It can also serve as an additional layer of protection against your Filipino worker not paying his or her taxes; which they rarely do in the Philippines. In such a case where the BIR IRS but in the Philippines catches somebody getting money and not paying taxes, they can send them to prison for up to a year. An up and coming solution is Outsourcely. Instead, they charge a monthly fee to have access to the platform and they let you hire and pay the contractor directly.
In my mind, this is a better long-term solution if you can find the right person. For short-term projects this may be reasonable, however, Outsourcely might be better for long-term contractors. Regardless of which system you use to find your contractor, remember that there is far more to the job-hunt then simply posting the job, which leads us to our next step. You now have the challenge of filtering through the massive amount of applicants to choose the right candidate.
There are a few things that can help filter out the lower-quality applicants and cut down the size of the list substantially. Require a keyword to be included in the response. This will help filter out those who are applying to jobs in mass and those who are unable to follow directions. Even if the candidate seems great, if they are unable to follow your first request, odds are there will be more problems in the future. While it could be said that is a sign of a productive worker, efficacy always trumps efficiency.
Request that the candidate takes appropriate online tests. There are many free tests that candidates can take online to prove themselves. Depending on the task required, find appropriate tests for the applicants to take that prove they are skilled in the field. Several basic tests could include an English language test or typing test. KeyHero is also great for WPM testing. Interview and ask for references. Try and do video interviews as often as possible. Being strict in the hiring process will prevent you from having to let someone go in the future and start the entire process over again.
Everyone has different skill sets. Some people are self-motivated and capable of working on their own from home. Others, however, need structure in order to be productive. Because my assistants may start out doing one thing, and then end up doing something completely different, I always strive to make sure that they have a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset.
If someone is willing to work hard and learn, you can teach them to do anything. Meanwhile, if someone is unwilling to take on new challenges, you will never be able to get value from them than you do right now. The moment I hired my first VA, my productivity skyrocketed. If you have limited experience hiring freelancers, here are some tips to help you craft proposals that attract the right talent:. Create a task that is consistent with the kind of work they will be doing for you. Some examples that I have given potential candidates are:. If they aren't capable of doing this in a few minutes, they aren't a suitable fit.
It eliminates anyone who is lazy and identifies those who put in extra effort to complete a task successfully. In my job postings, I ask applicants to refer to me by another name or insert a strange word like "banana" or "unicorn" in their response. This ensures that they are reading the job description in full and not just applying to a bunch of jobs at once. If the application doesn't include that word, I immediately ignore it.
This eliminates about two-thirds of applicants. Since you will get a lot of applications from other countries, you have to ensure that they have a command of the English language to communicate with you easily. Jump on a quick audio or video call to assess their level.
If you hire a candidate, let them know that they are on one or two-week paid trial basis. During this period, they have to prove their skills and reliability to you.
Outsourcing 101: Hiring your first virtual assistant
Because it is a trial, it won't be awkward if you have to let them go at the end. Thoroughly explain what the job entails and the hours you expect them to work. Outline the tasks that they will be responsible for and list any tools that they need to use. It can be very frustrating not to be able to reach somebody when you need them, so make sure that you outline the times that you'll need them to be available.
When giving tasks, be as detailed as possible and set time limits. Telling someone to find four potential clients doesn't make sense if they don't know the industry. You need to craft a SOP or standard operating procedure. This is a step-by-step guide that instructs someone how to handle every scenario that they may come across in their work. Too many emails to answer, too many clients to onboard, too many marketing campaigns to organize—whatever the case, you need help.
Virtual assistants VAs are remote contractors that can take on a number of "odd jobs" in your business. They might focus on one specific set of administrative tasks, or they might serve as a jack-of-all-trades. Either way, delegating to a VA will help you grow your business without burning out. It can be tough to identify the tipping point for when to hire a virtual assistant, but there are a few common signs that it's time to start delegating:.
You're working long hours on a regular basis. Especially if a lot of your time is spent doing repetitive or tedious tasks like replying to social media comments or customer service emails, you might want to think about delegating to a VA. We're talking about more than one bad week here or there—look for patterns of these long, tedious hours happening for several weeks in a row.
You're losing customers or clients because you can't respond to emails in a timely manner. Once you start losing money because you can't keep up with your email, you absolutely need help. Losing clients isn't an option for a growing business. You're spending your time on lower-value tasks.
This is your company, and you should be spending your time adding value to the company in a way only you can. Administrative work is a specific skillset, but it's one that you can delegate. You're doing work you don't like. If you enjoy some of those tedious tasks, then by all means stick with them.
How to Find and Hire a Virtual Assistant
They might energize you or spark ideas that you otherwise wouldn't have. But make sure you like your work. Doing tasks that you dislike can lead to burnout , which will have a negative effect on your productivity—and your business. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it should give you an idea of the variety of tasks that a VA can take on. Your mental health is the most important factor here, but you are running a business, so you need to take a look at the bottom line and weigh that against any impending burnout.
When it comes down to it, you need to be sure that your assistant will save you more money than they'll cost.
The three ways to increase your productivity
Start by tracking your time. That's something you should be doing anyway: It's an easy way to spot inefficiencies and see exactly where your time is going—compared to where you think it's going. Check out our list of the best time-tracking tools to get started and find the best choice for you.
Once you know how much time you're spending on each task, it's time to do some math. When setting up a time-tracking solution, you don't want to get too granular with your tasks, but just enough to see patterns. For example, you might track things like "social media" or "press and PR," but you'll also want a general "administrative" category for things like scheduling appointments or calling suppliers. In this case, the numbers show that getting a VA makes financial sense for you. In this case, hiring a VA isn't worth it for you—yet. Once you have enough other tasks to delegate, you can hand this off, but for now it makes the most financial sense to keep trucking along yourself.
You have around two to three hours of profitable work you could be doing in that amount of time, so you would more or less be breaking even by hiring an assistant. This is often the trickiest position to be in, since there's no immediate monetary gain to be had. If you hate the admin work and just want it off your plate, hiring an assistant is worth it—if just for your peace of mind and to avoid burnout.
It might also be a good idea to hire an assistant now if you have a busy season coming up in three months: By the time that busy season hits, you'll have your VA fully onboarded. If, however, you enjoy using those administrative tasks to wind down at the end of a work day, then the delegating pressure is off. If the math doesn't work out how you'd hoped, there are other ways to get started.
Take a look below at our section on automation to get started. If you've determined you need help, it's still worth deciding: Is a virtual assistant the way to go? Sometimes, an in-person assistant might be what you're looking for. Here are a few things to consider when making that decision:. If your business involves a lot of packing up items for shipment or running local errands, then you'll need an in-person assistant.
- How to Hire Your First Virtual Assistant | Cody McLain Blog!
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