Running a successful business is a balancing act. You’re always darting between doing client work, making sure your accounts add up, checking you have enough stock, fielding new enquiries, marketing your business, all the admin and somehow making a profit, all while balancing your home life and the chaos that might entail. With a full team behind you this can be manageable, but often it’s just you, or one other person, and it can feel like you’re suffocating.
So now that you’re here, grab your beverage of choice and take a deep breath. And another one. And another one.
Now, if you clicked on this then you already know why you need a VA. You just don’t know how to choose the right one. Because who you choose as your VA can have a huge impact on the success or failure of the endeavour Don’t worry though – just stick your feet up and let us tell you what you need to know.
The Basics
First, let’s get the basics out of the way. You need to choose someone who has a fluent grasp of the English language, and who has some experience of working in customer service before. After all, the whole point of hiring a VA is for them to pick up the ropes quickly. Most professional VAs will tick these boxes without a problem.
The other basic to consider is location. In the era of remote working, it’s not essential for your VA to be in the same town or even the same county as you – but ideally, you want someone who is in the same time zone as you – or similar. The last thing you want is to encounter an urgent issue and your VA is asleep!
Now that the basics are out of the way, here are the key questions to ask.
Are They Adaptable?
There are a lot of very experienced, very able professional VAs who are great at what they do but are also very stuck in their ways. They don’t always want to adapt to your way of working. But a good VA can adapt their approach and style to meet your needs in every area. Sure, they will have suggestions and share some best practices with you – but it should always be a discussion, not a demand. Choose a VA who is open to adopting their approach and collaborating with you, and you’re on to a winner.
What Do Their Reviews Say?
Reviews can tell you a lot about a person and the way they do business. Especially Google reviews, which can’t be deleted or edited. So spend some time online reading testimonials and reviews before you book any meetings. Look for specific mentions of the things that are most important to you – like responsiveness, organisation, standards or excellence in certain skills. You need to know that they can actually deliver on their promises after all.
Are They Reactive or Proactive?
When it comes to personality there are two distinctive types of VA roles. There’s the proactive and there’s the reactive. A proactive VA will take a more active role in your business. coming up with suggestions and ideas, while a reactive VA will complete tasks as you assign them. Think of it as the difference between having a butler and having an advisor. A butler will do as you ask when you ask, but an advisor will be part of your team and strive to make things better.
Do You Actually Get Along?
This isn’t one of those professional relationships where personalities don’t matter as long as they can do the job. Your relationship with your VA is going to be close and involved, with conversations happening on a daily basis. And some of those conversations are going to be tough. So you need to actually get along with your VA on a fundamental level. Personality matters. If you’re not sure about someone but they tick all of the other boxes, suggest a trial period so that you can spend some time with them and make sure you’re making the right choice.
At Your Admin Hub, we know we’re not everyone’s cup of tea. But we are down good at what we do (just check out our reviews), so if you like our style and want to find out more about how we work, just get in touch with the team today.