5 myths about finding a virtual assistant
The word “Trusting a Virtual Assistant (VA)” is becoming more and more difficult nowadays, for misconceptions, add more with the floods of spammers on the internet. This creates a dilemma for clients in finding a VA or leaving them to do everything themselves just to be sure. However, having this in mind can take their business to the next level. Contracting VA services will not only reduce costs, but also increase productivity, improve work quality and increase flexibility.
Here are the 5 myths about finding virtual assistants that have been debunked:
1. You’ll get more work done with an office assistant.
Providing additional office space, equipment or supplies and paying an office assistant for eight (8) hours, including their non-productive time such as telling their love stories to their colleagues and having to stop occasionally for romance or crying time, may not practical for a growing company.
VAs are paid either on a productive hourly basis or on a project contract basis. They are productive because they have to be. You don’t spend money on VAs work.
2. The virtual remote assistant offers more problems than solutions.
If you want to cut costs further, hiring a remote VA is an available option, but outsourcing work from these remote regions offers more headache than relief. Issues such as dealing with cultural differences, language barriers and political unrest are commonly raised as potential red flags.
However, the online world in our time has evolved much more as such, than people, thanks to the Internet. Even our differences can’t get in the way, as VA can communicate and deliver data over a network via e-mail, conference calls, and online workspaces.
3. Virtual assistance skills have weakened in the industry.
More and more people are moving to the virtual world to take advantage of the opportunities available. The more players enter an industry, the more likely the skill or quality will wane.
But in the virtual assistance industry, instead of being incompetent, it has become more pervasive. You have virtual assistants that fit specific niches or requirements. In fact, the growth of the virtual assistance industry has helped improve the skill level as more experienced people enter the profession.
4. A virtual assistant will only be effective if it is full-time.
A virtual assistant’s schedule is determined based on the number of tasks that need to be completed each day, and they do not need to work full-time. If a VA allocates 90 minutes per day to a client, you can be sure that a series of tasks or projects will be completed within the period.
5. It is impossible to build trust with a virtual assistant.
Trying to build trust with a VA is in many ways similar to maintaining a long distance relationship. There should be constant communication between the two parties. With the technology available today, all you have to do is establish regular days for communication:
Start of the Week – Overview of goals and activities for the week.
End of the Week – Summary of the week, discussion of pressing issues and concerns, recommended courses of action for the coming week.
One-on-One – Set up a day of the week when you and the VA can have personalized sessions to address issues that may be getting in the way of performance.
The bottom line is that building trust in any medium takes time. You have to work at it to make it happen consistently.
Virtual assistants are not just impersonal people behind a computer screen. Moreover, it is a useful way to build strong business alliances and partnerships.
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