How to Hire a Virtual Assistant: Building a Dream Team

Have you finally decided that it’s time to decide how to hire a virtual assistant? The good news is that you have a lot of options. The bad news is also that you have a lot of options. It may seem like offboarding certain tasks comes without a great amount of risk, especially if the tasks are seemingly low stakes. The truth is that the right VA partner can make or break your business. If you decide to hire “helpers” instead of “partners”, you may find yourself feeling more burnt out than before you started your search. In this blog, we will explore how to determine which VA partner is right for you, share virtual assistant interview questions, and how to properly utilize that partnership with performance tracking so you can actually reduce your workload.

How to Hire a Virtual Assistant: Preparing for the Interview

Step 1: Conduct A Time Audit 

You know two things better than anyone else: your business and yourself. If you logged every minute of work you do for your business each day, where would you see the most hours accumulate? Is that how you would like to be spending your time? If you’re searching for a virtual assistant, the answer to that question is probably “no.” If you’re still clarifying what you can delegate, start here: what does a virtual assistant do?

To conduct a time audit, choose an upcoming week on your calendar that looks normal– that is, a week that looks just like any other week with no outlier events, vacations, or projects. Each day for that entire week, track your time for the entire work day. You can go old-school with a pen, paper, and the timer on your phone, or you can use an app like Harvest or Toggl Track. Whichever way you decide, make sure to enter the name of the activity or task you’re doing before you start your timer. 

After a week of time tracking, lay out your newfound data in front of you. Review which activities took the longest, which activities you did most frequently, and which activities you weren’t able to get to, among other things. You can also assign priority levels to different tasks to help you better visualize where your time is being spent and where you would like it to be spent. 

Step 2: Bridge the Gap

Now that you’ve assessed which tasks are unnecessarily eating up your time, it’s time to move on to the next step: recognizing the bridge between where you are and where you want to be. You know which tasks you need to delegate to a virtual assistant, but why do you need them off your plate? What is the driving force behind wanting to make these changes? The clearer your vision, the easier it will be to convey to potential VA’s, and the more likely you are to find  the strategic partner who is most able to help you achieve your goals. 

Step 3: Assess Your Budget

Lastly, but certainly not least, you need to assess your available budget for VA services. Looking at which tasks you want to delegate and how much time they were taking up during your time audit, you should be able to calculate a rough estimate of how many hours per week you will want to delegate to a VA. Some Virtual Assistant agencies offer packaged pricing, while some offer a la carte options that are billed hourly. If you’re comparing options, it helps to review what’s typically included in virtual assistant services before you reach out. Make sure to take a look at an agency’s website and scope out their pricing before deciding to reach out to them. If an agency’s pricing is too far from being compatible with your budget, it could be an inefficient use of time to inquire about services from them. 

On the other hand, when you’re assessing your budget for virtual assistant services, it can be helpful to shift your mindset from “what does this cost?” to “what does this unlock?” This advice is not meant to convince anyone to spend more money than they’re able to, but it is meant to pose an important question: how much are you willing to spend to reach your business goals?

What to Look For in a Strategic Virtual Assistant Partner 

When looking for an assistant, there are many qualities to keep an eye out for. Someone who is organized, proficient in technology, and who fits in your budget seems like the obvious hire you would want. Those qualities are important, but when you’re looking for a “partner” instead of a “helper”, you should look for someone with traits that go beyond the basics. A good strategic VA partner should be able to learn to proactively anticipate certain business needs, approach their work with a high EQ, attain a high level of problem solving skills, and possess a sense of technical agility. 

Proactive Anticipation

Finding a VA that can learn to take care of problems before they arise will allow you to spend less time delegating tasks and more time doing the tasks that you need to be doing. Of course you can’t expect someone to be a mind-reader, but you can expect that they will make smart intuitive decisions. The stronger the partnership between you and your VA, the more likely it is that they will know when to step in and handle things before you even ask them to. 

