Hiring the right person at the right time is absolutely vital. It’s something you want to consider very carefully or you will end up frustrated, overwhelmed, hand-holding and coaching, and deeper underwater than you were to begin with. I hear these stories week after week! So often, we lead with our hearts OR impatience and desperation win the argument and we rush through this step only to find regret and problems.

So, how to begin… what to look for… who to hire? What traits should you look for to hire a successful virtual assistant? It can be exhausting and I promise, you don’t want to hire your sister, best friend, or neighbor’s daughter’s college roommate! Ha! Yes, I’ve heard it all! Today, I’d like to share my top 5 traits of a highly successful virtual assistant!

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1. Proactivity

During each new client interview, I ask “What is your deal-breaker in a teammate -- maybe it’s a personality characteristic or a work habit that you already know you don’t work well with?” I’ve heard all kinds of answers! For me personally, I work best with someone who works very thoughtfully and is invested in my business. This means they will think through each step carefully! This entails truly considering what the next step is, as well as how this step will affect future actions. Many people call it “forward-thinking” or being proactive. These are the kind of people that can see the overall big picture, break it down into executable parts, plan each part and all the necessary steps involved, and begin implementing them without being coached or driven through the process!

Proactivity is the most important trait of a successful virtual assistant. A proactive teammate is always one step ahead of you - at least! They will complete tasks before being asked and often before you, as the business owner, are even aware there was a need! (<-- that’s my personal favorite!) This type of teammate really digs in to get to know you, your routines, your preferences and dislikes, and is able to anticipate what needs to be done to make your dreams and goals become a reality! When you work with a teammate like this who is taking initiative and getting things planned and implemented, you’ll find the freedom to work within your gifts and talents and continue to build and grow the business God is leading you to!

"How do you assess for this soft-skill when you’re seeking a virtual assistant?"

Great question! As you interview potential assistants, look for someone who listens well. You want someone who can see the big picture and understand your vision and goals. You want to see their wheels begin to turn and ideas begin to formulate during the interview! If it’s the right person, I promise, you’ll see it happen right before your eyes! You want to ask questions that will prompt them to break a big project down into actionable steps. If you don’t see these sparks starting to fly, it might be best to hold back and really press into God in prayer for confirmation. You are looking for someone who can implement your vision!

Having a team of VAs who can hear me, see the big picture, and formulate a plan to tackle all the things that keep everything afloat is absolutely vital to success. If I had to stop what I was doing to ask anyone on my team to do something that is most certainly within their skillset and their responsibility would simply mean that I could do it myself.

D E A L B R E A K E R !

2. Excellent Communication Skills

If I’m on the rooftops shouting about proactivity, you can bet that communication is the next topic to escape my lips! It seems like this one is a no-brainer but time and again, we’re faced with the importance of excellent communication as well as the effects of its absence. Whether we’re speaking of personal or professional relationships, I think we all have a sense of what happens when needs, wants, and expectations aren’t properly voiced or heard. Working virtually seems to magnify this situation. This special work relationship often requires its own set of communication guidelines.

When you are looking for an assistant, it’s important to evaluate the following:

Have they been timely with their responses so far? This is a great indicator of the importance and priority they will continue to display once they have obtained the position you’re hiring for!

How does that communication rate? It’s important that you evaluate not only their verbal communication but also their written communication. Are they’re spelling and grammar skills up to you’re expectations? (Wow… that was difficult to type and I hope difficult for you to read!) Yes, it’s truly THAT important. Grammarly doesn’t catch everything!

Do they have the availability and willingness to meet once a week for a weekly meeting?

Can they receive and give honest feedback? (SUPER IMPORTANT for a healthy team!!)

Can they communicate their thoughts well? Please remember, your teammate often becomes a client-facing member of your team! Can you imagine them speaking to a potential investor, board member, or client!

3. Self-Learner

We live in an ever-changing world. It doesn’t matter if you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or a struggling artist who is just starting an online shop. You’re going to need an assistant who can stay on top of every new platform that is applicable to your line of work. There seems to be a new platform coming out about every six months or so and each one has even better marketing than the last one. That means that even though they all may be similar, most people like the “newest, most updated” system and will switch.

I’ve been known to throw one or more of these conversations starters at my team! Let me tell you what comes back at me - because it’s amazing and an incredible example of what most business owners that I know want and desperately need.

If my team is familiar with the platform in question, I will hear how they’ve used it and their opinion of why it would or would not work for us specifically. They will tell me if they know anyone else who is using it and what experiences they’ve heard about from that person. I want real details, not marketing terms, and short answers. If we decide it might be worth looking into, I will get a detailed note either in my inbox or on our Trello boards most likely within a day or two listing the things they found on a deeper search and reasons that support our decision to try it as well as anything they found that might detour our decision. Because my team has really taken the time to know me and how I work the best, the note will probably be color-coded, short and sweet, not too many small-details, and never in list-format.

