As an Australian small business, you eye versatile solutions that cut costs, save time and streamline operations. And among the advanced tools transforming modern business, a virtual assistant breaks through the mould.
Although you’ve finally come to realise the beauty of outsourcing VAs, you are not quite sure what to look for. Hiring a virtual assistant is easy, but finding a remote professional who can elevate your game will take some work.
This blog post will explore the following:
- Essential skills of a virtual assistant for a small business
- How a virtual assistant can help small businesses
Are you in? Let’s help you navigate your next best hire.
Top Skills to Look for in a Virtual Assistant in Australia
Before you have all these otherworldly imaginations about your virtual support, let’s put it out here. No virtual assistant can do everything. The success of your collaboration relies on aligning VA skills to your business needs.
Now, to match skills perfectly, you must know your needs. What sort of support do you require?
Travel management? Graphic design? Cold calling? Whatever it is you seek, look for a remote professional with strong capabilities in those areas.
What Skills Should a Virtual Assistant Have: The Core Skills
The following core skills of a virtual assistant are fundamental competencies. This means these are the proficiencies that are essential for a VA.
Here, take a look.
Administrative & Organisational Skills
Your remote assistant should be a structure savant. It’s an important skill; they need to juggle various responsibilities at once. One aspect of that is keeping the administrative tasks in order, including email handling, data entry, scheduling and document management.
Administrative and organisational skills are the architects of order, so your VA can prioritise tasks effectively and maintain office flow.
Explore further: Remote Workers Are Good for Your Growing Business
Communication Skills
This is perhaps one of the key skills of a virtual assistant. They should have the ability to communicate verbally and in written form. Your assistant should be able to grasp what the clients and team members are saying to effectively support them.
Clear written and verbal communication is critical to working successfully in a remote setting.
Technical & Digital Skills
With virtual interactions, your VA will have to work on the computer and leverage various communication and collaboration tools.
As such, they should have familiarity with productivity tools, CRMs, social media management, basic website editing and SEO. Your assistant must have proficient knowledge to use modern technology to make work easier and save you the frustrations.
Time Management & Prioritisation
Sensitive timeframes are part of the life of a busy virtual assistant. They must be able to self-direct themselves and manage their time effectively.
A remote assistant with time management and prioritisation skills knows which tasks to focus on. Yes, even if they’re bombarded with loads of activities.
When your assistants know where to centre their attention, it brings clarity. They can multitask efficiently and meet deadlines.
Problem Solving & Initiative
Micromanagement is not going to work in a remote environment. While there won’t be many occasions where your remote sidekick will be making crucial business decisions, they should be quick on their feet. They must be equipped to take on unexpected challenges and make suggestions to improve workflows.
Specialised Skills Depending on Your Business Needs
Specialised skills are exemplary abilities that enable your virtual assistant to achieve peak performance in one specific field.
Here are the numerous skilled expertise of your VA that are useful in many settings:
Bookkeeping & Financial Management
Bookkeeping is a valuable skill for your assistant. After all, your company’s financial health is what gives your business stability and freedom. You need someone who can manage your daily finances, keep an updated record, and present an accurate financial picture.
Digital Marketing & Content Creation
A virtual professional with marketing skills can help you break through the noise. They can carry out marketing campaigns, create social media posts and interact with followers to boost your business’s brand.
Lead Generation & Customer Relationship Management
If you aim to increase sales, a virtual assistant with a knack for lead generation and CRM can be a worthwhile investment. They can help stir consumer interest and follow up on hot leads, nurturing these relationships to turn mere interest into sales.
Different VAs can specialise, but one VA may not cover all areas
A jack of all trades is good, but don’t you think it’s much better to be a master of one?
It is all but true that your remote assistant can take on any task that you throw at them. From content creation to basic admin chores, they can be relied on to handle the nitty-gritty details of your business.
Although VAs tend to be multitalented, the diverse workflow requires you to hire several assistants with different specialisations.
You can’t expect your skilled remote support to be great at all your business functions. If you really want to complete tasks with optimal results, you need in-depth skills.
Think—your virtual assistant is not Superman; they’re part of a whole that together makes an unstoppable Avengers team. Most of them may be general VAs, but there’s one thing they are truly expert at.
