Free up Your Time and Grow Your Business by Outsourcing Day-to-Day Tasks to a Virtual Assistant

DEFINE THE TASKS

Before you hire a VA, you need to have a good idea of what tasks you want them to do. Your VA should have a clear understanding of your overall priorities, preferences, and preferred communication style. By sharing general guidelines, your VA will be able to apply them to many scenarios, saving you both from answering essentially the same question again and again.

INTERVIEWS ARE CRITICAL

Just like hiring a local-based employee for a position, conducting a virtual assistant interview should be non-negotiable. The interview is your chance to learn what makes a candidate stand out and whether they’ll be a good fit for your organization. During the interview, you can discuss different matters including availability, experience, and desired rates. This ensures that you’re on the same page in terms of how to run your business.

DETERMINE HOW MANY HOURS’ ASSISTANCE YOU WILL REQUIRE AS WELL AS A BUDGET

Most executives don’t know how much time they spend on admin work, since they multitask all day and don’t track their time. Most virtual assistants charge by the hour, and very few executives require full time support. That said, most require a minimum monthly or weekly allocation of hours, with the average at Virtual Edge, being 5 hours per week. At Virtual Edge, we offer very competitive monthly retainer packages. For more information on our services and rates, you are welcome to visit http://www.virtualedge.co.za/our-services/

DIFFERENT TIME ZONES

Make sure that your VA would be available to work during your desired hours. If the nature of their tasks would not require them to be available during the same hours as you operate, then this would not be an issue. You can discuss this with your VA so that they’ll have an idea what hours they would need to log in and if they are available whenever you need clarifications on the spot.

BEGIN SMALL

Acknowledge the fact that your virtual assistant will not know all the aspects about how your business runs. Do not give all the tasks at the same time. It’s better to start with a small project so he/she can be familiar with your system. From there, you can increase their workload based on the experience and knowledge they have acquired. In time, your virtual assistant will evolve from doing small projects to becoming an integral part of your business’ success.