Thinking of hiring a virtual assistant? Do you find that there aren’t enough hours in your working day to get tasks completed? Maybe you’re bringing work home or staying in the office late – a lot? If this is all affecting your work quality, meeting deadline dates, and impacting your personal life, then it might be time to look into hiring a remote assistant. A virtual assistant can help with administrative support and free up your time for more important tasks..
A remote assistants provide many benefits in managing your day-to-day tasks. They can schedule tasks, mange phone calls, invoicing, book travel arrangements and respond to emails. They need great organisational and time management skills, and communication skills including excellent knowledge sharing techniques, to keep you in the loop. If recruiting staff on different time zones, the time difference will need to be considered.
5 Steps to Prepare When Hiring a Virtual Assistant
- Identify your readiness to take on an assistant. It will take time to induct the administrative support so it will be of greater benefit if they are recruited at a quieter time, providing both of you with the opportunity to build a strong rapport
- Make a list of the tasks that need to be outsourced – tasks that will help you to focus on the bigger priorities
- Create a new job description – outlining the job requirements, skills, and if previous experience is essential. At this stage it will be useful to develop interview questions, while the information is fresh
- Set up a communication plan. After you have hired the best candidate for the role, set up a preferable means of communication. This step can include scheduling times for a briefing meeting during the week that works for you both. This can be altered at a later date, depending on your needs
- Develop a performance measurement system. After your remote assistant has been hired, track their performance frequently. Discuss how tasks are going and ask for feedback on the delegation process. Your assistant may have suggestions for better task management that could save you even more time.
Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant
Hiring a virtual assistant has many benefits. This includes saving you time and money, as they take care of the background work, leaving you time to focus on the core tasks of the day including high-level decisions. Their role can be part-time or full-time, depending on your needs.
Remember, building a strong rapport with your new VA will take time. It will be important to build a solid working relationship based on trust – this works both ways. This will help with the process of delegation of tasks, particularly at busier times, and will significantly improve your work-life balance.