For instance, you can hire a virtual assistant for customer support and assign them social media tasks. But don’t you think it’s more effective to just hire a social media assistant who can really perform at the highest level?
If you intend to hire remote help, why not tailor-match your VAs based on their strengths and avoid wasting your resources?
How Multiple VAs Can Complement Your Business
Word of advice? Hire not just one virtual assistant but several VAs. Guaranteed, every single one of them brings an expertise to the table, which makes sharing your workload more efficient.
Combining Skills for Broader Coverage
Just think about it; there is no single remote assistant who can master all trades. A content writing assistant might be excellent at crafting blog posts, but they wouldn’t be as skilled in video editing or software development.
By delegating these tasks to someone who really excels at them, you can ensure each task is handled with speed and precision.
Here’s how hiring multiple VAs works in action:
For example, you can recruit a remote admin assistant to manage your emails and schedule. Then you hire another VA for marketing to brainstorm marketing strategies and carry out campaigns.
And while you’re at it, employ a remote professional bookkeeper to handle your books and keep a pulse on your company’s financial well-being.
24/7 Coverage
With remote professionals located all over the world, you have the advantage of time zone differences. From the Philippines to France, you get round-the-clock coverage. Operations continue while you’re snoring in bed, with a steady workflow across different branches of our business.
For example, you can bring in a virtual professional from the Philippines to support the customers overnight. Meanwhile, your French-based VA can take over the day shift and handle the admin work.
Why Choose VAV for Your Virtual Assistant Needs
Running a successful small business in Australia will take a lot from you—time, money and energy. You need all of these resources to combat the raging challenges of the Australian business landscape. From data loss to time constraints, the country may be drowning in opportunities, but they always come with a twist.
At VAV, we help you conquer your business management demons. Our assistants take the weight of your daily burden, freeing you to concentrate on core priorities. This is how we turn the tide of opportunity on your side.
So, how does VAV empower promising entrepreneurs like you to succeed?
Low-Cost Support
We save you time, energy and 70% of your entire operational costs. No office space. No compensation benefits. All the help—none of the overhead drama.
Pay only for the total hours worked that actually deliver quality results.
Flexibility
Your remote assistant functions in the beat of your drums. They work around a flexible schedule to match your current business pace. This means accommodating hours beyond usual operations, if need be, to cater to your needs.
No Long-Term Commitments
You don’t have to commit to a long-term arrangement with any of our assistants unless you’ve proven their skills to be valuable to your cause. That’s right; you’ll be given an observation phase to test out your VA’s capabilities to ensure a perfect fit.
Tailored Matching
Our team meticulously selects your assistant. They’re not only great on paper but also in action. Our assistants are profiled with care to match your business needs, allowing you to receive the best results of the collaboration.
VAV works with precision to find the right remote assistant skills you’re looking for.
Ongoing Support
Our support is a continuous process to make sure your virtual assistant performs optimally. We are committed to this approach to enforce a supportive relationship, providing you with training, guidance and assistance in times of uncertainty. This way, you’ll keep on evolving and always have a sense of security.
VAV treats your investment with value and so should you. Team up with a trusted partner to connect with the right remote professional with virtual assistant abilities for the job.
If you’re looking for particular VA skill sets, talk about your requirements with our experts.
Read on: Administrative Assistant vs. Secretary: You Ought to Know
Conclusion
For your small business in the Land Down Under, a virtual assistant is a worthwhile venture. They can promote growth, and trust us, your company won’t be an exception.
Hiring a remote assistant who possesses administrative, digital, problem-solving, technical, communication, prioritisation and organisational skills can drive robust business results.
Just always remember to match VAs to tasks, and don’t expect one person to do everything.
Although this can be challenging, we recommend sticking to the skills we mentioned above and partnering with a trusted VA company like VAV.
Here’s how VAV works:
- First, we begin with a quick consultation to gain a sharper insight into your needs and expectations.
- Second, we connect you with the ideal assistant profile based on your specifications.
- After onboarding, we remain with you, providing assistance and training to ensure a result-driven partnership.
Are you on? Schedule a consultation and explore what we can do!