Today, I’ll dive into how to find the right virtual assistant for your business needs. (This is the second blog in this series, “The Ultimate Guide to Bringing on a Virtual Assistant”. Read the first blog here where I share about “What Tasks Can a Virtual Assistant Handle for Me?”) How I started in this journey Now, I'm going to be upfront. I took a program on how to hire, even though I have a background in hiring. I used to work in the corporate world, and every single quarter we went through the hiring process, and I was trained in hiring, then I led the hiring, and I felt very confident in that process. Then moving into working for myself, I hired contractors and freelancers, then hired executive assistants for my business. I also went through that hiring process, but I still invested in someone teaching me how to hire because this was hiring for a virtual assistant in the Philippines, also known as OFS or Online Filipino Specialists. I’ve been taught this process. I paid for this process, so I will not fully teach this process because it's her IP, and I want to honour that. But what I will do is I will talk in general about the things that you need to be thinking about, looking for, and know that you don't need to be really good at the hiring process. That's why we have Virtual Assistant Made Easy because I can hire your virtual assistant for you or match you with one of the VAs on our team that we currently have. We have 13 VAs working with around 33 clients that we have so that is an option, but I'm going to tell you a little bit more about what we do and what we work with so that you can be think about, “Who is going to help me with this process?” Creating your wishlist When you're starting the process of hiring a virtual assistant, whether they are going to be online, international and or someone from your country, you always have to be thinking about what your wish list is. We always ask our clients, “What goals do you have?” It's less about “What are the tasks that you want to delegate”, and more about “What are the goals you have or your business needs”. One of the activities I have my clients do is think about:
People often are concerned, “How do I work with a VA from the Philippines when they are working such a different schedule?” It doesn't have to be that way. My two main VAs, Kristine and Karissa, work for me starting at about 3PM Pacific Time, but for them, that's like seven in the morning, and it depends on if we're in daylight savings or not, but that's a good time for them. Sometimes at six, sometimes at seven, and they prefer to work during their day. When I hire virtual assistants, I always ask them, “When do you want to work?” They'll say, “I can work anytime”, and I'm like, “But what's ideal for you?” The reason I ask is that some of them like to work through their night. They prefer it because it's cooler, quieter, maybe the internet's faster. No one's bothering them, or that makes them just available during the day to their family. Some of them like to work during their day because maybe they have kids, and they don't want to be working through the night. They want to be around during the day, maybe to be able to get up and take them to school and then come back and work. I always ask, “What's ideal for you?” because I want them to work at the best time for them because I know they're going to be the freshest, and they're going to give me their best work. That's most important to me. Also think about:
You're never going to find someone who knows every single software or platform that you have at an expert level. If you read my blog “What Tasks Can a Virtual Assistant Handle for Me?”, I talked about specialists and generalists, and so I'm going to continue talking about generalists rather than specialists, though some of these different specifics will be helpful with specialists as well. Are there any top qualities that you want them to have, both personally and professionally, and is there anything else that's important to you? You're going to know what you need, and if you don't know all the questions asked, that's where I come in. I ask all these questions. I have two surveys, a “Getting to Know You” survey, and “What Are You Looking for in Your VA” survey? There are a lot of things that people don't think about. They’re things that I've learned in the process and in working with my team of VAs for four years that have really helped me to be able to know the ins and the outs. My hiring process Anytime we go and post job postings for what we're looking for, it's quite the process. We normally get about 300 applicants who apply within about a 24-48 hour period, so we need to wean those down. We have them do a test task, written interviews, interview with me, and a trial week where I put them through activities and tasks to test their ability. These are standardized tasks that we have been using with all of our VAs over the numerous times that we've hired. We hire basically all of them that have been successful in that process. There are covert tests, overt tests, along the whole journey, and I've had to make it extremely black and white whether they pass or they fail at each piece because I totally wear my heart on my sleeve. I read their personal stories and I just want to hire people. I want to give them a chance if they're new, I want to help them out if they're struggling, and hire them if I like their personality but their output is not as good. The process that we have now refined doesn't allow me to hire anyone that I just want to help out or like. It only allows me to hire the people that are the right business decision. I find so many times in people who I've talked to who have tried to hire, they didn't hire the right person to start with, or they wanted to give them a shot, or they didn't have a thorough enough process. They're missing pieces that they didn't even think of to ask about, to test on, and they're giving people way too many chances. Our process takes about 40 hours of time between my VA Kristine and myself, and takes about two weeks to do or more. I really love our process. We've had people from our team say, “Can my wife, husband, brother, friend, neighbor apply?” I reply, “Sure, go ahead, but they have to pass the tests.” I say to my staff, “Please do not help them. Please do not give them a heads up on anything”, because if later, we find out that they're not as good and they just somehow got through with your help, I won't be happy. Our VAs are very good about not helping because they also don't want to come back to them where their family member or friend, neighbor or whatever it may be isn't actually as good as they came across because they were helped. Anyway, we do this process, and we're looking for specific things that are probably concerns that you're having, especially in hiring a virtual assistant from another country, things like,
There are a lot of things that we are looking for in these Filipino VAs and then I hire based on four major criteria:
