I worked with a couple of virtual assistants before finally meeting Shawn. Shawn has become the most important member of my office team and I’m 100% sure that it’s because:
1) he’s never even spent a day in my office and
2) every one of his personal characteristics makes him the ideal (personal) virtual assistant.
I’d like to think that I’ve earned my stripes and have the know-how to advise anybody currently in the market for a VA. Not everyone is cut out to be a self-starter, work from home VA, so when you find someone who is (like I have with Shawn) hold on to them like they’re made of gold…for your bottom line, they quite literally are.
Shawn works from home in the Philippines assisting me in my growing administrative legal business. Not the most exciting, but it lends itself perfectly to the kind of tasks that are ideal for outsourcing to a virtual assistant. Aside from managing my inbox and calendar, Shawn assists me with form and template creation, quote generation which has led to a 130% increase in business turnover and online research and data mining for ongoing matters.
Having got to know Shawn, as well as having worked with otherVAs that came before him, below are what I’ve determined to be the most important characteristics that a winning VA needs:
Reliability& Suitability
Obviously employing a Virtual Assistant means that you’re putting your trust in someone that you don’t know very well and probably will never meet. You need to trust them.
Trust will be built over time but off the bat it’s a no brainer that you need to go through a reputable agency that has a thorough recruitment process. If you’re looking for a VA at all it’s probable because you don’t have enough time in the day already so you don’t want to be wasting time going through the whole recruitment process yourself.
Resourcefulness
A big part of my business involves applications lodged with regional governmental agencies in different regions of Australia. Once lodged online, these applications can take time to be processed, but can be expedited by the people handling them. When I first put Shawn on this task, I worried that the fact that he was not based in Australia would negatively affect the important relationships that I was building at these agencies but somehow, despite the cultural differences, Shawn has proven to be my most valuable asset at all agencies in which I operate.
Deadline driven
An integral point of importance to a virtual assistant in meeting deadlines is the ability to have mastered time management. My virtual assistant meeting the deadlines that I’ve set for the completion of a clients’ matter not only shows the client that they matter to me but also that I offer a level of professionalism that others just can’t match. As long as I set clear deadlines for my VA they can perform and achieve success.
Accountability
If and when (as sometimes happens) a deadline is missed, expect your VA to be held 100% accountable. If a deadline is unachievable they have to tell you or at least advise you with enough time to make alternate arrangements. Make sure that when your relationship starts, you and your virtual assistant are clear on what is expected and what happens when these expectations are not met.
Strong communication skills
If a virtual assistant is going to be representing your company to your clients (and sometimes your clients won’t even know that they’re in a different country) their communication skills need to be comparable to an assistant hired in your own country. Not to mention they need to have an agreeable personality and be well liked.
During the hiring process, insist on a Skype call with the agency you’re using to hire your virtual assistant. Make sure you understand each other and can work together easily without any misunderstandings. Remember, this could be what your clients are going to be experiencing when they hire you to work for them.
The extra mile
Virtual Assistants that view what they do as more than just a job are the ones that are going to be prepared to put in a little extra. We’re all familiar with employees who give just what they’re paid for and no more. A virtual assistant can be just as frustrating, they’re just not physically in your office. Make sure they know that while you’re no slave driver, there are times that you might need a little flexibility from them regarding hours of work or extra work at peak times. Get this right and you’ve suddenly got an extra set of hands to help you push your business forward.
