Are you looking to hire a virtual assistant to provide administrative support but don’t know where to start looking?
Well, you’ve come to the right place! Remote Staff is one of the best virtual assistant websites around.
With over fifteen years of experience, we specialize in connecting high-quality talent in the Philippines to US-based startups and small businesses.
Do You Have Unique Virtual Assistance Needs, Can You Talk to Someone About Them?
Virtual assistant services aren’t just limited to administrative tasks, copywriting, customer support, and data entry.
Depending on what virtual assistant jobs you’re outsourcing, you may be looking for applicants proficient in social media management, bookkeeping, lead generation, utilizing WordPress, and web design.
If you require virtual assistants with a more specific skillset, talk to our lead recruiters about it. They’re experts in helping business owners new to outsourcing discover the right virtual assistant for their needs.
The Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Assistant
Hiring a virtual assistant enables US-based entrepreneurs to grow their businesses with on-demand assistance while saving money, time, etc.
This means you can hire them either full-time, part-time, or just as freelancers (do note that Remote Staff doesn’t accept project-based contracts for our remote talents), depending on your needs. However, you’ll get more value from hiring a full-time or part-time VA than freelancers since they tend to be more committed to working for you.
They can also help streamline operations, particularly project administration. This helps boost your and your in-house team’s productivity, as you can now focus on more pressing business needs instead of getting bogged down by routine tasks.
In addition, a virtual assistant gives you access to specialized skill sets, such as graphic design, web development, digital marketing, content writing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and email marketing.
What Tasks Do Virtual Assistants Perform?
Virtual assistants can perform various tasks for you, depending on your needs and their specialization.
The most common tasks they perform for clients are administrative support, like managing emails and schedules. That is why personal assistants and executive assistants are popular virtual assistant jobs.
They can also manage your company’s social media accounts and ecommerce store, take care of content creation functions like copywriting and graphic design, and even manage your company’s bookkeeping.
Is There Anything Virtual Assistants Can’t Do?
Although they can perform a wide range of tasks, virtual assistants do have a few limitations.
First, they can’t provide on-site assistance for obvious reasons.
Secondly, virtual assistants aren’t really suited for making strategic decisions on your behalf. The same goes for tasks that require a deep understanding of your company’s internal dynamics.
How to Easily Monitor Your VAs?
Some business owners are hesitant to hire virtual assistants because they can’t easily monitor them from afar. This is especially important if you’re paying your virtual assistants an hourly rate.
Fortunately, you’re not without options. The most common way to track your virtual assistants’ productivity is via time-tracking software such as Time Doctor.
You can also use project management tools like Trello and online communications apps like Skype and Slack for regular check-ins and progress reports.
What’s Remote Staff Platform?
In terms of project management and monitoring, Remote Staff uses Teramind as our official monitoring software to track your virtual assistants’ progress, work time, etc.
Keep Track of Your VA’s Work Hours
Having a monitoring software at hand can help you feel at ease, knowing that your virtual assistant is being productive even with little supervision. In addition, this ensures effective billing and transparency.
Have Absolute Control While Monitoring
With a monitoring app, you’ll have real-time access to your virtual assistant’s screenshots to monitor their activities and get insights on their progress. This helps cultivate accountability and encourages compliance within your set deadlines.
Exploring Alternative Solutions for Managing Tasks Without Training a Virtual Assistant
Can’t afford the pricing of a virtual assistant just yet? Some clients use automation tools and project management software to keep track of their company’s processes as an alternative. You can also leverage online resources and tutorials to further improve your company’s operations and boost productivity.
However, it’s important to note that a well-trained virtual assistant is still the most convenient option for taking tedious tasks off your plate. Nothing beats a human’s best judgment, after all.
Why Should You Use Remote Staff for Your Virtual Assistant Needs?
There are many reasons why Remote Staff is one of the best virtual assistant websites today. Here are some of them:
Month to Month Virtual Assistants
Sure, every other virtual assistant company offers month-to-month virtual assistants. And their pricing range might seem more affordable than hiring full-time virtual assistants, at least in the short term.
But in the long run, having to replace and onboard a new VA each month defeats the purpose of hiring virtual assistants in the first place. Remember, you’re hiring VAs to save money, time, etc. and focus on growing your business. Repeating the process each month will get in the way of that.
Besides, Remote Staff’s virtual assistants are fully trained and experienced, and are especially suitable for long-lasting working relationships so you won’t have to keep looking and hiring a replacement.
