It makes perfect sense to outsource your business tasks or an entire department to virtual assistants. Yes, virtual assistance is the next big thing in the business world. Businesses in countries like Australia are fast adapting to the notion of virtual assistants. They are cheaper than regular employees and can even prove to be more efficient at the job.
Hence, the question comes to mind – what is the best virtual assistant solution for a company in Australia? More importantly, if you do identify what you can outsource, you must know exactly what to look for in a virtual assistant. This is why we have come up with 7 tips to help you hire the best virtual assistant that you can get. These are tried and tested pointers that will definitely be helpful to small to medium sized businesses.
Tip #1: Knowing Exactly When You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant For a Business In Australia
Understanding and recognising the Australian market’s trends and demands is pivotal to this. As a small business owner in Australia, you must learn to recognise the early signs that you need to hire a virtual assistant. Here are a few points that can tell you need to outsource your tasks:
When to Hire a Virtual Assistant:
- If you are in charge of a large department and do not get time for your personal life, you need to look for outsourcing options. A virtual assistant is your best bet here. They can be a short-term replacement for you while you take some time off.
- There are several skill sets that are available with different individuals. If you or your team feel like you lack some industry knowledge, you can hire a virtual assistant that can help you remotely. They can fill in the skill gap that your business dearly needs.
- If you are a business owner and you feel like you are micromanaging a lot, you might need to outsource these basic jobs to a virtual assistant.
- Administrative tasks in the office can be monotonous or boring. If you want to physically work with a team that is more involved with the management side of things (decision making), go for outsourcing your admin jobs.
- A plan to scale your company is in place but you lack proper human resource? Well, we have the solution for you and you know what it is!
Tip #2: Find Out What Your Business Needs
Your can get the best out of your virtual assistant if you have a clear idea of what you need. This means that your requirements should be properly drafted and communicated to the company you are hiring from. The best virtual assistant companies in Australia say that they can serve clients better if they get the right demands in the first place. It is up to you to communicate your demand properly in order to get the person with the right portfolio.
Tip #3: You must know what virtual assistants can help you with
To make things easier for you, we have a list of the most common jobs that virtual assistants are best at:
- Bookkeeping and accounting jobs that require a certain level of command over a particular software. This also includes traditional accounting, keeping track of expenses, raising invoices, drafting purchase orders, etc.
- Administrative office tasks are another thing that virtual assistants normally do very well at.
- Cold calling and sales calls, BPO operations, telecalling, etc.
- Digital marketing and web development services can also be availed through some virtual outsourcing firms.
- Inventory management, CMS handling, data entry, and other software related jobs can also be fulfilled through virtual assistants.
- Copywriting and ghostwriting, plagiarism testing, content development, strategizing, etc.
Tip #4: Avoid Virtual Assistants that Do Not Suit Your Demands
This might seem familiar to the second point we discussed but we will focus on something different here. What we want to say is that there are certain times that a company hires the ‘wrong’ person to do a particular job. There are no question marks regarding the skills of the individual. However, those skills don’t exactly match what your business needs at the moment. The best virtual assistant tip for businesses in Australia is to carefully gauge what you need and then communicate this requirement to the company you want to hire from. There are several options available these days. As the decision maker in your company, it is all up to you to make the right call.
Tip #5: Interview Your Candidates Properly
If you visit a generic virtual assistant and outsourcing company’s website, there are certain things that you need to be cautious of. The first thing is that there are different profiles available on these websites. Let’s say there are ten digital marketers that are available for outsourcing. However, it must be noted that each individual is unique and comes with their basic skill set. What you see on the surface is rarely the truth. And there is no deception here – the idea is to get to know the candidates well before you make the move and hire a virtual assistant.
The best way to do so is to interview each prospect and then compare the results. The most important thing is that the person should be able to do the job efficiently. If your demands are specific to a particular project, the interview needs to be more thorough. You must know beforehand whether the individual is capable of taking on the responsibility or not. Finally, the best virtual assistant is one who can actually help you focus on more important tasks while they deal with the ‘dirty work’.
Tip #6: Develop a Channel for Communication for Remote Virtual Assistants
One of the biggest advantages of hiring a VA is that it is really cost-effective. Firstly, the overall pricing is less than a generic company employee. Secondly, you can hire a virtual assistant in Australia on a temporary basis – say for just a couple of months. Therefore, you only pay for the time the person actually worked. There is no downtime, per se.
Another additional benefit is that remote work can be more efficient for your business. However, this upside can quickly turn into a disadvantage if you do not set up proper communication channels. In very simple terms, you need to ensure that your company and the virtual assistant are on the same playing field. They must understand what you expect of them. Finally, communication is key when it comes to delivering tasks that are hinged on a deadline.
You can figure out a standard communication channel for your business and use the same formula for all your virtual assistants.
Tip #7: Figure Out Your Expenses in Advance
Needless to say, hiring a virtual assistant costs money. Although it is much more cost effective than the traditional way of doing business, it is still an expense that you need to track and take care of. It is for this reason that you must include these costs in your financial budget for the company. Again, to do so, you must have your requirements figured out. Develop a strategy that can help you make the most out of your hired personnel. Happy outsourcing!
