What You Need To Know To Hire The RIGHT Virtual Assistant/Contractor!

The virtual office is growing and with that growth comes a need for help now and then. This help can come from many sources with one of the most common being a Virtual Assistant. VA's, as we commonly refer to ourselves, aren't new on the market. The industry itself has been around for many years. Most VA's are hard working , heind the scenes individuals who prode themselves on the quality of the services they provide.

Working with a VA can be one of the most rewarding experiences a business owner can have, if they hire someone who fits well and who has the skills to complete the jobs the business owner has in mind. Not ever VA is a web design expert or appointment scheduler. Knowing what your needs are will help you find the right individual to fill those needs.

The hiring process is fairly simple, but it is not fool proof. You will need to do your part to make everything work. Always keep in mind that this is a business deal and the individual you are hiring has other clients. Keep mutual respect at the core of your planning and arrangements so any hiccups can be swiftly and competently dealt with.

The Hiring Process

Step 1: Know what you want and need

Step 2: Know your locational preference

Step 3: Reach out to your network and beyond to find a list of VA's that meet step 1&2 requirements

Step 4: Research the list generated by Step 3 using the internet, networking sites and word of mouth.

Step 5: Setup and Interview and request information such as services, fees, background and anything that will specifically be needed to complete work for you.

Step 6: Interview the candidates

Step 7: Get the estimates from those who make it through step 6.

Step 8: Review, compare and sleep on it

Step 9: Read the contract and then sign it

Step 10: Setup a Communication schedule and format with your new VA.

Determining What You Need

Here is a simple exercise to help you determine the kids of tasks you might want a VA to assist you with.

Make two lists:

Only I Can Do:	Someone Else Can Do:
What tasks require your involvement and expertise without question? What tasks do you love doing? What tasks can be done from somewhere other than your desk/office	What tasks do you detest doing? What tasks do you want done, but have no time to do? What tasks are you ding that are wasting your time?

You should have a list of projects and tasks now that can be done by a VA. The next step is to figure out what skills each task requires so you know exactly what you are looking for when hiring a VA. Below are two examples of the breakdown I use to determine skill set requirements:

Newsletter Support Experience with the auto-responder system you utilize Html knowledge (for html based newsletters) Writing &/or editing abilities. (how is their grammar?)

Website Updating & Support Do you have a shopping cart? What language is your website written in? How often do you update your site?

Does Location Make A Difference

The whole idea of having a virtual office is that you can work with anyone from anywhere at any time. So to answer the question, No it doesn't make a big difference where the VA you choose is located. With that being said there are a few things to keep in mind on this topic.

#1 - What is your work style? Are you a visual person? Do you like to shake hands when you sign contracts?

#2 - What are your expectations? There are more and more individuals in places like India and the Phillippines breaking into the VA market these days and while working with these individuals can be less expensive the quality of the work is usually lower as well. Keep in mind the primary language of the individual you will be hiring. If this language is not english you may want to do more proofing and editing or any and all content until you are comfortable with their grasp of the english language.

#3 - Time Zones can have an impact on everything! It's fairly easy two work with someone who is an hour or two off from you, but it's a whole other story when the time gap is 8 hours or more.

#4 - Will you need to share documents? Yes, there are such things as FedEx and email. The question is more of how do you prefer to share files. This is especially critical with bookkeeping where you will need to share bank statements, receipts, and other important information frequently.

#5 - Commmunication & Comfort Level. If you feel more comfortable meeting someone in person, hire someone local. If you communicate better with someone face to face, hire someone local. If you hope to have status updates without a phone attached to your ear or a computer in front of you, hire local. Hiring a VA is both a business and a personal investment. If you aren't comfortable, the relationship won't survive.

Interviewing Basics

Conducting an interview is a crucial step in determining if someone will work not only for your needs, but alongside you. You will need to setup a list of questions that help you determine an individual's personality, work process, reliability, discipline and work history. The hardest to gate and most important attribute of a VA or any employee for that matter is their reliability. You have to be confident that they will not only do the work, but do it in the time frame given with the respources that their disposal. After all, you are relying on them to help your business succeed.

 

Let's review the top ten interview questions and what you need to be listening for in the answers.

 

How long have you been a Virtual Assistant?

Even if someone comes back stating they have only been a VA for a few months, you want to know that they are confident in what they do. If they answer and then continue with an explanation as to why only X long, they aren't 100% confident. This is only 1 factor however, so you should still continue the interview.

 

What do you specialize in?

You need to know that they can do the kind of work you need done.

 

What is your work style?

Are they task oriented? Are they detail oriented? Are they creative? Unstructured? They may need a little prompting to get them going when answering this question, but once they know what you're looking for they should be able to tell you how they work best. If they can't answer the question with prompting they are unorganized, unstructure, and unaware that "the interview is now over." You have to know the way they work so that you can match your styles together. If they can't answer this questions, even with prompting, they aren't going to work out well. Give them time with someone else so they can find their work style. You have work to be done and don't need to waste time helping them on their journey of self discovery.