Top-notch Quality Virtual Assistants
Before recommending a virtual assistant candidate, we try to make sure that they’re the right person for your needs. So if we recommend a social media virtual assistant, for example, you can be assured that they’re skilled and experienced.
First, we maintain a strict pre-selection process. This includes an interview to assess their skills and English proficiency, check their portfolios, and conduct behavioral and cognitive profiling. And if the position requires a certain certification (e.g., for those with accounting needs), we can also scout college-educated candidates.
Next, we’ll confirm the stability of their internet connection, the suitability of their equipment, and confirm their residential ID and address. And if necessary, we’ll also request a police clearance and references.
And our results speak for themselves. Just check out all the positive testimonials on our website.
Organized and Secure Virtual Assistants
Another concern many entrepreneurs have when hiring virtual assistants is data privacy.
Worry not, as Remote Staff has Non-disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and security measures in place to protect your data privacy.
Furthermore, we’ve got an IT team standing in case you need further assistance.
Time Management Nightmares to Blissful Focus
Overwhelmed by the number of administrative tasks you and your in-house team must constantly perform everyday? Having a VA, such as an administrative assistant, could certainly help make things easier.
You can offload the more mundane yet vital tasks to them, allowing you to focus on growing your company, enabling you and your in-house team to be more productive with your time.
Not Enough Hands on Deck to an Optimized Team
In a perfect world, your in-house team would have all the skills you need to grow your company. Unfortunately, reality is quite different.
Fortunately, you can remedy this problem by hiring a dedicated virtual assistant.
VAs provide a diverse range of skills to help bridge the gaps you may have in ongoing tasks or projects. This increases your team’s efficiency, as it frees them up to work on the tasks that they do best.
FAQs
Here are some of the most common questions most clients have when hiring VAs for the first time:
How Many Hours a Week Will I Save?
This depends on the VA’s tasks, as well as their efficiency.
On average, you can save five to twenty hours per week when you delegate tasks to a VA.
This number can go further up with clear communication and effective task delegation – and trusting your VA to do their job once they’ve proven themselves worthy of such.
What’s the First Thing to Outsource to My Virtual Assistant?
It depends on what you hired them for in the first place. If you hired a social media VA, then you should let them handle your company’s social media accounts for starters.
Prioritize delegating tasks that you lack the know-how for or are tedious and repetitive so you can focus on more productive activities.
Is Hiring a Virtual Assistant Difficult?
It can be challenging to hire a VA if you’re doing it alone. You have to post an opening on a job board and then go over several applications before you can start interviews, so the process can be tedious and time-consuming.
With Remote Staff, we’ll take care of most of the legwork.
Once we find suitable candidates, you can pick the ones you’d like to interview and we’ll arrange those for you. If they don’t suit your needs, we’ll continue searching for better candidates and then arrange another round of interviews.
Once you select a candidate, we’ll draft a contract for you to sign, which includes all of Remote Staff’s terms, and then we’ll set an onboarding date.
After establishing an onboarding date, our Client Relations Executive (CRE) will make the arrangements so your selected VA can start working.
When is the Right Time to Hire Virtual Assistants?
Are you and your in-house swamped with tedious yet critical tasks that don’t really move the needle forwards? Does your company need specialized skills your in-house team lacks to keep up with your competition?
If you answered “yes” to either question, it’s time for you to hire a VA.
What Platforms Do Virtual Assistants Use?
VAs use a variety of platforms to do their jobs and job hunt. They use communication apps like Skype and Slack to communicate, Google Suite for storing and sharing their output, and in Remote Staff’s case, monitoring apps like Teramind for transparency and to ensure accurate compensation.
What is the Highest Paying Virtual Assistant?
The highest-paying virtual assistant job in Remote Staff’s talent pool is the senior WordPress developer. The average monthly salary for one is at USD 2,695.90 a month. Coming in close are senior PHP developers at USD 2,156.72 and senior digital marketers at USD 1,976.99.
Finding and hiring the correct VA on your own can be difficult, especially if you’ve never done it before. Fortunately, there are many virtual assistant companies out there, like Upwork or Fancy Hands, that can help you find the right one faster and easier.
And one of the best in the business is Remote Staff. With over fifteen years of experience, we’ve got a tried and tested process that’ll match you with the right VA for your needs.
We are always ready to take on your inquiries. Contact our CREs to get started today.
John Carlo Pagsolingan is a carefree yet hardworking writer with aspirations of becoming a teacher in the future. He believes that remote working isn’t just a substitute; but is a legitimate alternative to face-to-face work. Learn more as he writes about the advantages of remote work and tips for aspiring remote workers.