What Makes a Great Virtual Assistant? Qualities to Look Out For
When it comes to running your business smoothly and efficiently, having a great virtual assistant on board is invaluable. Virtual assistants can provide support with almost any task you throw at them - from handling customer queries and managing your calendar to helping with administrative work or providing expert advice on specific projects. But, while there are many people offering their services as virtual assistants, how can you be sure that they have the right qualities for the job? Check out this blog post to learn about what makes a great virtual assistant - essential qualities you should look for when hiring!
What Does a Virtual Assistant Do?
A virtual assistant performs a variety of special tasks for businesses and individual clients. These professionals typically work remotely but are hired by companies to support their day-to-day operations. Depending on the job, virtual assistants may help with a range of duties, from providing customer support to maintaining websites or completing administrative tasks. Businesses often choose virtual assistants to save time and money while still getting the results they need. Virtual assistants are great resources for taking care of important but mundane everyday tasks that take away from running a successful business. With virtual assistant services, businesses can free up their staff to focus on larger projects, allowing the virtual assistant to do what they specialize in – handling smaller details so that businesses can grow and succeed.
Advantages of Hiring a Virtual Assistant
1. Reduce Operational Cost
Hiring a virtual assistant can be a great way to streamline business objectives and operations with reduced overhead costs. The advantages of choosing this type of service include the flexibility of being able to allocate tasks around the clock, to available personnel and not having an overstaffed office that comes with extra commitments like office space rent, technology infrastructure and other operational costs. Last but not least, hiring a virtual assistant eliminates the customary hassle related to onboarding permanent staff and honing them in on company policies and culture.
2. Increased Efficiency
Hiring a virtual assistant increases efficiency significantly because that person can help with the behind-the-scenes mundane tasks that add up, such as making phone calls, organizing clients, scheduling meetings and responding to emails. These types of tasks take up a lot of time and can distract from more important priorities. Outsourcing these tasks to a virtual assistant simplifies the process, freeing up valuable time for other essential activities. Additionally, since most virtual assistants are experienced professionals, they have the ability to think outside the box and offer their own solutions on how to make processes more efficient. This increases productivity since you don't need to be tied down with all the details yourself and instead can just focus on your overall goal and vision. All in all, the advantage of hiring a virtual assistant is improved efficiency in running your business or organization.
3. Fills the Skills Gap
Hiring a virtual assistant has become increasingly popular as businesses of all sizes can benefit from the advantages it brings. One of the biggest benefits of hiring a virtual assistant is that they can fill skill gaps within an organization. Virtual assistants can bring to the table valuable skills such as experienced customer service, strong administrative capabilities, technical support and IT proficiency, project coordination and support, research capabilities, and other specialized skills.
4. Helps Scale your Business
Even for the most time-strapped business owners, virtual assistants can be invaluable in helping scale companies through a variety of tasks. Their ability to take on mundane or repetitive tasks such as data entry, managing emails and calendars, handling customer inquiries, and more offers a degree of productivity that businesses can leverage to focus their energies and resources on areas that require more attention. Through the creative use of automation tools, and cost and time management techniques, virtual assistants can also help scale a business efficiently while minimizing costs substantially. Ultimately, outsourcing tasks to virtual assistants can help increase bottom-line productivity and open wider avenues in achieving greater scale.
5. Minimal Training Needed
Since virtual assistants are already professionals in their respective fields, minimal training is necessary — which is a bonus for any organization with a limited budget. Thanks to their diverse capabilities, virtual assistants can handle tasks quickly and efficiently. Businesses only have to train them with specific regulations and the nuances of the job because virtual assistants already have the right foundations needed. That said, businesses can easily bring on fully trained staff in-house or find an online virtual assistant that fits their needs. This provides them with the flexibility to manage their workload while still getting the expert help they need.
Disadvantages of Hiring a Virtual Assistant
1. Communication Challenges
It is no-brainer that you'll have to use chat, phone calls, or video calls to speak with your virtual assistant. Although it's not a big deal now, it could become one in the future. Unpredictable situations like power outages, natural disasters, and loss of Internet connections might cause difficulties to your communication with your virtual assistant.
Moreover, due to the lack of in-person meetings it is difficult to comprehend exactly what you or your virtual assistants really mean when you speak because it's quite challenging to understand non-verbal cues on the screen of your gadget or on texts. Misunderstood messages may lead to eventual conflict for both parties.
