Whether you want assistance with social media management, day-to-day accounting or ordering your regular coffee at 13:05 hours, a Philippines-based virtual assistant can help you accomplish the task.
And virtual assistants (VAs) from the Philippines are known for their professionalism, hard work and efficiency. But hiring one is a whole different game. Some virtual assistants specialize in only one area, while others will offer a mix of services. And you’ll have to find out who is the best suit for your needs.
So, here are 5 tips to hire a Philippines-based virtual assistant to delegate unimportant tasks in order to boost your productivity.
1- List Out the Tasks You Want to Delegate
People hire VAs mostly for repetitive administrative tasks. They don’t use a VA to manage sales or marketing. But he/she can aid in the process by designing graphics for you or replying to queries on your behalf. So, before you hire a VA, you must make a list of the tasks you need help with.
Have an idea of what you need a virtual assistant for. Without proper analysis of your requirements, a VA might turn up as an added cost to your business, without helping you become more productive.
Analyze the work you do, sort out where a VA can help and categorize those tasks to find out the type of VA(s) you need. Then, make a list of tasks for delegation.
2- Look for a Virtual Assistant
Once you have the list of tasks, you’re ready to look out for a virtual assistant to get things done.
There are two ways you can go – hiring a specialist freelance VA or contracting an agency that offers VAs for hiring. The choice will depend on your requirements.
If you’re looking for a VA to handle a bunch of assignments, from answering social media queries to maintaining the spreadsheet of orders and payroll, go with an agency that specializes in your industry. Where necessary (e.g. payroll) make sure they are experienced with any relevant legislation specific to your country.
However, when you need someone only to email weekly newsletters to your followers and monitor your website analytics, an individual might be the best choice.
So, search accordingly. Many Filipino VAs are available on freelance sites too, e.g. Upwork and Fiverr.
3- Assess the Skills of Virtual Assistants
Once you begin headhunting, you’ll come across a flock of nerds who will claim to be the best in their job. And at times, you might be in a dilemma to choose the best fit from a list of suitable candidates. So, checking their skills is a must.
Take a video interview and do a live screen-sharing to find out how skillful they are. You can ask your potential VA to schedule an email or show their expertise with some functions in spreadsheets.
If you can't do a live task test, you can assign a small paid test work to determine their experience against your requirements. It can be something similar to creating an email copy relevant to your followers or finding the three best payment gateways for your website.
Evaluate them before signing up for a long-term relationship.
4- Compare Virtual Assistant Costs
Now, while you’re shortlisting the best candidates out of suitable 10, the next step is to check how much it costs to hire a virtual assistant.
A freelance Philippines based virtual assistant might charge you anything from $10 per hour or even more than $50 per hour, depending on the scope of work. Also, the experienced professionals will ask for rates higher than the amateur ones. And there will be yet others who’ll quote a monthly price.
Don’t feel overwhelmed looking at the quotes for virtual assistants. Instead, collect the hourly/monthly rates of all competent individuals or agencies. Compare the charges and services to find who provides the most value for your bucks.
5- Check if a Free Trial is Available
Depending on the type of work you’re delegating, you’ll have to invest the first few days or weeks in training. The VA needs to understand your work and the work environment.
But no matter how competent a VA sounds during the initial discussions, he/she might not be the best fit in the long run.
At times, your VA might not be the right choice for your business. It can either be because they aren’t able to use your custom scheduling software or you aren’t happy with their speed of work.
So, work out the contract to include a money-back guarantee if things don’t turn out well. Or ask if the VA or agency offers a free trial period.
Conclusion
Hiring a virtual assistant will help you be more productive and focussed on your business, but you need the right one. And for that to happen, first, outline the tasks you want to outsource. Then, assess the skills of the candidates to find the best match.
Once you find your assistant, train him/her about the work. Your investment in a VA will soon bear fruits.
