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You’ve finally reached that stage in your business when you know it’s time to look at hiring a Virtual Assistant.
You’re sick and tired of being tired. You’re always busy and never seem to find enough hours in the day to get everything done. You’re not alone, so many business owners who start up their businesses solely reach out for help eventually.
That’s great, it’s a positive turning point in your business journey and means you are growing and ready to start outsourcing and taking control.
What is a Virtual Assistant?
Firstly, chances are you’ve seen the term Virtual Assistant but might not fully understand what they do. Have a read of my blog post “What is a Virtual Assistant?” which explains this in more detail.
One way to look at it is to imagine having your own Virtual Personal Assistant. Someone on hand to help you as and when you need it (heaven I hear you say!)
Now you fully understand what a Virtual Assistant is and what they do, how do you go about finding and then hiring one?
Hiring a Virtual Assistant doesn’t need to be a huge exercise, especially as you’re already busy. However, sitting down and doing the exercise properly will pay dividends in the long run as you need to handpick your Virtual Assistant carefully. You don’t want to waste time choosing the wrong person.
How much does a Virtual Assistant charge?
Another thing we should probably cover before we get further in is cost. It is probably at the forefront of your mind “can I afford a Virtual Assistant”?
Let’s face it, cost the biggest deciding factor with anything we are looking to invest in these days.
Virtual Assistant rates really do vary but like anything in life, you get what you pay for. Can you really put a price on valuable business support?
Having someone there to complete tasks when you don’t have time, to keep you organised, book your travel and remind you of important dates? Ultimately it’s going to have such a positive impact on your business.
Imagine this, you’ve found the perfect Virtual Assistant who specialises in your industry. She charges £30 an hour (the going rate for reputable VA’s is between £20 to £35). You’re unsure and worried it’s too expensive.
I want you to ask yourself the following
- If I don’t look into hiring a Virtual Assistant now how long can I keep running my business alone?
- What are my goals and how important is it to have business support?
- How amazing would it be to spend more time with the family and not be on my phone all the time?
- What is my hourly rate? How much am I spending per hour when doing my own admin v outsourcing it for £30 an hour?
- If I look for a cheaper option what will the experience and level of support be like?
- This Virtual Assistant surely knows her stuff, what changes can I make in my life to work with this person and get where I want to be?
Remember, you can’t grow your business if you don’t invest in valuable support.
Hiring a Virtual Assistant
Now you’ve switched your mindset from the cost to the actual investment it’s time to get started on the steps you need to take when hiring a Virtual Assistant.
I have put the following steps into an easy to follow workbook which you can download here.
STEP 1 | Decide what tasks you want the Virtual Assistant to do
I can’t stress how important this step is. You need to identify what tasks you want your Virtual Assistant to carry out.
If you put out a LinkedIn post saying “I’m looking for a Virtual Assistant” you’ll be inundated with lots of messages and you’ll likely feel more stressed than you did before.
An outsourcing exercise is the best way to do this. Grab a piece of A4 paper and divide into 4 sections or download my workbook here which includes this exercise and how to complete.
Each section is labelled as follows:
a) Tasks you love doing;
b) Tasks you don’t like doing;
c) Tasks you don’t know how to do;
d) Tasks you feel you shouldn’t be doing;
STEP 2 | What sort of Virtual Assistant are you looking for?
Now you’ve listed your tasks into 4 sections you need to consider what type of Virtual Assistant you’re looking for.
Project based Virtual Assistant
Are most of your tasks one off’s e.g. creating a logo, running an event or researching travel options for an upcoming speaking engagement you need to attend?
Permanent Virtual Assistant
You might need a permanent ongoing Virtual Assistant who would fulfil a role and become a member of your “virtual” team. Someone you’re looking to hire on a regular basis.
Industry Specific Virtual Assistant
If you work in the financial, legal or accounting industry then you might want to look for a Virtual Assistant who specialises in this area and has experience in dealing with your areas of expertise.
STEP 3 | Identify their skill set
You need to consider hiring to your weaknesses. There is no point in hiring a Virtual Assistant who is equally as good at everything that you do.
Soft skills v hard skills. Figure out what areas you need help with. Are you poor at calendar management or useless when it comes to doing your own marketing and social media?
If you struggle to keep up with the latest tools and technology, a Virtual Assistant who is totally clued up in this area would be a huge benefit to your business.
There is a skills worksheet template in the workbook which you can download here.
Now you know what tasks you want to outsource and you’ve ascertained the skill set that will compliment you, you can put together a “Job Description”.
