Hiring a Virtual Assistant is a big step and one that should be carefully considered to make sure you end up with someone that is a good fit for your business, with the right experience and skill sets as well as being fully compliant and insured.
The first contact you have with a VA, and therefore your first impression, is when you land on their website or social media pages. You can use these sources to find out a lot about them however there are other, practical factors to consider too.
- Do they have all necessary insurances?
- How do they manage their work, what systems do they use to track their time, how do they share work progress?
- Do they have set working hours and do these hours fit with your business and requirements?
- How do they securely share documents and information?
- Are they ICO compliant? You can check this for yourself on the ICO website.
- Do they have ECS (AML) supervision through the HMRC (applicable for accountancy services only such as bookkeeping)
- What experience do they have ie. previous jobs, industry sectors? Do they have a specialism or 'niche' that matches your requirements?
- How do they like to communicate and what tools do they use to keep in contact?
- What are their standard Terms & Conditions and rates/packages?
- Have you read their client testimonials?
It’s important to choose a VA that you can build a good rapport and working relationship with. I always arrange an introductory Zoom or phone call so I can get to know a potential client and they can learn about me and my experience too - the relationship has to work both ways.
A trial working period is helpful too as it provides the perfect opportunity to discuss how things are going after an initial period, review the workload and key tasks and agree the way forward.
If you’re thinking of hiring a Virtual Assistant and would like to ask me all of the above or have more questions of your own, just drop me a line - would be delighted to have a chat!
Ellie Lane
Fast Lane VA Ltd
E: ellie@fastlaneva.com
M: 07814 456740
