Where and how to find good virtual assistant?

[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper">I am new to this and considering outsourcing some of my current work to a virtual assistant. Some of the tasks I may need the VA to work on are:<br /> <br /> 1. Reply to support email for those common questions. Let me know when questions are too technical for them to reply.<br /> 2. Reply to app store (Apple and Google) reviews. Similarly, direct the more technical questions to me.<br /> 3. Manage my Facebook community Group by liking and replying to all comments. Similar tasks to (1) and (2).<br /> 4. Consolidate and update all feedback/suggestion from the emails/reviews/comments to a shared spreadsheet.<br /> <br /> Where is the best place to find a VA and how much am I expected to pay? How should I assess the candidate for VA?<br /> <br /> Thanks in advance for all inputs. <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-smile2.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-shortname=":)" /></div>

 

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[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper">Another question I have is how do you usually let your virtual assistant handle your support email? Do you pass them the credential to your support email address?</div>

 

[David 964]

<div class="bbWrapper">Good post, <br /> <br /> I have been considering VA as well. I will look for info and post it when I find out. My question to those who use one would be how long have you spend training VA so they can execute tasks properly?</div>

 

[Andrej]

<div class="bbWrapper">My suggestion would be JobRack. It has a great base of eastern-european freelancers (goldmine) for a lot of different jobs. <br /> <br /> Standard hourly for what you mentioned above it between $5-7</div>

 

[lowtek]

<div class="bbWrapper"><a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/5-step-guide-to-hiring-a-rockstar-va-to-handle-your-business.87260/#post-762423" class="link link--internal">5 Step Guide To Hiring a Rockstar VA To Handle Your Business</a></div>

 

[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 58351" data-quote="Andrej" data-source="post: 764663" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=764663" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-764663">Andrej said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> My suggestion would be JobRack. It has a great base of eastern-european freelancers (goldmine) for a lot of different jobs.<br /> <br /> Standard hourly for what you mentioned above it between $5-7 </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> How do you determine the number of hours required for the job? Or this will be determined by the VA?</div>

 

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[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 34879" data-quote="lowtek" data-source="post: 764667" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=764667" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-764667">lowtek said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/5-step-guide-to-hiring-a-rockstar-va-to-handle-your-business.87260/#post-762423" class="link link--internal">5 Step Guide To Hiring a Rockstar VA To Handle Your Business</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> Thank you very much. I will check it out! <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-smile2.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-shortname=":)" /></div>

 

[Andrej]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 64202" data-quote="AppleUnited" data-source="post: 764672" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=764672" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-764672">AppleUnited said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> How do you determine the number of hours required for the job? Or this will be determined by the VA? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Well, that&#039;s something you need to do.<br /> <br /> In order to outsource any task (the right way), you need to have detailed SOPs. If you don&#039;t, the deliverable will (more often than not) suck.<br /> <br /> In order to get those SOPs, you&#039;ll need to do the work first. That way you&#039;ll know how much time is needed for the task. <br /> <br /> There are no shortcuts. If you don&#039;t have the SOPs, you&#039;ll never be happy with your VA because they can&#039;t read minds. <br /> <br /> Recently, I started doing video walkthroughs + written checklists for almost everything I outsource and the results have been really great. It&#039;s time consuming and kinda annoying, but you&#039;ll save a lot of time and money by creating procedures for every part of your business.</div>

 

[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 58351" data-quote="Andrej" data-source="post: 764685" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=764685" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-764685">Andrej said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Well, that&#039;s something you need to do.<br /> <br /> In order to outsource any task (the right way), you need to have detailed SOPs. If you don&#039;t, the deliverable will (more often than not) suck.<br /> <br /> In order to get those SOPs, you&#039;ll need to do the work first. That way you&#039;ll know how much time is needed for the task.<br /> <br /> There are no shortcuts. If you don&#039;t have the SOPs, you&#039;ll never be happy with your VA because they can&#039;t read minds.<br /> <br /> Recently, I started doing video walkthroughs + written checklists for almost everything I outsource and the results have been really great. It&#039;s time consuming and kinda annoying, but you&#039;ll save a lot of time and money by creating procedures for every part of your business. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> I will do that. Thanks!</div>

 

[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper">Just signed up for an account at onlinejobs.ph. Seems like you need to pay to contact the worker. But since there is no other admin charges thereafter, I guess it will be relatively cheaper than getting someone from other freelancers site like UpWork if we are looking for someone that will work long term for us.</div>

 

[SolopreneurGrind]

<div class="bbWrapper">I just hired my first &quot;VA&quot;, but I decided against the full outsourcing model and just found one in my home city. I considered finding ones online in other countries that I could get for 1/3 of the price, but because of how &quot;important&quot; the admin work I want to outsource is, the fact that I wanted same timezone and considering the fact that I wanted 1 individual to stay with me for (hopefully) a long time, I went with someone here that I could meet in person (they work remotely but wanted to meet as part of the &quot;application process&quot;).<br /> <br /> Anyway, really happy with my decision 2 months in. The VA is very detail oriented, responsive and picked up tasks fairly quick, which is why I think the screening process is so important (I wanted to find the right fit and I&#039;m not sure how easy it is to do that with someone online?).<br /> <br /> Also, a big suggestion is to create systems/processes/guides for everything you want them to do. For example, one of the main tasks I wanted to outsource was sending bills, invoices and proposals. So in one file I have templates for each, and a &quot;guide&quot; for each which explains exactly what to do, in what order and how.<br /> <br /> So &quot;open folder named X&quot;, &quot;update the date, then the client name, etc...&quot;, &quot;export file as PDF and save in client folder as...&quot;.<br /> <br /> Writing out these guys takes some time, but has saved me hours already and they can be used for future hires as well! I also have my VA update the guides as we discover new steps/nuances that will help them get their work done quicker.<br /> <br /> Happy to discuss other areas if needed as I&#039;ve had a great experience so far.</div>

