Investing in the support of a virtual assistant can be a daunting task. You’re bringing someone else into your carefully orchestrated business, and you want to ensure they’re going to be a good fit before making any commitments. But how?

When searching for the right virtual assistant for your business, there are a range of qualities you should keep your eyes peeled for. Check them out below and apply them to your virtual assistant search…

 

Relevant Skills and Experience

Now, this may fall into the stating the obvious category, but perhaps the most important aspect to consider when choosing a virtual assistant to support your small business is their skills and experience.

Virtual assistants come in all shapes and sizes, and you’ll find that while some offer more generic support services, others specialise in areas like accounting, content creation, credit control or administrative tasks.

Depending on your business needs, you’ll need to ensure that any VA you do select has skills and experience that match the work you need them to take on. Check out their website in detail, review their CV and look into client testimonials to ensure they can provide the appropriate support solutions for your business.

And, don’t be afraid to ask questions! If you’re chatting with a VA who you think may be a good match, ask plenty of questions about their skills and experience relating to your business needs. Ask them to give real-world examples of how they’ve supported other businesses to ensure that you’re both on the same page when it comes to the skills and experience they’ll require.

By ticking off this quality first, you’ve got the basics covered and can move onto ensuring the VA is going to be a good overall match for your business.

 

Adaptability and Problem-Solving

Being able to adapt to changing situations and problem-solve effectively is going to be a key quality needed by any virtual assistant you choose. As a small business owner, you’ll know that this industry is fast-paced and ever-evolving. You have to think on your feet, rising to challenges and solving problems that crop up often with limited resources and time.

A VA who is ready and willing to adapt will move and grow with your business, actively seeking out solutions to problems and using their skills and experience to keep things running smoothly, no matter what might get thrown in their direction.

It also means they’re likely to be much more self-sufficient than someone who isn’t a great problem solver – you won’t feel the need to constantly supervise their work and will feel confident allowing them to figure out tricky situations independently. Definitely a weight off your shoulders while you’re spinning so many other plates!

Finally, adaptability means that your virtual assistant can take feedback on board and make changes to their working processes to best suit your business – the last thing you want is someone stuck in their ways and unwilling to change. An Adaptable VA will view the betterment of your business as their key priority, and they’ll be only too happy to make changes that will benefit your business in the long run.

 

5 qualities to look for in a small business virtual assistant

Cultural Fit

While perhaps not a specific quality but a combination of many, it’s vital to review whether the virtual assistant you are considering will be a good cultural fit for your business. This means they’ll align with your values and business missions and will be to integrate seamlessly into the workings of your business.

While most virtual assistants work remotely, they’ll still be an integral part of your team, and you and your other team members will likely communicate with them on a daily basis. Ensure that any VA you are considering understands your business, your industry, and your team in depth. This will enable them to work effectively alongside you, striving for the same goals and sharing a common work ethic.

Qualities you should consider when looking for a VA with a great cultural fit are communication skills, organisation skills, knowledge and understanding of your industry and a personality you and your team members will be able to get along with.

The last thing you want is to butt heads with your external support system!

 

Initiative and Self-Motivation

Your virtual assistant will probably spend the majority of their time working independently. To ensure this can be done successfully, the ability to self-motivate and use their initiative are key qualities you should be looking for.

Having initiative means your virtual assistant will be able to solve problems and come up with new, efficient ways of working designed to boost productivity. You’ll be able to rest assured that your delegated tasks are in safe hands, and you won’t feel the need to constantly supervise any work being completed – no fun for either party involved!

Being self-motivated compliments this further. Your virtual assistant will likely be working from home, where distractions are rife. By choosing a VA who is clearly self-motivated, you’ll ensure that their head is always in the game, and they’re dedicated to spending their time solely on supporting your business.

A self-motivated virtual assistant is an effective virtual assistant!

 

Attention to Detail

You’ll know from experience that a lot of the tasks you might delegate will be fiddly and have several complex steps involved. Even something as simple as scheduling social media posts requires you to pay attention to the date and time you’re scheduling – one accidental click in the wrong place and the whole thing falls apart.

That’s why attention to detail is a key quality to look for in a virtual assistant. Paying close attention to detail leaves less room for error and means your tasks are completed with the utmost care and accuracy.

This is especially important if your virtual assistant is going to be handling sensitive data like customer information. Close attention to detail here means you can rest assured your records remain private and risk of a confidentiality breach remains as low as possible.

Find a VA who pays attention to detail to ensure your business operations run smoothly.

 

Small Business Support with The Edwards Company

The good news is the majority of virtual assistants out there possess all these qualities and more! As virtual assistants ourselves, we hold ourselves to the highest standard and work with our clients and their businesses at the heart of everything we do. Your business is our top priority from day one and we can say the same for every other virtual assistant we know.

If virtual assistant support is something you feel may benefit your business, please get in touch with our fab team. We’ll have a chat and leave it up to you to decide whether we’re the right fit for your business – speak soon!