There are several models to use when employing a virtual assistant for your business. These range from a
- Manage-everything-yourself (DIY) model where you employ a VA directly, train and manage them yourself and you are solely responsible for their productivity.
- A dedicated managed virtual assistant where a service provider recruits and manages your VA, manages your relationship to affect maximum productivity.
- Pay per project model where you engage a VA or company online and pay each time for the project you wish carried out.
Regardless of which VA service you ultimately decide is right for you – you must ensure that you ‘hire’ the right one. Your selection will involve the same assessment factors whether you have a dedicated managed virtual assistant, a DIY model or Pay per project service.
Key Takeaways
What should you look for?
- Great Attention to Detail
- Attitude & Aptitude
- Energy & Enthusiasm
- Culture Fit for Team Longevity
- Communication & Problem Solving
- Coach-ability for Feedback
- Reliability for Long-Term Fit.
Surely I need to hire somebody with experience in my industry?
Not necessarily, it depends on the tasks you need your virtual assistant to carry out for you.
If the tasks are administrative then you need good attention to detail not necessarily someone with industry knowledge or experience.
It’s not about having experience in your industry – the KEY to an effective virtual assistant is not just that they are going to carry out your tasks competently and quickly, it’s that they score highly in the above ‘key takeaway’ areas AND carry out your tasks the same as you would if you were doing them.
Hiring the wrong person to work with you, or your team, can have a devastating effect on the entire outcome you are trying to achieve. It may even culminate in increased errors and creating the ‘double workload’ effect – leaving you, or your team, with the thought of ‘I might as well have done this myself in the first place and that outsourcing doesn’t work!’
Understanding the culture of your virtual assistant is very important as well as them understanding the Aussie direct but playful culture – if your VA doesn’t ‘get you’ it can cause problems down the track.
Similarly, for example, if you don’t take on board that VA’s don’t always naturally ask questions when they are stuck, it can cause you frustration. Managing the cultural fit is not difficult but the time investment to do so will pay dividends in the long term.
It is paramount that virtual assistants feel they are working with you, not just for you – otherwise you risk that over time, your VA becomes bored of the work and leaves.
It is paramount that virtual assistants feel they are working ‘with’ you not just ‘for’ you.
