One trend that has become quite common in the global business world we live in today is for major multinational companies to consider hiring a virtual assistant. These multinational companies have branches all over the world and need a service that can allow for communications to be streamlined within their business. Virtual assistants have been a sensational addition to businesses that need reliable assistance and that do not want to pay employees in multiple jurisdictions due to employment law restrictions. Additionally, virtual assistants have meant great savings to multinational companies that want to outsource their secretarial work to India or the Philippines for a third of the cost.
While these are all enormous benefits to one’s company, it is imperative that you find a reputable virtual assistant company who is of the calibre that your firm deserves. In order to learn what to look for in your virtual assistant and their corresponding company, continue reading below.
The Ideal Qualities and Skills Your Virtual Assistant Should Possess
When shopping for a virtual assistant within a virtual assistant company, it is important that the individual has the following skills. If you are curious to know more, click here for more information.
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Language: Virtual assistants must be fluent in English. Additionally, they must not have an excessive accent in their English that makes them difficult to understand over the phone. Aside from English, it is best to find a virtual assistant who is multilingual in order to cater to your firm’s multinational linguistic needs.
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Message Taking: Your virtual assistant should have a streamlined process of taking messages that is organised and easy for you to use. These files should be sent to you every half work day in your own time zone to ensure that you are up to date on your correspondence. Additionally, your virtual assistant should be able to email you when you have a voice mail if you desire.
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Outbound Services: Virtual assistants, regardless of their locale, should be able to handle any of your outbound correspondence with ease. Verify that the prospective virtual assistant’s location is not too complicated for the needs of your firm.
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Emergency Response: Your virtual assistant should commit to being available 24/7 in the event of an emergency. The various associates that you supervise should know to contact your virtual assistant if there is a fire, terrorist attack or weather emergency that could be affecting one of your global offices. Your virtual assistant should be trained in the various protocols of your company and be prepared to respond effectively and promptly.
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Media Response & Brochure Request: Prospective virtual assistants should be able to prepare any promotional or professional correspondence that is required for your needs. They should be able to draft professional emails, edit your correspondence, and prepare necessary marketing pamphlets. They should also be able to complete these tasks with a quick turn around time.
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Holiday and Temporary Cover: Your prospective virtual assistant should be well versed in your vacation procedures and arrange for any member of your staff to have vacation coverage. They should arrange all away messages for emails, forward necessary correspondence to other departments, and keep a comprehensive calendar of your staff’s meetings and vacation days. Additionally, this virtual assistant should have a list of viable temporary cover options for your staff, to promote efficiency overall. This will bring greater office clarity to your working environment and make you a more effective manager in your multinational firm.
What to Look for in a Prospective Virtual Assistant Company
Hiring a virtual assistant company is a major investment for your firm if you have multiple offices. This is not a decision to be made lightly, because you need an efficient firm that you can trust. Here are some factors to consider when hiring your prospective virtual assistant company.
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Location: You have to give a great deal of thought to where your offices are located and where the assistant’s offices are located. Sometimes, the time difference can be quite beneficial in this global business world we live in. However, certain time zones are not effective for the business day to be covered for your business.
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Professional Track Record: If you serve high-level clients at your firm, then it is essential for you to invest in a first class virtual assistant company to cater to your level of clientele. Certain virtual assistant companies should be avoided at all costs. It is best to look at local professional networking events, Internet forums or other companies in your industry to see whom they have invested in and what they think of them. Hearing this feedback will be vital to an important decision that you need to make for your business.
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The Virtual Assistants Need Managers: Many virtual assistant companies simply send virtual assistants and do not check up on them. This is not the ideal situation for you as a manager, because you want someone who thinks for you in the way that you would naturally think. If virtual assistants do not have a boss to be accountable to within their own company, they will have little motivation to do effective and professional work for your firm.
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Billing Methods: Find a virtual assistant company with transparent rates to avoid billing abuse. The more reputable firms charge a flat fee for their services rather than hourly pay. This is ideal so that people are not logging more hours than they are working.
Finding the right virtual assistant and virtual assistant company is a difficult process that is worthwhile for your firm. Especially if your firm is multinational and in many different time zones, it is essential to invest in a virtual assistant, because the desk secretary in one office is not going to be competitive in the market anymore. More and more multinational firms are investing in virtual secretaries and are experiencing great results. Consider finding the right virtual assistant company for your firm today, and you surely will not regret your decision!