 

What informatin do I need to send you for projects or tasks I need done?

You need to know the level of information you will need to give for each and every project or task you're handing over. Do they require a lot of instructions or are they a self starter? Will you be required to review their work continuously? Keep in mind that you are trying to save time by hiring this person, not spending more time in review/teacher mode.

 

What are your weak points?

Keep in mind the projects you need done. If they aren't confident in that area, you don't want to be handing them over that project.

 

What motivate you the most?

What makes them want to continue doing what they are doing? What drives them to be a better VA?

 

What did you do before becoming a VA?

Background is important to determine a person's qualifications, Along these lines you will want to know the following:
  1. How long did they work in their previous field?
  2. What type of work did they do in that position?

Though a varied background is a good thing, a huge leap from one field to another isn't always the best. In fact it's usually an indication that someone failed at their previous occupation. (This isn't always the case, but should be a red flag to consider and definitely needs to be explored further.)

 

What qualifications or certifications do you have?

What are they trained to do? A certified VA isn't much if they aren't certified in sme specific area. This is especially important when looking for bookkeepers and web experts. You want someone who either has a degree in the field, years of experience, or a vertificatioon from a credible source that they were trained in that area.

 

Who inspires you and why?

This question, though it doesn't seem important, will tell you a lot about what drives this person. If they are inspired by someone who has good business sense, great ethics, and has made a success of themselves, than they themselves strive to be ethical and do great things with their business. If they are inspired by someone who does very little, they themselves will do as little as possible and will likely be unreliable.

 

Why should I hire you?

Let them tell you why they are the best person for the job. What do they feel they can bring to the table that no one else can? Why, in their opinion, do your two companies deserve to be linked?

 

Why Do You Need to Get an Estimate?

Think of it this way...would you have repair work done to your car without first knowing generally what needed to be done and how much it would cost? Probably not.

The same goes for your business. You know what you would like and need to have done, now it's time to find out how much it will likely cost you. This information, coupled with the interview answers you're digesting, will help you make the best decision for your needs. The estimates will tell you:

• Approximately how long certain tasks might take for that individual.
• how much they charge
• how organized they are.
• You will be able to tell how organized each candidate is by how well put together their estimate is. Everyone has a different format, a different style which makes them unique. This is a great cue for you into their character and their workmanship. After all, if their doing this kind of work for their business, what do you think they will do for yours?

 

Communication is Crucial

Once you've gotten through the hiring process, you will need a structured way to stay on top everything you hand over from initial handoff to completion. The easiest way to do this is to setup a communication plan. Setup a meeting schedule to go over projects that you want worked on and deadlines for those projects. Having a routine will help you better manage the time you spend on your VA and it will also help your VA to be more efficient in the time they spend on you. Know that these scheduled meetings are on your dime, so being organized is very important.

Have some way to keep track of projects that you are asking your VA to accomlish. This can be anything from task reminders on your computer, an excel spreadsheet, or sticky notes on a bulletin board. Whatever works for you, use it.

 

What More Do I Need To Know?

You will need to make sure a few key elements are written into your contract:

• Pay rate and terms.
• When do they bill?
• When do they expect you to pay by?
• What happens if you're late paying your bill?
• Confidentiality Clause
• Non-Disclosure agreement
• Copyright terms.
• Do you own the work they do for you? (In most cases this is so, but you will want to make sure it's written into the contract for good measure.)
• Non-Compete Agreement
• They are privy to your ideas, innovations and information. Make sure that is all safe by either having them sign a seperate non-compete or ensuring the non-compete is written into the contract.
• Liability terms
• What are they liable for when it comes to your business?
• Equipment & Software requirements
• If you require the use of a certain program you may be required to provide that program to the VA at your expense.

The difference between an employee and a VA is simple. With an employee you pay for the time they work, the time they don't work if they are in the office, insurance and other benefits, liability and other state and federal requirements, IRS taxes, equipment, office space, and so much more. With a VA you are paying for the time they spend on your work and nothing more (unless stated so in the contract).

Be aware that you are not the only client your VA has. You cannot expect them to drop everything else they are working on to do a last minute project for you. Give them the time to do the work you want without impacting the rest of their business. Keep your expectations reasonable and be respectful. It is not appropriate to request a VA complete a 30 minute task in 10 minutes. It is not reasonable to expect your tasks be put on the top of your VA's to do list just because you want them there. It is appropriate to expect your VA to keep you informed on the status of projects. Your VA will get back to you regarding your urgent requests to let you know if they can do them and when they can be completed by. Respect goes both ways.

For more information on working with Virtual Assistants Click Here.