Joining the online world of virtual assisting will have a learning curve. If you do not know anything about virtual assistants, there are few points that you should know before hiring a new virtual assistant to work with you virtually. This is a crash course in learning about virtual assisting and how it will work for you.
You and your assistant won’t meet
Forget about awkward first encounters and someone being your shadow as you walk down the hallway. Your virtual assistant will help you precisely from where they live. This can be 10 miles away or 10,0000 miles away. Though not meeting in person may seem odd at the beginning, there are other ways to talk, such as:
• Email
• Instant messenger
• text message
• mobile phones
• video calls
Virtual assistants can be contractors or employees
One of the best parts of hiring a virtual assistant is determining whether you want them to be an employee or a contractor. Depending on your business incorporation type or services, you may find more advantages in one or the other. Make sure to discuss in advance about the options with your virtual assistant so that they are aware of the implications.
Virtual assistants can handle business and personal
While most people expect a business assistant to deal with business items and a personal assistant to deal with your personal matters, virtual assistants can do either of them. You can hire a virtual assistant to manage things that can be outsourced in the business and personal sector.
Virtual assistants can be single or a company
There are companies out there that have a number of virtual assistants available for hire to clients. There are companies that have a number of virtual assistants available to rent to clients. If you want the choice to be made for you, a virtual assistant company can work for you. If you prefer to handle direct hiring on your own, you may consider hiring a virtual assistant who is not with a company.
Access needs to be agreed upon
When you hire an in-house assistant, you will be able to access personal items such as computers, servers, files, and anything else that is on a company basis or belongs to the company. With a personal assistant, you will need to conclude a contract with the basic rules, since you will not have access to their personal computer.
Be sure to instruct your assistant not to save files to their computer unless necessary. You can also buy a smartphone for your assistant or any client and customer contacts or play them on Skype, where you can go back and view messages.
Be sure to outline a schedule
If you want to know when your assistant is online and available, you have to create a schedule together. This way you will know when you can access it. Your assistant may also need to work hours when you are not available, so you should look for a split schedule. This will keep you working throughout business hours as well as give you some help.