High Emotional Intelligence

Knowing how to navigate people as people (instead of worker bees) is a trait of a standout VA. Moods change, life events happen, and emotions can make their way into a business. Managing the energy of a client or a CEO is just as important as managing their inbox. A partnership that is forged from two parties with a high EQ is a sure win. 

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Each day as a business owner is full of surprises. After a certain point, you can’t always be the one to handle them. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to be able to trust the people around you to alleviate some of the stress. A good partner will have the ability to think critically and to problem solve. You should be able to trust them to navigate roadblocks without constant hand-holding. 

Technical Agility 

Being technically proficient and being technically agile are two different things. Both are important, but being technically proficient in one or a few areas can only get someone so far. Especially in the world of ever-growing software options, a virtual assistant who has technical agility, aka being able to quickly and efficiently learn new tools, can sometimes be more important than investing in someone who only knows one or two specific software. 

Cultural and Visionary Alignment 

A passionate business owner should have a similarly passionate partner to help keep the business running and true to its core values. No matter what your values are, it’s important to look for a VA partner that shares your “Why.” 

One way to do this is to make sure that your VA is comfortable with asking questions, challenging your ideas, and providing constructive feedback when needed. A culture where everyone’s ideas are needed and valued is a culture that allows for growth. If you share similar values, then any questions and/or feedback from your VA are likely to be for the benefit of your shared goals and vision. 

Virtual Assistant Interview Questions

The “Vibe Check” vs. The Skill Test

Within all professionals, there is a balance that exists between their personality and their proficiency. What is yours? Do you want your virtual assistant to match that? Or do you want them to bring something a little different to the table? Here are a few interview questions for assessing both aspects of your potential VA:

Questions for the “Vibe Check”:

• How might your coworkers describe you?

• Tell me about yourself. 

• Tell me about an unanticipated challenge you faced. How did you handle it?

• How do you deal with frustrated clients?

• When you’re in a leadership role, how do you motivate team members?

• What’s your proudest accomplishment as a professional? Why is it important to you?

  
  

Questions for the “Skill Test”:

• What software and tools are you familiar with?

• How do you keep your skills up to date?

• What do you think is the most important skill for a virtual assistant?

• How do you prioritize tasks when you have multiple deadlines?

• How do you manage and organize digital files?

• What are your preferred project management tools?

  
  

Scenario-Based Questioning

More often than not, getting to know a professional’s thought processes is much more helpful than simply learning about their resume and their past work experience. Asking scenario-based questions in a virtual assistant interview can help you assess a potential hire’s personal workflow and strategies off the top, rather than waiting until after you’ve begun to work with them. Here are a few ideas for scenario-based questions:

• Your computer crashes with an important deadline coming up. What are your immediate next steps? 

• What would you do if you were given a task to complete that was outside of your expertise?

• You disagree with a client’s method for handling a project. How do you resolve this while maintaining a strong relationship?

• Tell me about a time you had to work with people with different communication styles. 

• Provide an example of a time when you proactively addressed a client’s need. 

How to Onboard a Virtual Assistant

Congratulations! You’ve hired a new VA and you’re excited to start offloading tasks and getting them acclimated to your business. Before rushing into the onboarding process, and at the risk of overloading your new hire with too much information at once, it’s important to come up with a structured onboarding plan complete with different phases and goals. Every business is different and you know yours better than anyone else, but these general guidelines can help anyone effectively onboard a new virtual assistant. 

Offload Your Knowledge with Documentation

I know I just used the word “structured”, but the first thing you’re going to want to do is to execute a good, old-fashioned brain dump. Your VA needs to know everything about your business and the only way they can learn is if you tell them. Of course not everything will stick in their memory the first time, and that’s okay. As long as you’ve planted the seeds and they’ve absorbed the generally important big bits of information, that should be plenty for a VA to go off of to get started.

