Questions about hiring virtual assistants

Hiring the right virtual assistant

While the right kind of virtual assistant can work wonders for an organization, the task of finding such people is tough in itself. In fact, there have been many cases where the wrong choices have led those who hire to never work with such people again. When you’re looking at hiring a VA for your organization, ask yourself these questions, so that you are able to make a good choice.

How quickly does the VA respond to your request before hiring?

If you’ve sent a query to the VA and you don’t get a response within the next 24 hours, this definitely isn’t a good sign.  Hire a VA who is responsive and attentive to your calls. In fact, look for this during the initial query days or trial run itself. Find an assistant who matches your personality and seems to have a keener understanding of your requirements.

How are the skill-sets of the VA?

Look for good skill sets when hiring a virtual assistant. Asking for samples of the kind of work you expect from them can be a great way to do so. Alternatively, if they have the right qualifications to help them in the line, it indicates that they should be able to undertake your work too. This way you will be sure that you have the kind of quality you are looking for.

Does the VA have prior work experience in the line?

While suitable qualifications are a good place to start looking, prior work experience can be a great asset too. This would mean that the VA you want to hire has worked on similar projects before and thus would be able to undertake your work too. Testimonials from clients are a great value addition in such cases.

How are the work ethics of the VA?

This is another important area of concern, though it is often overlooked. A good assistant shows an enthusiasm to learn and would be willing to go beyond the realm of what he or she already knows. Also, they would take ownership of the mistakes they make and would be open with you about how they are progressing on the work you provided them with. This means that they would be asking more questions until they are clear on the concepts. They would also show transparency in the way they work.

How can you account for the work done by the VA?

This is a two-way street and while the VA should know what is expected from him or her, you as a client should be able to measure the work done too. So is the VA dedicated to you for a fixed number of hours per day, would you want them to log in and log out at the needed time or are they fulfilling tasks allocated to them every day.  Most VAs have their own formats or options to make the work they do accountable. Look at them and if you aren’t entirely pleased with the options, they could also work out a means of customizing them for you.