How to Work with a Virtual Assistant: Your Personal Checklist

Working with a Virtual Assistant (VA), sometimes referred to as an Executive Assistant, can significantly enhance your productivity and streamline your business operations. As a small business owner, you wear many hats, and an experienced Virtual Executive Assistant can take some of those off your head – and shoulders. This checklist will guide you through hiring a Virtual Assistant, from identifying tasks to delegating and setting clear expectations. Use this checklist to get your VA onboard and up to speed in record time.  

BEFORE YOU HIRE 

Assess Your Needs 

These steps are important to identifying your initial needs. You wouldn’t go shopping for a car without doing some research and deciding on the features you want in your new vehicle, would you? Applying this same strategy to hiring your Virtual Assistant will help ensure that you can identify the Virtual Assistant Agency or individual VA that will be a good fit for your small business.  

•  Identify Tasks: Make a list of the things that suck up your time, that you don’t like to do, or that you don’t have the necessary skills to do. These may be administrative, creative, technical, or a mix. 

• Set Priorities: Prioritize tasks that are most critical to your business growth. Further break these down into ones that only you can do, ones that are easily trained and delegated, and ones that require more effort to train and delegate.  

Tip: Which of these are repeatable or require little training? Keep your list handy and add to it throughout your day to identify these opportunities. 

Need more guidance? Check out our blog: The Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Assistants: How to Get Started. 

Selection 

Just like car shopping, there are some additional things you should know before seeking out the support from a VA. We’ve listed those below.  

•  Determine your budget: Before you start, planning your budget is key. It is better to know in advance what you can afford so you can save time in your research. If your budget is small, you will probably require an offshore Virtual Assistant Service. US Based Virtual Assistant Agency’s start at $1000/month typically.  

•  Research: Choose a reputable Virtual Assistant Company or individual Virtual Executive Assistant. Look at their reviews on sites like Google, Trustpilot, or Clutch, and review their website. Ask colleagues if they’ve ever worked with that company or know anyone who has? For the individuals, ask for references from other companies they’ve worked with.  

•  Match Skills: Ensure the VA’s skills align with your specific needs. Determine the skills needed for your VA: scheduling across time zones, assisting with your sales process, organization, document management, and employee or client onboarding are common Virtual Executive Assistant tasks. You may need a VA with specialized skills such as bookkeeping, payroll, project management, operations, or graphic design and website abilities.  

• Verify Information: Not all VAs are created equal. Some have a broad set of skills while some have specific or specialized expertise. Ask for references from their current clients. When seeking a Social Media Virtual Assistant, ask for samples of their work. They should be able to provide links to a portfolio or current public facing social media accounts.  

Tip: When you have a broad spectrum of needs, you may require multiple VAs or a Virtual Assistant Agency that offers multiple services. A quality agency will walk you through the process of determining if one or more than one VA best fits your needs.   

Key Questions to Ask before Hiring a VA 

You are interviewing someone who will become intimate with your company. Come prepared to the meeting. Below are some examples of questions you might want to ask of a Virtual Assistant Agency. Most of these questions can be modified to ask of an individual VA as well.  

• If the location is important to you, ask where the VA is located.  

• How do you manage workflow?  

• What is the skill set of the VA who will be assigned to me?  

• Do I get to interview the VA in advance?  

• Are you insured?  

• What happens if I want a different VA or am dissatisfied?  

• How is work covered when you are sick or on vacation? 

• How do you measure success? 

ONBOARDING YOUR NEW VA 

Scheduling the Initial Meeting  

• Set up an Initial Onboarding Meeting: Once you’ve hired your VA, find a time to meet with them. You and your VA should both be on a computer and stationary. This meeting should take place in a space free of distractions so you can both focus.  

• Set an Agenda: Prepare for your onboarding head of time. Either you or your VA should create an agenda to ensure that you don’t forget something important. Savvy VA and Virtual Assistant Agencies will do this for you.  

Tip: Some things you may want to address in your initial meeting are accessing technology, managing tasks, and communication channels.  

Set Clear Expectations 

• Define Roles: Clearly outline the VA’s responsibilities and your expectations. Also define who they report to and who approves work. 

•  Set Goals: Establish measurable goals and deadlines to ensure productivity. Some examples include a report on a specific frequency or if they are managing your inbox, a zero inbox by 5 pm.  

Tip: Plan how your Virtual Executive Assistant will learn about your company, needs, and full responsibilities of their role. This is not accomplishable in a 1 – 2-hour onboarding meeting.  

Communication 

Communication with your VA is important for long term success.  

• Be available for questions. This may mean setting up a specific communication channel in Slack, Zoom, or Teams for quick questions and answers.  

• Build a rapport. This allows for easier communication including constructive feedback when mistakes are made.   

• Regular Meetings: Plan for regular face-to-face meetings via Teams, Zoom, or Google Hangouts to maintain clear communication and provide guidance. 

• Feedback Loop: Create a system for regular feedback to continuously improve the working relationship. 

Technology and Security 

As technology evolves, Cybercrime has increased drastically. Providing your VA with the proper tools and ensuring they follow best practices for security will ensure your information Is always protected. 

•  Tools: Provide access to necessary tools and platforms for task management and communication.   

•  Cybersecurity: Ensure your VA follows best practices for cybersecurity, including using secure storage and two-factor authentication. 

Tip: We highly recommend that you do not email password information. There are great tools such as Dashlane and Keeper that can store passwords and encrypt them. Browser password savers do not encrypt your information. 

Post Onboarding 

Utilize VA Services Fully 

Now that the ball is rolling, here’s how you can make sure you get the best results from your new VA now and in the future.  

•  Task Delegation: use a project management system such as Monday.com, Asana, or ClickUp to monitor activities. This will help keep yourself, your business, and your VA on track.  

•  Leverage Skills: Make use of the VA’s expertise in areas like customer service, scheduling, and even bookkeeping.  

Tip: Ask, “what else do you have experience with” to see where you can plug that into your business. If working with an agency, ask for a capability statement to understand what else they can support your business with.  

Evaluate Performance 

We love metrics at DCA Virtual Business Support. Find ways to optimize your VA services with consistent evaluations of KPIs and performance. 

• Review: Regularly review the VA’s performance and adjust as needed. This could be in established meetings. Make sure to praise what they do well and guide for what they need to improve.  

• Efficiency: Encourage your Virtual Assistant to make suggestions for workflow once they get to know your systems. Then, work with your VA to implement suggestions for increased efficiency and better support. 

Tip: If working with an agency, ask for regular feedback meetings with your VA’s manager on a cadence that works for you. It may be quarterly, biannually, or annually. 

 Long-Term Relationship 

The right VA will become a vital part of your business or organization integrating seamlessly. They’ll play a key role in your business’s long-term success, which is why building a trusting relationship is paramount. 

•  Build Trust: Develop a trusting relationship with your VA through consistent communication and mutual respect. 

•  Adapt and Grow: Be open to adapting the working relationship as your business evolves and grows. 

By following this checklist, you can effectively harness the potential of Virtual Assistant Services to boost productivity, enhance client satisfaction, and achieve a healthier work-life balance. 

DCA Virtual Business Support’s US Based Virtual assistants can help you transform your business! If you’d like to learn more about our Virtual Executive Assistants, Contact us today.