Choosing the right Virtual Assistant for your business requires plenty of thought and research. As easy as it would be to just do a quick Google search and click on the top contender, it’s far better to sit down with potential virtual assistants to ensure you’re a good match.
From communication styles to flexibility, skills and expertise and compatibility, every virtual assistant is different. To ensure you’re selecting the right one for your business, consider the aspects below…
How to Choose the Right Virtual Assistant
Understand Your Needs
The first step to choosing the right virtual assistant for your business is less about the virtual assistant themselves and more about you and your business.
Understanding your own needs and having these clearly defined while searching for a virtual assistant is they key to successful appointment. Virtual assistants come in all shapes and sizes, and we all have different skillsets and expertise. Without having a clear idea of what your need your virtual assistant to provide, you run the risk of choosing someone who isn’t the right fit for your business (through no fault of their own!)
For example, if you’re looking for a Virtual Assistant to only cover a few hours a week, a VA looking for a more substantial role might not be the best choice. If you’re looking for someone to help manage your dog grooming business, you won’t need a virtual assistant who has spent the last ten years specialising in supporting estate agents.
Jot down a list of things you’d like to delegate and the qualities a virtual assistant will need to possess to meet your requirements. Only then should you start your search – it’ll save you a lot of time and stress, we promise!
Compatibility
It may sound obvious, but compatibility with your company is key when searching for the right virtual assistant. And that doesn’t just necessarily mean they need to be experienced in your industry. At the end of the day, businesses thrive when their people thrive. When you cultivate a team that can work well together, respect each other and all work towards a common goal, business success skyrockets.
When choosing a virtual assistant, don’t just fill in an enquiry form and hope for the best. Ask for an online or in-person chat to really get a feel for one another’s personalities. This is as beneficial for us as virtual assistants as it is for you as business owners! It helps us get to know you on a personal level and helps us understand your business and the way you like to run it.
These initial conversations ensure both parties are on the same page from the get-go, with real potential for an excellent working relationship. Without doing so, you run the risk of hiring someone who sounds great on paper (and they might be for someone else!) but isn’t necessarily compatible with your business or VA requirements.
Get to know the person first, talk business second!
Communication
Everyone communicates differently, and different forms of communication work for different businesses. If you like to communicate by having weekly online meetings, ensure the virtual assistant you are considering can accommodate this. Or, on the other end of the scale, if you’re the kind of business owner who would prefer to leave a VA to their own devices with check-in emails once in a while, ensure this is clear from your very first meeting.
Miscommunications tend to happen most often when communication channels aren’t aligning. Clearly layout your communication expectations when meeting potential virtual assistants and ensure they’re comfortable with what you’re suggesting, and vice versa.
If you’re chatting with a virtual assistant and suddenly realise their communication style is very different to yours, don’t be afraid to seek out someone else – we won’t be offended! At the end of the day, this is your business, and if anything doesn’t align, it’s best to say so immediately before things go too far.
Skills and Expertise
The term Virtual Assistants spans a huge array of professionals, all with skills and expertise in different areas. Some of us are digital marketing wizards while others live for organising your admin. Some are experts in IT while others have made credit control and finance their speciality.
When choosing a virtual assistant, ensure you’ve seen proven evidence of skills and experience either in your industry or the tasks you require them for. This eliminates the need for any additional training (other than the usual onboarding process) and leaves you rest assured that the parts of your business you’ve chosen to delegate and in skilled, experienced hands.
Options for Flexibility
You may not need your Virtual Assistant all the time. When your business is busy, you may need to ramp up support from your VA. However, when things quieten down, you may need to scale back on support and the amount you’re delegating.
When choosing the right virtual assistant for your business, ensure you chat about flexibility and the potential for scaling up or down. Most virtual assistants are used to this due to their freelance nature, but some are more flexible than others. If you think you’re going to need a large degree of flexibility, select a virtual assistant who can accommodate this. Or, if the support you require is more rigid, find yourself a virtual assistant who can dedicate the hours you need on an ongoing basis.
By discussing this before making a firm decision on your virtual assistant, you’re ensuring you’ll be able to get the support you need, whenever you need it (or not!) before anyone signs on the dotted line.
Virtual Assistant Support at The Edwards Company
Choosing the right Virtual Assistant for your business is essential when it comes to maximising productivity and business efficiency. By considering aspects like communication style, skills and experience and flexibility, you’ll ensure you work with a virtual assistant who can provide exactly what your business needs.
To find our whether virtual assistant support with The Edwards Company could be a good fit for your business, please get in touch with our fab VAs for an informal chat.