Some Things to Consider When Hiring a VA:

1. Find out what software they have available and what skills they have. Again, people can be trained, if they are willing. You can also purchase software for your assistants. You may find this more cost effective than paying a new assistant a higher rate to use the same software.

2. Find out if they expect payment in advance of service or after service has been delivered. I prefer the latter as I have lost a bit of money by doing the former.

3. Ask about how they like to be paid. Can you use a credit card, PayPal or check?

4. Ask about how they like to communicate with their clients. If you are a person who likes to discuss things via telephone, make sure they are willing to spend time on the phone with you. If you prefer to communicate through email, ensure they are comfortable with that. If you are going to use a project management system (I recommend TasksPro), ensure they are okay with working that way. Communication is going to be your biggest asset in working together, so ensure you have good communication.

5. Find out how they track their hours and how they ensure you’re aware that projects are completed. If you use a project management system, you can automate this process.

6. Make sure they are willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before starting work for you. This means they will keep all the information about your business and the work they do for you, confidential.

7. Some VA’s will give you a price break if you keep them on retainer for a certain amount of hours each month. You may want to ask about that.

8. But before you jump in, you may want to “test out” a VA by offering him or her a small project to start and see how well you work together.

9. Ask for and check references.

10. Whether a VA has a certification or not probably doesn’t matter. There are a number of valuable VA organizations that certify and train virtual assistants. I have worked with VA’s who are certified and mostly with VA’s who are not certified. I don’t find it makes a difference in their work.

Hope this will make sense.

Source: http://theinternetmarketinglibrary.com/article/6265.html

Thanks for the comment you left on my blog, and for tagging me. I’ve the “7 Random Things About Me – Meme” to my blog and am beginning to tag my 7 bloggers.

Linda…

This is an excellent article on the topic of outsourcing overseas! I totally agree you get what you pay for. I’m actually writing a post on my blog on the same subject.

The bidding “wars” going on at the job sites such as eLance, oDesk, and such are getting pretty ridiculous. I saw just yesterday someone from India bidding $2 per hour for a project! I can’t imagine it’s worth my time and effort to work for peanuts.

Linda Belan
Virtual Executive Assistant
Your Outsource Solutions

Enjoying the blog.
Deb Charles
http://www.thisissimplyquality.com