like legal advice or bookkeeping.
There are pros and cons to hiring a virtual assistant. On the plus side, they can save you hours every week by taking care of routine tasks. On the downside, you might find yourself spending too much time managing them. So how do you know if you need a virtual assistant? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
1. Do I feel overwhelmed with my current workload?
2. Am I getting behind on important projects?
3. Is delegating something I’ve always wanted to try?
4. Can I afford to pay someone else to handle certain aspects of my life?
5. Are there particular tasks that I want to delegate?
You’ll learn:
- Virtual assistant vs. in-person assistant
- How to Find and Hire a Virtual Assistant
- Using automation to make processes easier to delegate
- What does a virtual assistant do?
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Virtual assistant vs. in-person assistant
A virtual assistant is great if text messaging works best for you. An in-person assistant is better if face-to-face communication is preferred. Both types of assistants are important tools for businesses, but there are some key differences to consider.
For example, the type of questions asked during a call versus those asked via text. Some tasks require a human touch, while others don’t. In addition, it’s possible to hire multiple people to work together as part of a team.
How to Find and Hire a Virtual Assistant
There are many reasons why hiring a virtual assistant might make sense for your business. You can save money, increase productivity, and boost employee morale. But finding the perfect person for the job can be challenging. Here are some tips for identifying the best candidates for your position.
1. Research potential candidates thoroughly.
Before you start interviewing, do extensive background checks on each candidate. Check online profiles such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed. Read reviews left by previous employers. And don’t forget to check out their social media accounts. If someone doesn’t list their phone number, it could mean they’re hiding something.
2. Interview multiple candidates.
Once you’ve identified several qualified individuals, schedule interviews. Don’t just send out one request; try sending three or four different ones over a period of time. This allows you to compare notes and see what works well and what doesn’t.
3. Negotiate the terms of employment.
The most important thing to remember during negotiations is to keep things simple. Ask yourself whether the candidate is worth the cost. For example, does he or she offer unique skills that no one else offers? Will his or her work benefit your business? What are the benefits of working together? How long will the relationship last?
Where to look for a virtual assistant
There are plenty of ways to find a virtual assistant — whether it’s through word of mouth, job boards, or online resources like Upwork and DigiWorks. Another effective method is asking friends and colleagues for recommendations. They know you and trust you already, making them more likely to refer you to someone they think would work out well for both parties.
LinkedIn is a great place to start, since it’s where many professionals keep up with each other. Other places to check out include Facebook groups for your industry. There might even be a group dedicated to virtual assistants specifically.
Another option is to post on sites like Upwork and Fiverr, where freelancers list their skills and availability. This is a good way to see what kinds of projects people are working on, and it gives you a chance to meet potential candidates face-to-face.
What you can expect to pay for a virtual assistant
Entry-level jobs usually pay around 12 to 25 dollars per hour. VAs carrying out higher-level jobs require a higher fee. Speed matters. Some workers might charge less, but or she might take twice as long to complete a task. Experience counts. Hire someone with sufficient experience if you want good work. Many businesses opt to hire VAs from around the world over hiring a local assistant because of the lower hourly rate. .A good online marketplace will help you to put together your needs and find the most qualified candidate based on your requirements. Language barriers and timezones are also factors to take into account when hiring.
Getting ready to delegate
Standard operating procedures (SOP) are critical for any business. These documents outline how employees are supposed to do things within the organization. They include instructions on how to handle customer requests, how to perform routine tasks, and how to communicate with each other.
In addition to SOPs, it’s important to train your new virtual assistant (VA). This includes teaching her how to use the software you want her to work with, and explaining how to find information online. You’ll also want to make sure your VA understands what’s expected of her and how to accomplish those expectations.
Screensharing with a recorded voiceover is a good way to explain how to use your software. For example, screen share videos allow you to show your VA how to navigate menus and access features.
