Do you feel entangled with mundane tasks at work? Do you constantly feel that you aren’t finding enough time for important tasks? If your answer is yes, you aren’t alone. In today’s time-crunched world, the key to success is making the most of your time. Let’s face it, none of us are superhuman and because a day only has 24 hours in it, we should only have to tackle the tasks that move the needle and delegate unimportant tasks to a virtual assistant. But, how do we go about hiring the right virtual assistant?
If you don’t know where to start, we are here to help you with our seven steps we have developed to hiring the right virtual assistant every time.
Step 1- Do You Really Need to Hire a Virtual Assistant?
There is no point in spending time on searching for the right virtual assistant if you don’t have the tasks to delegate. If you are comfortable doing what you are doing and satisfied with the growth of your business, a virtual assistant might not be right for you.
However, if your to-do list is too long to finish in a day and you often take your work home, then hiring the right virtual assistant could be the help you need.
The main thing is you should do the tasks that are directly related to the sales and growth of your business. Mundane tasks, such as sending email newsletters, planning business trips, or conducting online research can be easily delegated.
2- List Tasks That You Will Delegate
Once you’ve determined a virtual assistant will lessen your workload, the next step is to identify the tasks to delegate. As, these days, the right virtual assistant can also handle specialized tasks; you can reduce a significant amount of your workload—who isn’t excited about that?
Following are some common tasks that you can assign to a virtual assistant:
- Online data entry work
- Social media posting
- Online research
- Travel arrangements
- Replying to customers’ queries
Making a list of tasks to outsource will not only help you find the right virtual assistant but also help you save time.
3- Start Looking for Virtual Assistants
After preparing a list of tasks, you need to start looking for a virtual assistant. There are two ways to hire a virtual assistant – either you hire a freelance virtual assistant, or you can opt for an agency setting.
Hiring a freelance virtual assistant can definitely save you some bucks, but you should always go for the agency setting if you want a more professional approach without any glitch.
I’m not raising any flag on the professionalism of freelance virtual assistants. You can find a super professional virtual assistant through freelance route, too. But for you that, you need to do your due diligence.
4- Ask for References When Hiring the Right Virtual Assistant
If you don’t want to go the internet route, reach out to your network and ask for references. Yes, my friend, it works fine. Aren’t we able to hire good employees through references? The same is true for hiring the right virtual assistant. You never know who in your network has a tried and true option that could work for you.
5- Interview Your Virtual Assistant
Regardless of whether you are going to hire a freelance virtual assistant or will go with a virtual assistant agency, you definitely need to take the time to interview your virtual assistant to make sure it’s the right resource for you.
Ask questions like you would in any job interview to assess their skill level with whatever you will need help with. The main objective of interviewing a prospective virtual assistant is to find if he/she can make the cut.
6- Assign a Paid Trial Project
After interviewing your prospective virtual assistant, starting with a paid trial project is an absolute must. Put their skills to the test to really determine if they’re the best hire for your business. Analyze their skill level with the task but also the time it takes them to complete the task. Perfection and speed are the name of the game when it comes to finding the right virtual assistant.
7- Seal the Deal
You have found the right virtual assistant, you’ve checked all the boxes on your list and are satisfied with your choice. Now comes the final part—seal the deal with a contract. It is imperative that you clearly define the job and expectations to rule out any possibility of confusion. This can save you from headaches further down the road.
Hiring the right virtual assistant is not an easy task. But if you’re struggling to keep your head above water and could use some help, it’s a viable option. By following the pointers explained in this article, you will not only find the right virtual assistant but also do it quickly.
If you have any additional tips on this topic, or experience hiring a virtual assistant please share it in the comment section.
