Business is doing good. You are where you want to be, and your expansion keeps getting bigger and bigger. This means it’s time to expand your headcount as well to accommodate the incoming tasks you may have to face soon. However, with a full-time employee, you would have to spend on equipment, office space, and employee benefits. Don’t fret! The good news is, no matter the size of your business, you can now hire online assistants and work with them without spending too much on unnecessary expenses.

Is It Better to Hire Online Assistants Than In-house Employees?

As someone who is not used with the idea of working with a remote team, things might seem uncontrollable. Working with a virtual assistant may cause things to get out of hand, but with the right tools and process, you can make your work a lot easier and more cost-efficient. Here are some steps to get you started.

Choose Which Tasks to Outsource

Before you do anything, you need to identify first which tasks you would assign to your online personal assistant. To do this, you must first list the tasks you usually do daily and categorize them into groups.

Tasks you should do

This list should compose of the items that a business decision maker should do. Tasks such as business strategies, planning, and researching what your competitors are doing are the things that should make up your day. List them down under this column.

Tasks you shouldn’t do

These are the repetitive tasks that take up most of your time but produce low value to your productivity. Yes, they are essential in keeping your company afloat, but spending your time on them will slow down the progress of your growth in the long run.

Tasks you can’t do

Some jobs require special skills to accomplish. For example, some tasks like website development, social media marketing, content writing, and others. This is an automatic call to hire online assistants to do the smart work for you.

Craft a Job Description

Once you have identified which tasks require attention, it will be easier for you to create a job description that will hone the functions of your virtual assistant. When you hire a virtual assistant, you need to be clear on the scope of work so the prospect candidates can assess themselves if they are fit for the job as well. In your job description, you may want to include the following:

Job Title

When naming a job title, you should be specific but not too jargony. The title should immediately say what the task should be to avoid confusion.

Summary

The job summary would be the first thing the prospects will look into. This part should be eye-catching and should highlight the best things about your company.

Responsibilities

Remember the categorization you did earlier? This section is where you would put the things written on it. Now that you have segregated the tasks that you should do from the tasks you shouldn’t be doing, you can start listing important items in here from the tasks you shouldn’t and can’t do.

Minimum qualifications and key competencies

This part should support the previous section. For the candidate to accomplish the tasks stated above, you should list down here the skillset they should have. Do you prefer a specific degree they have finished? Do you require certification or experience in particular software? List them down in here.

Look For a Trusted Agency

There are options to look for candidates in freelance job portals that host remote jobs. However, if you are someone who has not yet had any experience in hiring a remote employee. It is best that you pick an agency instead. Although freelancers are cheaper, they can sometimes be unreliable and cannot be held accountable for some mishaps. Partnering with an agency that provides virtual assistant services can give our assurance on the expertise and quality of work produced.

Set a Meeting and Lay Down Expectations

Once you have chosen a trusted partner that understands your needs, it’s time to set up a meeting and establish an agreement that is suitable for your needs and aiming for your goals. During a client meeting, you would need to list down the things you need, and how you want them done. It also helps that you tell them a little bit about your company, your projects’ current status for further assessment. Doing this will align their objective with yours to make sure everything is in place for your expansion.

Expanding your business is not an easy task. Choosing to hire online assistants to do your administrative tasks is vital in determining the cost-effectivity of your outsourcing decision. HOPLA specializes in working with small to medium enterprises who need a hand in taking significant steps like this to be able to compete with business owners in their chosen field. Thinking of expanding your business? Talk to us today, and let’s discuss your growth.