Even from the very beginning, including the application, it’s very specific about what we're looking for. I hope that it weeds out a lot of people. It also has a really good write-up about us, what we do and what we're looking for and what we're wanting to offer to our virtual assistant. That's a little bit of our process, and then once we have them on board with us, and I've tested them out in the trial period to see what they can do, and I personally review everything, then we bring them on, match them to our clients with as much of that information as possible that's going to tell us, “Yeah, this client's wish list is a really good match for this VA”. Usually, we have someone on our team, or we've just hired someone who is going to be a really good fit for them. When you are coming into bringing on a VA, as honest as you can be in the beginning and as much prep work as you can do, the better. A lot of people come to me, and say, “Oh, Diane, I'll come to you as soon as I know what I'm going to delegate. I'll come to you as soon as I have my systems and processes in place.” Don't. Don't. Don't. Let me help you with our program VA Made Easy to figure out what to delegate. Let your VA make your systems and processes for you. I train them on how to do that so that you don't have to document processes. Don't try to figure out the hiring process. Just let me match you with one of ours, and then if you're like, “What if I don't like them? What if it's not working out?” Well, my goal is to work with you and to work with them to make sure it is a long, lasting, fabulous relationship, where they are extremely efficient, and you can maximize their time. The more of the hiring and onboarding process I can help with the better you will be matched with a VA because you’ll be clear about the tasks you want done and the hours you want them to work, and I can lead you through all the things you never thought of, like asking if they have a backup generator. Once we make a match, it’s usually a very strong match. The thing that a lot of clients are worried about is “I have to be all prepared before I can actually start working with a VA”. That's actually not true. You just have to have some tasks ready to go. This is why the first couple modules in working with me are going to help you to
These things are crucial in starting to work with a VA and hitting the ground running. Thankfully for you, I set all of that up for you so you don't even have to worry about it, and our VA’s know how to use it. The other thing I have found to be extremely beneficial is making sure that the VA doesn't work for anyone else. You may think, “Well, if I'm only going to give them part-time hours, like ten hours a week, How am I going to give them enough work or enough money to help to keep them employed with just me?” Well, you can't. They're going to need at least 40 hours. But the other thing is, unless you're willing to give them 40 hours, they will work for other people, and they will have other clients and situations pulling at them. What we have decided to do is give the VAs all the hours that they need from just our clients, and so that you know that your VA is not out there looking for other work and trying to line up the next client or the next project. They don't have to worry about that. They have stable consistent employment at a minimum of ten hours per client. They know that they have clients coming in. If one client drops off, they know that I'm going to find another client. This helps them to focus primarily on working with you, and their other clients that are through us. They have stability. To go and hire on your own, unless you're going to give them 40 hours, you probably can't do that. You can't ask them to not work for anyone else. We have, “Cooperative Clients”. If you know that your VA has three other clients, if there's an emergency that someone has, or maybe even you have an urgent task, You are like, “I need this done.” Then they're like, “Well, I'm working for someone else right now. I'll see what I can do.” So they spin around to the other client and they say, “Hey, one of my clients has an emergency. I need to do this right now. Are you okay if I work on these social media posts later today?” More than likely, this other cooperative client will say, “Yeah, no problem.” That's the benefit too, is that your VA:
That's another piece to be thinking about when you're looking to hire a VA. A lot of people have come to me after hiring a VA themselves, and the VA has ghosted them. The VA has not been performing the way they need to be. The VA has quit on them because they found someone better to work for, meaning more money, more hours, better tasks, whatever it may be. Then they're left in the cold. Some come to me, and say, “They never worked out”. If they've hired an agency, a company, who matches them with someone, they come to me and say they didn't feel like they got that personalized connection to the company, and then when it's not working out, they're they're left on their own to try to figure things out. That's definitely not the approach we take. I call it more of a boutique style, where I personally talk to you. I personally know the VAs and I match you, and then if it's not working on either side, it's my job to talk to both of you and help to make that work because it's much easier to get that to work. A lot of times it's just a miscommunication. But that's the good thing about having a mediator in there, to be able to help both sides to be really happy because it helps you to be more efficient with the time that you have, and to get more done and to work better together for the long term. But hey, if it doesn't work out, I'm also here to support that and to match you with another one of our VAs. There are so many things to think about in that process of finding the right virtual assistant for your business needs, but the key thing just to be thinking about is what's your wish list, so that you can specifically request what you're looking for. If you want me to hire your virtual assistant for you or match you with one of our team members, then please reach out to me, [email protected]. We'd love to invite you into the VA Made Easy Program where getting a VA is much easier, and you're going to have the proven strategies that I put into place in my business and through my experience. Not only hiring Kristine and Karissa and being able to work with them for 40 hours a week for the past four years, but also hiring my team who are successfully working with 30+ clients at the moment. If you have questions, feel free to reach out. I'd be happy to clarify any questions that you have. But remember, it's not going to get any easier if you keep trying to do everything yourself. Today might be the day where you need to pass off some work. Please know that this blog is also recorded as a podcast on the Dynamic Women Podcast, as well as on my Diane Rolston YouTube Channel. If you prefer to watch it or listen to it, you have both options. If you're wondering, “How did Diane do it all?” I don't do it all. I record one video per week, and my team creates the YouTube video, the podcast, the blog, all the social posts and the newsletter that shares about all of them. Do you want that process done? Reach out. Let's connect and have you join VA Made Easy. Until next time. Stay dynamic. Read my other blogs:
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