A virtual assistant (VA) is a remote employee that provides administrative, creative, and technical services. VAs support business operations and help leaders allocate time to strategic initiatives and growth. They are also responsible for coordinating communication and establishing clear project expectations with their clients.

Some of the most common tasks include customer research, data entry, transcription, and scheduling appointments. The ideal VA candidate is highly organized and has phenomenal written and verbal communication skills. They should be able to take initiative and make recommendations based on their own experience, while being open and transparent with their client. They should have the ability to collaborate with their teams in real-time using online tools like kanbans, project management suites, and collaborative office software.

The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Stealth Agents can also provide customer support, answering simple questions or assisting customers through the help center. This helps brands increase their customer retention and creates a sense of community for customers. They can also be the first line of defense against customer complaints by escalating issues to their managers or directly to other team members.

When starting a VA relationship, it is important to clearly define what you expect the VA to do and how they will accomplish each task. Give them small sample tasks and provide easy-to-understand instructions so they can quickly learn your processes. This will reduce the amount of time you spend managing them and allow you to focus on higher-level priorities. If you’re outsourcing a very complex, high-touch process, remember that it can take some time for a new hire to reach their stride. This is similar to the J-Curve that we’ve discussed in previous articles on RadReads.