Virtual Assistants - your questions answered
If you’re thinking about hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA) or becoming one, you’re bound to have a lot of questions. We’re always happy to answer any of your questions, but we thought it’d be helpful to look at some of the most common ones we get asked to give you a better idea of what is involved.
What do VAs do for their clients?
This isn’t as easy a question to answer as it sounds, because it depends very much on the type of work the client is doing and what they need a VA for. There are a number of tasks that VAs are commonly asked to do, such as diary management, email management, administrative tasks, and data collection. Some of our VAs are happy to take on other tasks such as website content management, social media, HR, and bookkeeping tasks.
As part of our initial fact finding, we’ll have a discussion with our clients about the skills they are looking for and match them with a VA who already has them or is willing to learn. The skills needed by a VA are constantly evolving, so we need clients to be confident that their VA will be able to keep up with the ever-changing VA skill set and thrive.
blueumbrella VAs have all worked as board-level PAs or EAs. Equally as important as their experience is our VAs’ attitude towards their work. We will only match VAs who are motivated, fully engaged with their work, and happy to go the extra mile to get the job done well, every time.
Why do I need to hire the services of a VA?
Whether you run your own company or are a director or manager in a large business, a VA will support your work and make your life easier. This could be simple diary management and admin to give you more time to spend on fee-earning tasks, taking on more specialised projects such as organising events, researching clients and suppliers, managing your social media accounts, or virtually anything else you need. Just talk to us about your requirements and we’ll find you a VA with the skill set to help you.
What am I committed to when I hire a VA?
The beauty of having a VA is that you only pay them for the work they do. However, they will always be available during pre-agreed working hours, so they will always be available when you need them. This means you get the best of both worlds - assistance when you need it, but without the costs involved in employing someone. This is why VAs are so popular with big (and multinational) businesses as well as micro businesses and the self-employed.
In terms of workload, we do ask that you commit to providing your VA with an average of at least 20 hours of work a month. We understand that there will be busy periods as well as