A step-by-step guide to finding and hiring a good VA

You’ve decided it’s finally time to get help from a virtual assistant (VA). Great decision – the benefits of outsourcing to a trusted partner such as a VA are HUGE. Not only will you be able to delegate a tonne of tasks that are taking up your own valuable time, increasing your productivity, but you get more flexibility both in your life and business. 

Ideally, you want to gain support from a virtual superstar, someone who treats your business as if it were their own and you can trust wholeheartedly. But where do you start with finding the right person to help your business? 

It can be a daunting decision, which is why we’ve created a step-by-step guide explaining how to approach this process and key things to look out for in a VA… 

1.  Set clear goals for your VA

Before you can start your search, you need to get clear on what support you need, both in terms of the tasks or areas and the type of person you are looking for. For example, you might need someone with specific industry knowledge or a certain skill set.

If you haven’t already got an idea, looking at the most common tasks you can delegate to a VA to reduce your to-do list will be helpful. Another way to work out where you are wasting your time on low-level tasks someone could be helping you with is to track your time. This helps to identity the highest priority tasks for you.

Alongside the specific tasks, establish roughly how much support you need each day, week, or month and what your budget is. Don’t worry if you’re not entirely sure about this – a good VA will help you figure out what you need when you meet. 

Take our simple, free quiz here if you need help discovering what level of support you need. 

2.  Find the right VA for your needs

Now you have an idea of what you want, it’s easier to start looking for a VA. The type of tasks you want help with are a big factor in your search approach. For example, if you need a quick one-off task like social media graphics or a simple research task, you could use a platform such as Fiverr. 

But if you want to build a partnership with someone who is fully integrated into your business, someone you can always rely on, the best approach is having an ongoing contract with a regular VA. 

Ask for recommendations

As a starting point, we always recommend asking your network for recommendations, particularly if you know someone already working with a VA they rave about. Ask any business associates you have, ex-colleagues, industry peers, or even networking groups or online communities you are part of. If you don’t have any luck through these avenues, you could post on LinkedIn asking for recommendations from your connections. 

Use a virtual assistant agency

However, another route is contacting reputable platforms and agencies that specialise in VA services. An agency, which is what we are, does all the heavy lifting for you – finding the perfect candidate, vetting them, and ensuring a smooth onboarding experience. A good VA agency will also supply additional team members for ad-hoc projects or holiday cover so you are never left without support. 

3.  Narrowing down your potential VA candidates

Once you have a list of potential contractors, you will need to review their skills, experience, and qualifications. Most VAs will have either a LinkedIn profile, CV, or website to check out. If they haven’t come to you by personal recommendation, ask for references and check out their testimonials.

When you narrow down your choices to the top two or three, it’s always a good idea to meet so you can discuss the role and assess how the VA would fit with your business and its culture. Usually, with the nature of a VA’s work, this will be online through Zoom or Teams. 

Evaluate skills and experience

Depending on the work you will be delegating, you might also want to see examples of other projects they’ve completed, or case studies to gauge their expertise. Your VA also needs to be competent with any specific tools or platforms you will need them to use.

You might want them to complete a trial task or a one-off piece of work so you can assess their speed and level of competency before going ahead with a more formal, longer-term arrangement. 

Determine whether they have experience working with businesses at a similar stage to yours. For example, if they’ve previously worked with start-ups or have helped another company scale quickly, they will understand the intricacies on your journey. 

Assess their cultural fit

When you hire a VA, their values, work ethic, and communication style must fit with your company’s to ensure alignment with your business and wider team. For example, do they have experience working remotely? Do they like to collaborate with others, or do they prefer to work alone? This is really important to understand if you want them to help be the backbone of your organisation. 

You should be left with the feeling that they’ve got your back – and the best interests of your business at heart. Remember, you’re looking for a trusted partner and someone who can help you let go of low-level taks and stop sweating the small stuff. 

4.  Set expectations from the beginning

Finally, you need to be really clear about what you want your VA to do from the beginning of your relationship, so you have the best chance of success. This includes the scope of work, what their responsibilities are, and what availability you need your VA to have. If there are specific project deadlines, then make sure you share them in advance. 

You may also want to set a date for an initial review. Whether that’s one or three months in, it gives you a timeframe to ensure everything is going smoothly and sets those expectations.

5.  Other things to check before you hire a VA

Before you say ‘yes’ to your new VA, double-check the following key points so you don’t get stung further down the line. If you choose to work with an agency, many of these elements will be taken care of, but please don’t assume that’s the case. It’s still worth asking these questions.

·  Payment and rates

Don’t forget to check their rate and whether they’ll charge for time on an hourly basis or by project. Check what their payment terms are and whether they charge VAT so you can plan your cashflow.

·  Insurance

Make sure they have professional indemnity insurance as a minimum, and public liability insurance if you require any on-site support. VAs need to be registered with the ICO for data protection, as they’re dealing with your business files.

·  Absence cover

Ask what arrangements they have for sickness or holiday cover, or in case of emergency in their own business. Using an individual VA who doesn’t have additional support may be riskier in terms of business continuity and disruption during these instances, so consider this in your decision too. 

Let Virtually Priceless match you with the perfect VA

This step-by-step guide of how to hire a virtual assistant for your business should have given you the confidence to move ahead and finally get the support you need. 

However, if you would prefer someone takes care of the process for you, Virtually Priceless can help. As a virtual assistant agency, we can take the hard work away, matching you with the best-fit VA possible that’s already been through a rigorous vetting system. Get in touch to find the right VA.