With all the potential benefits a quality virtual assistant can bring to a company, the drive to find a suitable one continues for many online business owners. Perhaps leery after a couple of bad experiences with VAs who over-estimated their abilities or failed to deliver as promised, those who seek out help need more stringent ideals when it comes to making the best choice.
Finding the best virtual assistant for a particular set of needs requires a combination of essential components: research, comparison and sampling for best results. Of course, some basic guidelines can help…
Where?
An online search yields a variety of methods for finding the best virtual assistant for your situation. Umbrella agencies that offer multiple VAs specialising in different aspects of company creation and management may be ideal if varying tasks are required. Individual assistants offer particular services or expand their expertise to more generalised options. Online job and bidding sites for freelancers, such as Upwork.com and Freelancer.com can provide quality VAs with a wide variety of skills. Although, finding the best from these websites usually requires weeding through many undesirable workers.
What?
Before hiring a virtual assistant, consider precisely what tasks are required. While some offer a wide variety of skills, others focus on more specialised ones. Not only should completed work and testimonials be considered, but a cost analysis completed to see if hiring multiple virtual assistants would be better than going with just one.
How?
While finding a great virtual assistant with a simple Google search or perusal of an online freelancing board may occur, a more careful and deliberate search may yield better results. The current proliferation of social media pages for both individual professionals and agencies should lead companies to search sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Comments received from other interested parties and past clients provide a more personal look into the quality of their work and professional interactions.
How Much?
The old adage, “You get what you pay for,” is often repeated when people talk about hiring any type of freelance help. Low cost shouldn’t top the list of deciding factors when it comes to engaging the services of a virtual assistant. Although companies should stick to their budgets, quality work does require higher costs in most cases. Consider using multiple virtual assistants for the various jobs that require their help. For example, creating a quality website design, on-going search engine optimisation updates and social media engagements should be trusted to a knowledgeable professional whose excellent work commands a higher price. Less expensive, inexperienced or non-native English speaking VAs could handle tasks that require less precision.
Some measure of trial and error often accompanies the quest for a virtual assistant or assistants who can provide professional-quality, time-sensitive and affordable work. More detailed searches, social media investigations and opening up to the possibility of compartmentalising work to multiple freelance helpers can certainly help too. With the myriad of benefits a good virtual assistant can bring to your company, taking the time and care to choose the best for one for you just makes good business sense.