Ever hired a virtual assistant (VA) with impressive qualifications, only to feel like they were not helping your business move forward? You’re not alone. The issue often isn’t the employee; it’s the mismatch between their virtual assistant skills and your actual needs.
Assessing how a VA’s skills match the current needs of your business significantly determines the performance of related tasks. Have you ever wondered why, as a business owner, you could hire a very qualified virtual assistant but still not see results? Most often, they have the right skills but for the wrong tasks.
This article will outline how you can match a VA’s qualifications to your business needs and achieve the expected results.
Why Is It Important To Match Virtual Assistant Skills To Your Business?
Matching any employee’s skills to your organization’s goals is key in determining how they can support your goals and daily operations. Here is why it is essential;
1. Maximizes ROI
Every employee is an investment for the company, expecting a return on the investment they have made. Therefore, an employee whose qualifications directly align with the gap in the company will efficiently deliver on the work placed before them and will easily achieve targets in record time.
For example, some responsibilities, such as Customer Support or CRM Management, that translate to sales for employers require a specialized employee.
2. Guaranteed Productivity
Suppose a VA has the right skills aligned to your needs, whether handling your calendar, running your social media platforms, data entry, customer support, or handling enquiries. In that case, they can easily adapt to your business without requiring lengthy training or back-and-forth on tasks. Aligning a virtual assistant’s top skills helps keep things going in the company without the hustle that comes with onboarding and basic training.
3. Solve the Right Problem
Every organization has unique pain points that call for exclusive solutions. For example, a busy CEO will need someone who can effectively manage their calendar, emails, and communication channels.
A marketing consultant, on the other hand, may need a virtual assistant to support digital marketing, hence requiring specific experience in social media marketing, email marketing, and more. Assessing how VA skills match your business ensures you are hiring an employee who can solve your specific problems, not just a general helper.
4. Reduce High Turnover
Employers feel that their employees are not delivering as expected, leading to frequent hiring and firing. But could the reason be that the people you hire do not align with the problem you need them to solve for your business?
High turnover significantly affects your business: lost hours in onboarding new employees, time spent conducting interviews, and monetary effects. Being keen to ensure that the virtual assistant skills align with the challenges you are currently facing could reduce turnover and, in turn, build a lasting solution.
5. Strengthens Your Existing Team
Get a VA who understands your business systems, such as Slack, Notion, or Trello, and your workflow will fit in seamlessly with the rest of your team. Such competencies ensure collaboration in everyday tasks, reducing friction and conflicts among team members.
6. Supports Overall Business Expansion
The right remote assistant skills for your business will translate to revenue. Whether building customer loyalty through excellent customer service, achieving more tasks and prioritizing tasks, or building online sales through content creation or social media management, identifying the solution to your VA’s need will positively influence how fast your business grows.
Guide To Matching VA Skills To Your Business Needs
The best Virtual Assistants are not just skilled; they are strategically aligned with what you need today and where you are heading tomorrow. Hiring a VA could be the answer you have been looking for, but if their qualifications do not align with your current challenges, it could create a new problem altogether.
Here is a guide on clarifying and getting the right VA for the right tasks.
1. Start With a Needs Assessment
Ask yourself;
- What tasks consume your time most?
- What tasks don’t you enjoy doing that are crucial to achieving your business needs?
- What are the bottlenecks in your workflow?
- Which tasks, if outsourced, can positively impact your business’s overall performance?
Identifying these pain points and priorities will clarify the exact support you require.
2. List The Tasks That You Need to Delegate
After identifying your challenges, you need to break down the responsibilities into daily, weekly, and monthly duties that the VA must fulfill.
For example;
- Daily: Responding to customer emails, managing calendar
- Weekly: Generating Customer reports, scheduling social media posts, and regular email updates for customers
- Monthly: Invoicing customers, updating CRM entries
Outlining them will help you match specific skill sets to the tasks you need to achieve.
3. Identify The Required Virtual Assistant Skills for Each Task
Thirdly, now identify the type of skill required for each. You can classify the skills into Hard, Technical, or soft skills. A single task may require a combination of all skill types or just a single one. This classification helps you know which expertise is mandatory for the different duties and which ones you can develop during work.
4. Compile A Checklist
Identifying the required qualities for success in the position will play a key role in compiling a checklist with the must-have skills for a VA. The checklist should entail the most essential tools they should be proficient in, the type of tasks they will handle, and the preferred soft skills for virtual assistants, such as communication skills, time management, proactiveness, organization, etc. This checklist will filter out general applicants and attract VAs with relevant experience.
5. Create A Test Task or Trial Period
Once you have identified a prospective candidate, it is crucial to utilize a test task to establish whether they align with what you want to achieve. The assessment examines their hard skills proficiency and other related skills, such as knowledge of your tools, time management, clear verbal and oral communication skills, turnaround time, and more. By doing this, you quickly see if their skills match your expectations.
6. Evaluate The Fit with the Needs
Skills are fundamental in achieving your goals and how well your virtual assistant aligns with your structures. Some structures can include your work style, culture, or values. Some questions that can help you identify whether they fit in are:
- Are they proactive?
- What kind of questions do they ask?
- How do they take feedback?
These questions are essential as they can make or break your work relationship.
7. Plan A Regular Evaluation
The above guide will guarantee you a VA who solves your business challenges. However, business needs evolve from time to time, so you need to reassess the tasks and adjust responsibilities accordingly. This also helps you make decisions such as providing training for the VA to upskill or adjusting the goals for the role.
Top Virtual Assistant Skills That Align With Business Goals
We have helped numerous businesses match their needs to the right candidate through in-depth VA Skills assessment. Here are some of the common skills businesses look for to meet their day-to-day requirements;
- Administrative tasks require skills such as calendar management and internal communications, proficiency in tools such as Google Workspace, Slack, and Notion, and strong organizational skills.
- E-Commerce tasks – A VA qualified for this role should know how to process orders, take customer inquiries, and have basic bookkeeping skills.
- Customer Support Tasks – Employers seek email management skills, knowledge of working with CRM tools such as HubSpot, and strong communication skills. Emotional intelligence and problem-solving skills are also highly sought after for these tasks.
- Coordination or reporting Tasks require a VA experienced in project management tools such as Asanaor Monday.com, and one who can compile reports and track deadlines and follow through on responsibilities to keep operations on track.
How Remote Raven Can Match the Best Virtual Assistant to Your Business
Struggling to find a virtual assistant who makes a difference in your day-to-day operations? Do you spend too much time hiring, only to end up with support that does not align with your real needs?
At Remote Raven, we do not just connect you to a VA. We take time to understand the unique challenges your business faces, your workflows, the gaps that need to be filled, and the goals you plan to achieve. Then, we match you with a high-performing candidate whose virtual assistant skills are tailored to grow your business and facilitate a smart and collaborative working environment.
If you are ready to work with the right person, contact us for a free consultation session today and get started.