A brain dump does not have to be as messy or chaotic as it sounds. It can happen in many forms: a typed document, a presentation, or even simply sitting down over coffee and talking it out. Once you’ve offloaded all the information you want your VA to know, your brain will have cleared up space for the next, more structured phases of onboarding. 

Virtual Assistant KPIs to Track Success Metrics 

Deciding on KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) and success metrics can help you more clearly understand if your partnership is working. These types of metrics allow you to measure the extent to which your virtual assistant is helping your business succeed. Generally speaking, KPI’s like these are great ways to measure if your VA is performing well for your company:

• Task Completion Rate

• Response Time

• Accuracy in Documentation

• Proactive Problem Solving

• Client Satisfaction 

It can also be extremely helpful to create KPI’s and success metrics for yourself that are more abstract, based on feeling or energy. For example: after three months with your VA, do you feel like you are doing the work you should be doing? Do you feel less stressed? More stressed? Asking yourself these questions alongside analyzing actual, numerical results can ensure that you get the most complete assessment of how your partnership is going. 

Communication Rhythms

One thing is true for all businesses: communication is key. Ensuring that your VA knows the rhythms with which you and your employees communicate is one of the most important phases of onboarding. Often, these methods get picked up instinctively and a VA learns by doing. That being said, it is always helpful to have an SOP, note, or document for reference that outlines communication systems as well. Make sure your VA understands the protocols for email, Slack, Teams, Meetings, emergency channels, communication via phone, and any other mode of communication your company uses. 

Common Pitfalls

Unfortunately, even a great hire can still end up failing to make the impact you hope for. This usually has nothing to do with that person’s ability and everything to do with a CEO who isn’t properly utilizing their services and expertise. 

Micromanagement 

Even though virtual assistants are hired to alleviate the CEO or business owner of tasks, it can sometimes be hard for them to let go of control and lead them to micromanage their VA’s. This isn’t uncommon, especially in the beginning. If you start to feel yourself micromanaging or feel yourself resisting the need to relinquish control, remember why you wanted to hire a VA in the first place: to improve the quality of your business. Growth doesn’t happen overnight and without risk. It may seem scary to trust a new person with your business, no matter how qualified they are, but learning to trust your VA is a risk that is well worth the taking and will likely lead to a stronger partnership and more success for your business as a result. 

Under-Utilizing the Talent

Are you paying for a Porsche but driving it like a golf cart? If so, you may not be seeing the results from hiring a VA that you had hoped for. Take an audit of the tasks your VA is currently doing for you. Then, take an audit of the other tasks you wish you could delegate to someone else, maybe tasks that you previously hadn’t considered a VA could do. You may not have wanted to relinquish those tasks before. But, if you focus on forming a strong partnership with your VA, you will quickly learn that they are usually capable of handling more and that you are capable of letting go of more than you previously imagined. 

Lack of Documentation

Pay special attention during the onboarding process for this common pitfall. It can be easy to throw a lot of information at a new hire (usually verbally) and then realize that a large portion has already been forgotten. Usually, this happens because of a lack of proper documentation. A VA needs a “Source of Truth” for all areas of your business. This is important for two reasons: having a point of reference for all systems will allow them to finish tasks more efficiently and they won’t have to spend time asking you as many questions. Make sure if you’re throwing important information at your VA that that information is written down somewhere where they can access it. 

Conclusion

Building your dream team isn’t a one-time event. It’s an ongoing process. Transitioning from operating your business solo to becoming a collaborative leader requires a shift in perspective. When you stop looking for someone to simply check off boxes or cross off items on your to-do list and start looking for someone to help you carry out your vision, the results start flooding in. If you want a practical next step, here’s a guide on how to use your virtual assistant to get the most value from the partnership. By conducting a thorough audit, knowing which traits to look for in a VA, ensuring that your values are aligned with each other, efficiently onboarding them, and utilizing their expertise correctly, you will reclaim the time you need to properly invest in the growth of your business.