STEP 4 | Create a Job Description
Hiring the right Virtual Assistant begins with defining the roles of your business needs. Once you have completed steps 2 and 3 above you can create a solid job description that will help you to attract the right person.
Putting in the time at this stage will save you time later on.
I have included a job description template in the worksheet which you can download here.
Your job description should have:
- Job Title – Some examples might include:
“Virtual Business Assistant for admin tasks, bookkeeping and travel organisation.”
“Legal Consultant seeking an experienced Legal Personal Assistant.“
“Virtual Assistant needed to support CEO with meetings, international travel, Board Minutes.”
“Busy Entrepreneur seeking a Virtual Assistant to help with Social Media, Lead Magnets and Marketing Strategies.”
Try and be as specific as you can.
- Roughly how many hours per week you’ll need.
- Location – the whole point of a Virtual Assistant is to be virtual. However, you need to consider this if you want her close to attend meetings or run events . She’ll need to be within a reasonable travel distance.
- A brief overview of the tasks you’ll be looking to outsource (taken from the exercise above).
- Skills that are important to you. E.g. problem solver / good communicator / minute taking / WordPress expert / touch typist
STEP 5 | Ask for recommendations
Easily the most tried and tested method. Word of mouth or a solid recommendation by a former colleague or friend goes a long way.
You trust these people and their judgement so it’s always worth asking family, friends and colleagues first.
However, even if you are recommended a Virtual Assistant who your friend uses, you still need to discuss your Job Description with her to make sure she is happy with it and can fulfil the role. There might be some tasks she is unable to do and therefore you might not be a good fit.
If that does end up being the case, see if she knows anyone in her network that fits your requirements.
STEP 6 | Ask some interview questions
Part of the success of finding and hiring a Virtual Assistant comes from asking the right questions.
Again, these questions are in the workbook so make sure you print and have in front of you when you speak / meet.
How did you end up where you are today?
A great way to start the conversation and to find out their history and experiences to date.
How long have you been a Virtual Assistant?
It’s good to find out what they were doing before and whether they come from an admin background?
Where are you located?
The whole point of being virtual is that they work from home but in the event you’re looking for a Virtual Assistant to help on site or attend events then it will be best to find someone local who is also willing to come into your office. This will also cut down travel costs.
What are your core services and what do you enjoy doing the most?
Find out what they specialise in and what they enjoy doing. Hopefully they love doing the things you don’t – a perfect match!
What is your preferred method of communication?
If you prefer to communicate via text/phone but the Virtual Assistant only communicates via email which you don’t like, that might cause difficulties.
What are your working hours?
If you need support 9 to 5 and the VA works only in school hours this might not work.
How many hours do you spend working with other clients?
This will help you decide whether or not they can give you the time you need to complete the tasks you outsource.
What sort of clients are you currently working with and what tasks do you regularly do for them?
A good question for the Virtual Assistant to share what they are currently working on. Some might be relatable to you that you hadn’t thought of. Add to your outsourcing exercise sheet.
What software / tools do you use / would recommend?
Make this an open ended question and see what she recommends. The Virtual Assistant might have some good suggestions to help you work smarter and more efficiently.
What’s your hourly rate and payment terms?
If the hourly rate is more than you’d hoped, remember hiring a Virtual Assistant is an investment. This is also a good opportunity to find out if she offers packages which can help with monthly budgeting.
STEP 7 | Give the Virtual Assistant a trial task to complete
If you’ve reached this step then well done, you’ve found a Virtual Assistant who might be the one 😀
However, there’s one last recommended step before you sign on the dotted line and that’s to give them a task to complete.
You could send over a PowerPoint presentation and ask them to put into your branded template and format.
What about a research task? As an example, tell them you’re travelling to Paris for a conference and need flights and hotel options, together with restaurant recommendations.
This is a great way to see how the Virtual Assistant presents her findings. Is it easy for you to read and navigate? Does she give you lots of options and make it easy for you?
CONCLUSION
Working with a Virtual Business Assistant can completely change the way you and your business operate.
You will have more time to spend on client work, client engagement and client meetings, together with generating new leads, networking and working on strategies for growing your business.
Plus there are all of these benefits
Also, don’t be scared to ask for references or testimonials – this is really important and the easiest way to avoid making a big, expensive and timing consuming mistake!
Follow my step by step guide to hiring a Virtual Assistant and get it right the first time.
DOWNLOAD MY WORKBOOK HERE
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