Hiring a virtual assistant can be a great way for busy professionals to outsource some of their daily tasks and free themselves up to focus on high-value activities each day. Ensuring you find a virtual assistant that you can work well and efficiently with will help make sure that you are both getting the most out of your partnership.
If this is your first time exploring the idea of bringing on a virtual assistant, here are three of the most important questions to ask a potential candidate.
How do you prefer to communicate?
Understanding your virtual assistant’s communication preferences is really important for determining how well you’ll be able to work with them. Do they prefer emails over phone calls? Are they comfortable answering questions and providing information over text messages? What about video calls? You and your virtual assistant should be able to communicate openly and within a medium that you are both comfortable with.
What timezone do you live in?
You’ll want to have a good sense of the times your new virtual assistant is available for work. If your virtual assistant lives in a different time zone than you, it’s important to establish what hours he or she is available. Keep in mind that different time zones shouldn’t be a deal-breaker; many professionals actually enjoy working with virtual assistants in different time zones, because tasks can be completely after business hours and delivered before the start of the next day.
What could potentially hinder your ability to do your best work?
This is an important question because it allows your virtual assistant to articulate, in their own words, how you both can work best together. Maybe they prefer to have a sense of future tasks that are coming up so that they can better prioritize their day, week, or month. Perhaps they prefer feedback on their deliverables so that they can adjust and learn as they go. Asking this open ended question up front is one of the best ways to ensure that you and your virtual assistant are set up for success.