Having a virtual assistant in your company can be a highly valuable asset. This is especially true henn you are still in the start up phase where your resources are small and your funds are still limited.

Start-up business owners are entrepreneurs who needs to handle their time efficiently and must focus more on the tasks that will increase the development and growth of the business.

A virtual assistant plays a critical role in managing valuable time for businessmen by performing non-critical tasks and other functions.

There are countless sources from which you can hire virtual assistants. You can get suggestions from colleagues, friends or just by checking the internet. There are a lot of trustworthy online market platforms and websites that provide expert virtual assistants.

Regardless of where they work, be it at home or inside a shared office space, it’s always essential to screen all of the applicants before hiring them.

So what qualifications should a virtual assistant should have?

Reliability

Reliability is one of the best qualities a virtual assistant must have. No matter how great there resume is, your working relationship will not work if you can’t trust your VA. When you give them a task, a VA should be able to answer your questions and report the progress of their work. You should not be the one who is always asking for updates.

Competence

For any kind of project, you need to determine each candidate’s technical and fundamental skills. Fundamentals can include things like communication, internet proficiency, emailing, and mastery in the specific software you use. Technical skills refer to the overall scope of the work.

If you want a VA who will handle your social media accounts, you will need to test the candidate with their knowledge in using top social media platforms. A candidate does not have to be the best out there but they must possess a certain level of competence.

Honesty

Virtual assistants handle a lot of work that can require managing of private information. This may include managing email addresses to handling credit cards to book flights and accommodation. When looking for a virtual assistant, it is essential that they display the honesty during the interview.

You can ask them how to handle private information and call some of their references to check out on them before doing a hire.

Owning Their Mistakes

A professional VA is never scared to own up to mistakes they have done at work. Having this quality makes it easier to maintain work relationship. A good virtual assistant values their job and their contribution to the company’s success.

They must know how to own mistakes and the ability to learn from them so they can be better in the future. Owning mistakes also signifies a person’s accountability which is another great quality you should look for in a virtual assistant.

Attention to Detail

A great VA should be keen to detail. Virtual assistants usually communicate with clients, know how to answer calls and emails professionally, and handle important tasks.

You would want someone who spends extra effort on searching and correcting mistakes and someone who goes the extra mile to ensure that all data are right. Of course, humans will commit little mistakes from time to time, however when you hire someone who is keen on details, you won’t have to waste time going back and rechecking all the work.

Proactive Problem Solver

Having a virtual assistant by your side that can get things done is amazing. However, it would be a lot better if he/she also always share ideas on how to increase your company’s productivity, such as suggesting a better tool to handle tasks.

Perhaps they even have an idea on how to manage a particular client situation. Having a virtual assistant that can bring new ideas to the table is someone you need to have forever.

Considering these qualities a virtual assistant should have is just a small part of the whole selection process in hiring a virtual assistant. Aside from considering these essential qualities, you also need to determine where you can find these candidates, how to persuade them to apply for you until you are training and managing them.