Hiring and Engaging a
Virtual Assistant
Celia Delgado
Biztant, LLC
Founder
What is a Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a high quality professional that is able to
effectively support your business all in a virtual environment.
VA’s provides effective solutions for your business needs.
They are your off-site administrative and business assistant
professionals.
If you need an administrative assistant but don’t have the space to hire
one in-house, don’t want to pay fringe benefits for a full time employee,
don’t have the office software/equipment needed to run your business or
for whatever your reason…
A Virtual Assistant is your answer!
VA Services Examples
Accounting
Human Resources Management
Administrative
Marketing
Customer Service
Office Management
Event Planning
Personal Assistance
Home Assistance
Writing and Design
How To Hire a Virtual Assistant?
Initial Interview
An initial interview should be conducted with the potential virtual assistant to
guarantee that you get what you want and need when hiring a VA for a project. Good
communication and transparency is needed to guarantee that the client is pleased
with the VA work and satisfied with the manner in which it is conducted.
Selection
Selecting the right person for the job is the solution for your business needs. At
Biztant, LLC we established assessment methods and selection plans to ensure you
get the highest quality talent. This involves the process of detailing the required
knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOs) and assessing each
(KSAO). This selection process is used to narrow down the initial talent pool to clients.
We evaluate the initial assessment methods by the following predictors;
Level of education
GPA
Qualified University
Training and experience
Licensing and certification
Letters of recommendations
Reference checks
Background checks
Resumes
Initial interview
Hiring a Virtual Assistant Part 2
Planning
Planning is the key to accomplishing any project. A VA needs to listen and document in
detail the concepts, desires, expectations and goals of their clients in order to implement
them effectively.
Proposal
An in-depth proposal for each project is needed.
Client Agreements
Confidentiality and security are the most important concerns pertaining to their client's
work. This protects the client's interests and outlines an explicit workable relationship and
also a timeline for work completion.
Project Scheduling
VA’s need projects strategy to schedule their success. From selecting the right software to
planning each step, VA needs to be committed to details and the achievement of each
individual component of a given project.
Billing
Construct a pay method and billing structure targeted to your business. VA’s offer per hour,
per project and monthly retainer fee structure.
A cost comparison for a full-time
employee versus a Virtual Assistant
COST COMPARISON
Hourly Rate of Pay
Full-time
Employee
Virtual Assistant
$20.00
$35.00
$7.00
None
Overhead Rate @ 50% (Office
Space, Equipment & Office Supply
Expense, UI Insurance, Worker’s
Compensation, Overtime Pay,
Administration Costs)
$10.00
None
Total Effective Rate of Pay
$37.00
$35.00
2,080 hrs
480 hrs
$76,960.00
$16,800.00
Fringe Benefits @ 35%
(Health/Dental/Life Insurance,
Retirement Plans)
**Hours Per Year
TOTAL Annual Labour Cost
Pro’s and Con’s of Hiring a Virtual Assistant
PRO’S
CON’S
Hiring a VA frees up your time for higherlevel pursuits
Not wanting to hire a VA because one may
think that they are unable to afford it
More time to plan, or execute a strategy one
is working on
Another reason for not hiring a VA might
be because one may not know how to
delegate their work load, i.e., what jobs to
give to their VA etc.
VAs help you to get more done
Feeling much less overwhelmeddand
stresses
Not having to do mundane tasks
Not having to do tasks which one does not
like to do
Hiring a VA can make your business more
scalable
More time equates to more sales,
which then equates to more
profits!
A feeling that someone else may not be
able to do the work as good as the
business owner can. In other words, “No
one can do it as good as I can” type of
feeling
Not knowing where to find an assistant,
who is best suited for the job, or how
much to pay a VA
Top 10 Reasons to Hire a VA
Virtual Assistants work as your business partner in a virtual environment.
By hiring a VA, you are getting quality work from highly experienced and highly educated
professionals without premium rates.
VA’s are trained in multi tasking skilled in many areas, can provide what a “regular on -site
employee” provides in less time and less money
By hiring a VA, will make your company succeed and increase your company’s profit and revenues
without sacrificing convenience
VA’s are hard working, highly effective and reliable professionals that are ready to contribute to
your company.
VA’s are experienced professionals who have a vested interest in providing excellent services to
their clients.
By hiring a VA, you are getting a highly personalized service for your specific business needs.
By hiring a VA, you will have the freedom to work on growing and improving your business skills,
knowledge and relationships.
By hiring a VA, you will have peace of mind knowing that the details are being managed by our
highly qualified and experienced experts.
Virtual Assistants help your business run smoothly and efficiently.