If you’re making a video, you might consider annotating it with keywords or tags to make it easier for your VA to find specific information later. Also, don’t forget to add templates to your list of items to cover. Templates contain prewritten text and images that you can insert into your recordings. This makes creating SOPs faster and easier.
Don’t expect your VA to know everything immediately. They might miss a deadline or deliver something late because she hasn’t mastered every aspect of your system. Patience is key.
Using automation to make processes easier to delegate
Zapier helps you automate tasks across multiple apps and platforms. You can use Zapier to connect apps together. For example, you could send emails automatically whenever someone opens a specific document. Or you could set up a workflow where every time you receive an email, you reply with a thank you note.
You can even set up automated workflows within your favorite apps. For instance, you might want to add a task to Todoist every time you post something on Facebook. With Zapier, you can do just that without having to log into each app separately.
What does a virtual assistant do?
There are no set tasks that a virtual assistant performs, most can carry out a wide range of tasks, with assignments varying depending on the employer. Here are some of the more popular ones:
- Customer support team member
- Social media management, social media strategy running and updating social media accounts, improving your social media presence
- Data entry
- Administrative tasks
- Researching information
- Writing emails, email management, managing the email inbox of multiple people
- Scheduling meetings
- Communicating with potential customers and potential clients
- Personal tasks, personal assistant tasks
- Project management
- Daily tasks, repetitive tasks, low value tasks
- Managing and updating the client list
Remote employee/virtual assistant skills:
- Strong customer service skills
- Effective communication skills, ability to work with communication tools
- Good time management skills (you can use a time tracking tool to track this)
- Specialized experience according to the role, for example, experience with ecommerce, customer service experience and administrative experience.
- Experience with a range of business-related tasks
The key to finding the best virtual assistant for you is understanding what type of help you want. Do you need someone to handle administrative duties, book travel arrangements, manage your calendar, write blog posts, proofread documents or perform market research? Each task requires different skills, so make sure you’re clear about what you need before you begin searching.
Your can also hire VAs to communicate with potential clients in a customer service role and carry out your daily tasks. Hiring a VA allows you to choose the number of hours per day worked, which helps you manage your costs.
Once you know what needs doing, start looking around. There are many sites that allow you to connect with VAs including Upwork, DigiWorks, Freelancer, Guru, PeoplePerHour, etc. As you look into the options, keep in mind that some companies require full-time employees while others prefer part-timers.
If you choose to use one of these platforms, be prepared to provide detailed instructions on how you’d like the job done. Be specific about what you need, and include examples of similar tasks that you’ve completed in the past. Also, be upfront about your expectations; if you’re willing to pay $25 per hour, say so
Hiring a VA from a virtual assistant marketplace or virtual assistant website can help you handle your business’s list of tasks and common tasks, giving you time to focus on your high-value tasks and core business functions.
Ready to build your remote team?
Use the DigiWorks platform to hire, manage, and pay remote talent from all over the world.
Hire a VA today
Using virtual assistant companies or virtual assistant marketplaces like DigiWorks is a great help when looking to hire a virtual assistant. Delegating your repetitive and time-consuming tasks would greatly improve the daily lives of business owners.
When hiring remote team members, the most important thing is that they are vetted. The DigiWorks platform helps business owners build their remote teams with 100% vetted VAs. Speak to us today to find out more!
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About DigiWorks
DigiWorks is an easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses and start ups hire amazing remote talent from around the world. DigiWorks offers a way for you to hire, manage and pay people from all countries. If you find an amazing virtual assistant from Philippines, a content writer from Nigeria, or operations manager from South Africa – manage and pay your entire team from one platform with no hassle.
If you’re looking for a more affordable and sustainable option you might consider making use of a hiring platform like DigiWorks. Virtual assistant companies or platforms like DigiWorks are amazing as they not only match you with pre-vetted and assessed remote workers that can take care of all your business needs but they will also handle all onboarding and payroll needs as well.