2. Cultural, Belief, and Linguistic Differences
The fact that you won't necessarily share the same views as your VA may be another drawback of hiring one. The differences could be ideological, theological, cultural, and more. Your beliefs may conflict with those of your VA and cause more disruptions to the workflow. Even though it can be difficult for both sides, harmony can be achieved when both sides respect one another's differences.
The linguistic barrier is another example. The majority of American businesses use virtual assistants from Asia, and these Asian nations tend to be more on the conservative side in their methods of feedback and communication, in contrast to the Americans who are renowned for being direct and concise. Communications and interaction issues could result from this.
3. Lack of Personal Supervision
Undoubtedly, virtual assistants can indeed be effective at all times, but it will be difficult to keep an eye on them if the task assigned to them requires sufficient supervision. It can be challenging to see if your VA is performing their tasks correctly because you are not physically there to monitor or inspect them. When they turn in their completed work to you, only then will you determine the level of quality. Well, you can monitor their progress using a variety of apps, however just using chats to add comments and provide clarifications can be tricky.
4. Risks in Data Security
As a business owner, it is inevitable for you to disclose sensitive data to your virtual assistant especially if it is relevant for a particular task. However, regardless of the medium and platform you use for sharing, there is no guarantee that it cannot be acquired by another. So in order to safeguard significant information and stop any potential data infringement, a thorough background check should be in order before hiring a VA.
Essential Qualities of a Great Virtual Assistant
1. Reliability and Integrity
What makes a great virtual assistant? The two most essential qualities for any VA are reliability and integrity. A virtual assistant should have the ability to consistently meet deadlines, maintain accurate records and manage projects efficiently; this is what makes reliability so important when it comes to working with a VA. Additionally, a great virtual assistant should demonstrate trustworthiness and act respectfully to clients by ensuring any confidential information remains private. Integrity sets the foundation of what is expected of a great VA and allows clients the peace of mind that what they invest in will bring desired results.
2. Resourcefulness and Ability to Multitask
What makes a great virtual assistant is their resourcefulness and ability to multitask. Resourcefulness is one of the most important qualities for this role as it allows virtual assistants to utilize their skills and resources in creative ways to solve problems, optimize processes, and come up with creative solutions. Additionally, being able to multi-task means that a virtual assistant can delegate tasks efficiently, handle multiple clients at once, and remember what needs to be done and when. A resourceful and multitasking virtual assistant ensures that all tasks are done in a timely manner, making them indispensable for businesses.
3. Ability to Work Under Pressure
A great virtual assistant needs to have what it takes to work under pressure and meet deadlines. This means being able to focus on multiple tasks while remaining organized, as well as being able to manage the workload in an efficient manner. They need to be able to prioritize tasks that need immediate attention, communicate directly with clients to ensure projects are on target and meet deadlines, and understand what workflow processes need to be adhered to for success and productivity. With such a job, there will naturally be stress and tension so having strong problem solving skills is also essential. A good virtual assistant should remember that effective preparation helps them provide their client with the best possible outcome and complete any given project in a timely fashion.
4. Receptive to Feedback and Open-minded
Without a doubt, being receptive to feedback and open-minded to criticism is what makes a great virtual assistant. Having the ability to recognize what is working and what can be improved is an invaluable asset. In order for virtual assistants to achieve success, they must be honest with themselves by admitting what needs improvement and then being willing to implement those changes. To be successful in the role requires one to accept constructive criticisms readily and be able to learn on the job quickly. A virtual assistant who is responsive to feedback and open-minded when it comes to critiques will undoubtedly have a much greater chance of succeeding in their role than one who resists advice.
5. Excellent Communication Skills
An essential quality for a virtual assistant is great communication skills. It is what makes a virtual assistant stand out from the rest, and what will be seen as valuable by clients. Clients need someone who can not only answer their questions, but also clearly explain what they are doing or what services they are providing. A great virtual assistant should also know how to adjust their communication style based on the client's needs and preferences. This skill will help build trust between the client and the virtual assistant, creating a successful business relationship. Additionally, strong communication skills can be used to put others at ease when conveying technical information or differences of opinion. Knowing how to communicate effectively is what makes a great virtual assistant.
Conclusion
All the aforementioned qualities are important to consider when making the decision of whether or not to hire a Virtual Assistant. Furthermore, weighing out the pros and cons will help you decide if a VA is right for your business needs. But if you find that you could benefit from having a VA on your team, be sure to check out SMART VAs! Our team of talented and skilled professionals would be more than happy to help take your business to the next level. Click here to book a call and get started today!