5 Things To Consider Before Hiring A Virtual Assistant

As businesses have realized the benefits of outsourcing, more and more business owners are seeking the services of virtual assistants for their activities. Virtual assistants can take care of your tasks and activities and save you a great deal of time. Also, because they are industry professionals, you can receive excellent quality results.

However, as easy as it may sound, its highly advisable to spend quality time selecting your virtual assistant. The right virtual assistant can help you expand your business whereas a wrong choice can just do the opposite. Before you hire a virtual assistant, make sure you consider some key points.

Skills and Expertise of the VA

Before you start searching for a virtual assistant, ask yourself a few questions.
Why do you need a VA for?
What tasks will you delegate to the VA?
What skills do you want the VA to posses?
Answers to these questions will help you determine the exact area of work for which you need a virtual assistant for you can select the best choice for your requirements.

Budget for the VA
It is very important to decide how much you can spend on the virtual assistant per month. Decide what tasks that you want the VA to complete and estimate a specific time period in which all the tasks will be completed. Based on these figures, you can determine a budget for the project. Virtual assistants generally charge less than the standard market rates. In fact, if you hire virtual assistant services from offshore countries like India, you can get even cheaper rates at the same time excellent quality of deliverables.

Communication with the VA
Because they are virtual assistants, their services can be accessed only virtually without them being physically present at the office. Therefore, it is important that you ascertain the mode of communication well before hand. You can communicate with them through emails and instant messengers. You can even schedule phone conferences but then that would add on to the expenses at your end.

Experience of the VA
It is extremely important to check the experience record of the virtual assistants. Virtual assistants are generally industry professionals who have enough expertise of their work field. However, it is important to check if they have prior experience of handling projects like the one you need them for. Previous experience of the same kind makes it easier for them as well as you to explain and carry out the projects easily.

References on the Internet
Since virtual assistants offer their services virtually, there should be substantial reference material on the internet. Do a quick internet search to figure out the popularity of the virtual assistant. Are they popular on the internet? Do they have a web presence? Or all they have is a name to claim? If you find nothing about the VA on the internet, then you shouldn't really be working with them. If a virtual assistant doesn't have a steady online presence, then you wouldn't expect quality of their virtual work either!

About Author :
Maneet Puri is the director of LeXolution IT Services, a reputed IT outsourcing firm located in India. The company specializes in delivering seamless and cost effective services to its clients like virtual assistance, internet research services and other data entry services.

Source: http://www.bestsyndication.com/

Related Posts by Categories

Widget by Hoctro | Jack Book