So you have finally decided to outsource a virtual PA for your business! Congratulations to you! But, before you begin, you need to ask yourself that would they be a suitable fit for your company? Here are few factors to consider before hiring a virtual PA:
- Strengths and weaknesses
First things first. You need to evaluate if your potential virtual PA hired from Australia based virtual reception service Office HQ has the skillset you need for managing your business. If they do not match, they are a wastage of time and money for both the parties. Hence, you must discuss your needs with the potential PA and if they have the necessary experience for the same. The very same goes for their weaknesses too to enable you to adjust your expectations accordingly.
- Business knowledge
The more you enlighten your potential PA, the better they will perform in managing your business, particularly if your business uses a particular jargon. A lot of time and effort is saved when your VA doesn’t have to do a lengthy research on the business, and it is also a bonus that it eliminates the risk of errors.
- Computer crashes
Computers are prone to crash at some point in time, hence it is imperative that you check with your VA about taking precautions in case of technical issues.
- Communication mistakes
It is useless if you live by SMS and your VA only emails you. Make sure that your VA is aware of the preferred communication method and they can be ready with any apps or programs that you need.
- When you assign them a task, ask the VA to verify it to you that they understand the task.
This is important, so as to avoid any kind of miscommunication or chaos at the last moment. For example, you can ask them the questions listed below, so as to verify that they understand the task assigned.
- Tell me exactly what you’re going to do to accomplish this task. (Basically, ask them to explain the task back to you.)
- What is your estimate for how long this task will take?
- Is anything I said unclear at all? Do you have ANY questions?
- Keep checking in on the tasks at 10-20 percent of the way in.
If you think the task is going to take at least 10 hours to finish, make sure to check in 1 to 2 hours in the beginning to check if your VA is able to work with the task or not.