That is exactly the kind of self-learning, forward-thinking, proactive teammate that every single business owner seeks and needs! If I’m the one wondering about a new platform on the market, it’s probable that I’ve been struck by “shiny penny syndrome”. I’ve learned in hindsight that members of my team have scheduled meetings with each other to discuss, update, and streamline our processes. They recognize an issue and get to work fixing it before even presenting the issue to me! I promise you -- this is … I’m almost speechless. This is absolutely invaluable. THIS is what being a phenomenal virtual assistant looks like.

4. Attention to Details

This seems to be so obvious that it doesn't need to be stated. However, it makes the top five simply because I want you to really evaluate this characteristic in any person you’re considering as a teammate! Everyone… and I do mean EVERYONE, that you interview is going to state, “I’m really detail-oriented.”

Our brains work in two-spaces: details or big-picture. Most of the business men and women I have the opportunity to meet each week can identify one or the other as their “normal” and occasionally, there are those that can truly see both. BUT… NEVER at the same time! Either you’re going to get caught up in the day-to-day details and work with fervor there, or you’re going to dream and plan! The majority of the business owners I meet are “Big Picture” people, or visionaries! They’re most likely stuck in the details at the moment and that is what has prompted them to reach out to Rock Solid. They’ve lost the ability to dream and plan and set goals.

So… with that thought in mind -- I want you to look at the candidate you’re considering and ask yourself if they can truly handle the details so that you can move on to do and be what you’ve been created to do and be!! It’s absolutely vital, friend!! Can they truly see the minute needs and understand the importance of deadlines? Does it make sense to them that grammar and spelling be on point because they are representing you and your business? When you express to them the importance this carries, what is their response? You want to hear them reiterate the importance in their own life and past experiences rather than just nod and agree while saying, “Yes, I’m super detail-oriented.”

Details matter far more than we are aware of, often because we are very detail-oriented. If this is you and you’ve spent any time with someone who isn’t, I would guess you’re shaking your head right now remembering the frustration! Please take your time to truly consider if the person you’re hoping to hand over important business tasks to really displays attention to detail in their appearance, communication, and overall presentation. This is so important and you want to make sure to evaluate thoroughly!

5. Heart

Choosing a VA can be really difficult. There are many things to consider! Assessing the hard skills is truly the easiest part - and if you’ll hear me out on this one... the least valuable. It didn’t even make my list! Skills can be taught, and if you’ve hired the right person with incredible soft skills, they will learn the rest. Stick with me on this for another minute! Am I saying that hard skills - things like the ability to use and navigate well systems and platforms such as Google Suite and Convertkit and Kajabi and QuickBooks and Dubsado, etc. are not valuable? No, I am not saying that in any way!

Let me quickly tell you how we handle this process at Rock Solid as it has given us the opportunity to work with the absolute best assistants in the industry! We take them through a lengthy 7-step online testing process where we are able to evaluate their hard skills, past experience, and often evaluate projects they’ve worked on in previous roles. Throughout the testing process we are able to identify and evaluate their specific skill set. If they successfully complete each of the testing steps in a timely manner, we then move them forward to an hour-long video-interview and ask them all the right questions, assessing more of the soft skills like heart and proactivity and communication style, etc.

Here’s the kicker - after this lengthy and arduous process, we ultimately hire for heart and proactivity. Skills are extremely important, but we are seeking people who will care about their clients and the work their clients do, possibly even more than the clients themselves. I am a firm believer that you cannot teach “heart” - either a person has it or they don’t. We have had people come across our desks who have “tested” perfectly and we go into that video interview with extreme excitement thinking we’ve found gold only to come out of that same interview deflated and denying the candidate a position on our team due to lack of soft skills.

Evaluating for this skill is a bit more difficult. You must identify the qualities you need the most in a teammate as well as know yourself - your strengths AND weaknesses! Seek the person who “gets you”, the one who starts dreaming with you during the interview! Find the person whom you feel like you could trust and possibly be friends with one day!

If you’re planning to hire on your own, please consider each of these 5 traits of a highly successful virtual assistant.

Hiring can be a difficult and time-consuming process. Why not let us find you the perfect person for your team who embodies these traits!

At Rock Solid Virtual Assistants, we do all the background work, testing, evaluating, and (insert sigh of relief) – we handle the match-making! Working with us not only means you’re getting a VA who is tested and whose skills are above the bar every time, but it also assures you that you’ll have a VA who matches your work style and personality. Best of all, you have a full management team behind you every step of the way for support!

We work with the best assistants in the business. We take them through a lengthy 7-step application process plus an hour-long video-interview and ask them all the right questions, as well as take care of all the contracts and end of the year taxes! We even help you successfully onboard them to your team. All you have to do is contact us and we will set you up with the best assistant matched not only to your business needs, but matched to your personality as well!