Virtual Assistants And How To Find A Good One
We all know that it's a rude thing to let the phone ring without answering it. Take for instance a client walks in, He's talking to the receptionist and the phone keeps ringing, Now their conversation is interrupted and the receptionist has to keep answering the phone every time it rings. This doesn't create a very good impression about the business. Even when we have two or three receptionists, it still seems difficult to attend to the phone and to the people who walk into the office. Hiring two or three receptionists can be expensive as well. To save time and money businesses usually hire Virtual secretaries.
Virtual Assistants are usually self-employed people who provide creative, technical, administrative and professional assistance from a remote home office/office. They usually cost lesser and save on time and effort as they are paid according to the amount of work they actually do. Businesses can also save on taxes, insurance or other benefits as they are not direct or actual employees of the company. Vas can be either an individual or an agency.
The common ways used to communicate and send information are a telephone, internet and e-mail. Virtual Assistance positions include, executive assistants, Personal assistants, paralegal, legal secretary, real estate assistant, Office assistants and IT assistant.
If we are interacting with a client over the phone, this first impression is still important as it still projects an image about the business. Hence it is very necessary to choose the right person as a virtual assistant.
To choose a good virtual secretary assistant any business should do a thorough research on what is available in the market. Some tips in finding a good Virtual assistant are:
- Businesses need to look at the technology used by the individual or agency. We don't want any disturbance in the phone line or the time taken for message to be sent.
- The personality of the VA matters a lot. He/ She must have good command over English (Language best suited for the business), and have a clear and crisp voice.
- They need to be professional and courteous when they talk.
- Past experience and recommendations need to be a serious consideration.
- The fee structure varies. It's better to look at three or more VAs before deciding on one.
- It always good to have a set of terms and conditions listed out before making a contract.
There will be no more call waiting, Clients calls are answered on time and messages are sent across efficiently at lowered costs and lesser time. Virtual Assistants make you run your business smoother with lesser tensions and hassles.