 

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[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 65152" data-quote="SolopreneurGrind" data-source="post: 765017" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=765017" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-765017">SolopreneurGrind said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> I just hired my first &quot;VA&quot;, but I decided against the full outsourcing model and just found one in my home city. I considered finding ones online in other countries that I could get for 1/3 of the price, but because of how &quot;important&quot; the admin work I want to outsource is, the fact that I wanted same timezone and considering the fact that I wanted 1 individual to stay with me for (hopefully) a long time, I went with someone here that I could meet in person (they work remotely but wanted to meet as part of the &quot;application process&quot;).<br /> <br /> Anyway, really happy with my decision 2 months in. The VA is very detail oriented, responsive and picked up tasks fairly quick, which is why I think the screening process is so important (I wanted to find the right fit and I&#039;m not sure how easy it is to do that with someone online?).<br /> <br /> Also, a big suggestion is to create systems/processes/guides for everything you want them to do. For example, one of the main tasks I wanted to outsource was sending bills, invoices and proposals. So in one file I have templates for each, and a &quot;guide&quot; for each which explains exactly what to do, in what order and how.<br /> <br /> So &quot;open folder named X&quot;, &quot;update the date, then the client name, etc...&quot;, &quot;export file as PDF and save in client folder as...&quot;.<br /> <br /> Writing out these guys takes some time, but has saved me hours already and they can be used for future hires as well! I also have my VA update the guides as we discover new steps/nuances that will help them get their work done quicker.<br /> <br /> Happy to discuss other areas if needed as I&#039;ve had a great experience so far. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> Thanks for sharing. I started the process of documenting all the tasks I wish to outsource. It is a lot of work and not fun but I believe this is essential before even trying to put up a job listing for a VA.</div>

 

[JasonR]

<div class="bbWrapper">I&#039;ve found great people through Upwork and Onlinejobs.ph<br /> <br /> Often, an excellent screening process is required to weed out bad candidates and find a good fit for your company.</div>

 

[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 10479" data-quote="JasonR" data-source="post: 765305" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=765305" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-765305">JasonR said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> I&#039;ve found great people through Upwork and Onlinejobs.ph<br /> <br /> Often, an excellent screening process is required to weed out bad candidates and find a good fit for your company. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> Could you share briefly how you did your screening especially over at OnlineJobs.ph? Are you hiring them as full time employee?</div>

 

[JasonR]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 64202" data-quote="AppleUnited" data-source="post: 765306" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=765306" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-765306">AppleUnited said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Could you share briefly how you did your screening especially over at OnlineJobs.ph? Are you hiring them as full time employee? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> You need to create your own screening process for your own business and for what role they will be in. But I can share an example of what I did that got excellent results (amongst a bunch of horrible candidates that I was able to weed out quickly.<br /> <br /> When I was looking for someone to do admin and customer service, I listed the job requirements carefully - but most people don&#039;t even read them. At the end of the description I wrote three specific questions. If the person didn&#039;t answer them, they were immediately rejected. The third question was the most important one.<br /> <br /> <b>Basically, I gave them a difficult customer service problem, and asked them how they would solve it and how they would respond to the customer. I had a specific answer I was looking for. I granted interviews to those that answered it correctly.</b><br /> <br /> Only three applicants qualified for interviews, and one candidate stood above the rest. I hired her immediately, and began training her.<br /> <br /> I hired part time initially, and then she became full time as she proved to me that she was an excellent employee. I also gave her raises - and was paying her above the average wage to make sure she was happy and didn&#039;t look for something better.<br /> <br /> Over time I gave her more responsibility such as inventory management, forecasting, etc. She was one of my best employees.</div>

 

[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 10479" data-quote="JasonR" data-source="post: 765309" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=765309" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-765309">JasonR said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> You need to create your own screening process for your own business and for what role they will be in. But I can share an example of what I did that got excellent results (amongst a bunch of horrible candidates that I was able to weed out quickly.<br /> <br /> When I was looking for someone to do admin and customer service, I listed the job requirements carefully - but most people don&#039;t even read them. At the end of the description I wrote three specific questions. If the person didn&#039;t answer them, they were immediately rejected. The third question was the most important one.<br /> <br /> <b>Basically, I gave them a difficult customer service problem, and asked them how they would solve it and how they would respond to the customer. I had a specific answer I was looking for. I granted interviews to those that answered it correctly.</b><br /> <br /> Only three applicants qualified for interviews, and one candidate stood above the rest. I hired her immediately, and began training her.<br /> <br /> I hired part time initially, and then she became full time as she proved to me that she was an excellent employee. I also gave her raises - and was paying her above the average wage to make sure she was happy and didn&#039;t look for something better.<br /> <br /> Over time I gave her more responsibility such as inventory management, forecasting, etc. She was one of my best employees. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> Thank you for sharing! This is very useful for me. <img src="/community/imgs/emoticons/em-smile2.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-shortname=":)" /></div>

 

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[AppleUnited]

<div class="bbWrapper">For those using OnlineJobs.ph, are you guys paying your hire? Is it through their EasyPay payment system?</div>

 

[Lindajackson]

<div class="bbWrapper">Thanks for the information.</div>

 

[James90]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 64202" data-quote="AppleUnited" data-source="post: 765770" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=765770" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-765770">AppleUnited said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> For those using OnlineJobs.ph, are you guys paying your hire? Is it through their EasyPay payment system? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> <br /> I use paypal</div>