The “Ghostbusters” are busy; however, you’ve found that you need someone “just like now” to ease the stabbing pain of stress that wraps around the nerves in the pit of your stomach; someone to help you with the unsettling list of things that have somehow managed to land on your “to do” list.
And, “who you gonna call?”
You recently read about a fairly “new” industry (virtual assistant), which you think you could benefit from, but how do you go about securing a VA, the “new kid” in town? What criteria do you use for “lookin'”?
Although the VA industry has been around for a good number of years, sometimes under different names, it is only now beginning to “get it done.” VA’s “population explosion” widens the playing field, but makes it even more vital to think long and hard before choosing a VA for your general, administrative, or executive support needs.
For the benefit of someone unfamiliar with the VA concept, the simple (but not exhaustive) description of a virtual assistant (provided here, “loosely”, in part) is that he or she “is self-employed, is a business owner, so to speak, that provides some form of administrative support services to a client from its own office at a location remote from the client”. How far away may remain a mystery. From there, however, it gets a bit more complicated and more precise depending on the VA you select.
Make a list and check it twice. Then one more time, just in case!
Selecting a virtual assistant is a lot like deciding on an internal employee, but with an odd key or two, since you usually can’t meet the person face-to-face. Unfortunately, this negates the opportunity to look at “body language” and similarly related identification markers at the time of an interview.
The VA does not generally provide a resume as is normally required of a regular employee. Therefore, it behooves a potential businessperson in the market for a VA to seek out a VA candidate with a prior “employment-related background” that fits their specific business and style.
However, there are factors you can look for to help you in your selection process. For example, how much “experience” does the VA have? Five years? 15 years? 20 years? So what does the “x” number of years of experience mean? A truly experienced VA will have, say, five years of top-level competency, knowledge, and support skills, including computer skills and general business acumen. Unfortunately, all the experience in the world won’t be worth much if it’s not compatible with your needs; many years of experience for one business may be less than satisfactory for another.
Additionally, several VAs have the distinction of having worked hard and earned specialized certification. However, it may be inappropriate to ignore a highly qualified VA who lacks that certification.
Assuming you want someone with “technical office skills,” “your” ideal VA may first be familiar with and proficient in performing some type of customer service activities. However, the VA would not only “be competent,” but would be verbally articulate and able to communicate well enough to interrelate with you and your clients. This is especially important as interactions typically take place over the phone, email, and correspondence.
The highly skilled VA in demand, of course, is involved with more than customer service. In fact, your repertoire of responsibilities can range from word processing, database management, editing, desktop publishing, newsletters, accounting, and the like, to name a few. Therefore, it is imperative to carefully assess the specific needs of the position you wish to fill and the qualifications of the VA you are evaluating.
When you phone or email a prospective VA, how long does it take before you get a response? If the VA is slow to respond (more than 24 hours) or not at all, you may want to reconsider your proposed choice.
A virtual assistant of choice has 21st century tech savvy; his computer and other equipment are up to date, as is his software, and those systems must be compatible with yours.
Will the VA be able to suggest insightful, problem-solving solutions that can further your company’s goals? Is she competent? how about trust? Can the VA get the job done in a timely and efficient manner? And really do it without supervision? After all, she is not his employee and will not be in his office. Does she have good tracking skills? Of course, she won’t know this initially, but she can request testimonials from clients for whom she has performed some of the support services she seeks.
During conversations and even along the email paper trail back and forth, listen and look for clues. How is the attitude? Is it compatible with the image you want to project? If he’s used to hitting home runs and it sounds like she’s more inclined to “punt,” he might be better served by an VA who knows how to catch instead.