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The Survival Guide to Hiring a Virtual Assistant

May 8, 2009

Several of my clients have come to me with their individual experiences of hiring a VA – Some good, some bad, and some very ugly….

So what are they doing right, and what are they doing wrong? There may be several reasons why one arrangement could have been considered as “couldn’t be better”, while another was simply “stress and aggravation”. It might be the VA or it might be the employer, or the circumstance could be caused by both. If you are thinking of hiring your first virtual assistant, be sure to follow these basic rules of survival.

Rule # 1 – Evaluate your work. Start considering the bigger picture, and ask yourself, what can you outsource which keeps getting put to the bottom or your ‘To Do’ list? What causes you the most frustration? What things do you really like and what do you usually stay away from? With every task you undertake, always ask yourself this question, “Could a VA be doing this instead of me?”

For instance, if you’re marketing your online business and submitting articles for the primary purpose of creating wealth, this can take up quite a bit of time, and you’re much better off outsourcing this work to someone else while personally working on tasks which only you can do. Other outsourced tasks may include networking, managing affiliates, research, web development, email marketing, bookkeeping and much more… Before hiring, make sure you are clear on what you would like to achieve. Perfect your rules and the processes of your work before introducing a VA into your business.

Money Saving Tip: While evaluating, it would be wise to consider not only what you can delegate, but also eliminate. Is every one of your tasks necessary? Can some aspects of your work be automated? A good VA should be able to assist you with automating your business. I know – as a VA myself, when dealing with several projects and clients simultaneously, a VA can soon perfect a multi-tasking state of mind!

Rule # 2 – Take the plunge and start hiring (we usually charge by the hour). If you have little or no experience with commanding a virtual worker – there’s no time like the present! Most VA’s work on a “pay as you go” hourly rate. Start by assigning menial or repetitive jobs which need doing, and test out at least a few VA’s before making any sort of commitment to one in particular.

Rule # 3 – Know how to assign your tasks. Many VA’s will have their own systems and methods for working with their clients. Consider these methods carefully from the beginning, and ensure their particular way of working is acceptable to your requirements. If you are someone who likes to deal with your VA on the phone, and he or she prefers to deal with clients through email, then that VA is not the best match for you. Generally, when assigning any tasks to your VA, delegate only one task at a time, for example, send individual emails rather than 6 tasks on a single email. This way each task can be completed, responded to and closed.

A good task assignment should be made up of 3 things. 1) A title or reference. 2) A project brief or task description. 3) A timescale and deadline – e.g. spend a maximum of 2 hours, to be completed on dd/mm.

Try to set your deadlines in advance, and when using a solo VA, make this your golden rule – one person can only do so much. If you employ a VA who leads a highly trained specialist support team, it’s much more likely that they will be able to meet tough deadlines. If assigning multiple tasks, always set an order of priority.

Rule # 4 – Common fears – and how to overcome them.

- Confidentiality. All good VA’s will have a Privacy Policy and/or Confidentiality Agreement. When working with a VA, electronic business is the most common practice. Make sure your VA has sufficient security measures in place to keep your valuable information safe.

- Finance. Never give your VA your debit card for online transactions. Credit card charges can more often than not be easily reversed, however debit cards work slightly differently, resulting in issues being much harder to resolve.

- Passwords and Logins. If your VA will be accessing websites and online systems on your behalf, then wherever possible, create a unique login for your VA. Problems can be more easily identified and dealt with when you know the specific user who was logged in at any point in time. Also, if you’re one of those people who tends to use the same passwords for various applications, these passwords can remain undisclosed.

- Leap of faith. More often than not, letting go is the hardest thing of all. You know how you like to do things, you have perfected your work ethic, and now you are going to just hand it over to someone else. There are only so many hours in the day, and unless you want to spend the entirety of every day working, outsourcing is the most cost effective way to stay productive while freeing up your time to do other things. Hiring a good VA who can understand your business, your work, and above all understand you, can be one of the most rewarding decisions you ever make.

Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, an Experienced Executive Virtual Assistant who collaborates with businesses and individuals with the sole aim of accomplishing their professional goals. Want to learn more about these comprehensive online business building success strategies? Join the Campaign for FREE Virtual Assistance right now!

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