With an increase in people starting their own business over the past few years, we have seen an increase in the need for support staff rise too. Young entrepreneurs in particular often start a business without prior experience or a plan and quickly realise they need help in many aspects of it such as admin, marketing, and building the website to name a few.
To spend more time on your strengths when starting a business, employing a virtual assistant (VA) to help with a variety of tasks can be a good investment. So what skills should a good VA have? Below we have a look at the most employable skills for a VA.
1) Good oral and writing skills
Communication is essential, not only between the employer and the assistant but also with clients, partners and others in the supply chain. A good VA will have a high level of oral and written skills allowing them to comfortably take phone calls, respond to emails and present efficiently and professionally. While some VA jobs do not usually require voice communication, it is still an essential skill to have. The VA will be a representation of the business so they must show the same attributes the business wants to portray to its clients.
2) Quick and effective decision-making skills
Nowadays, business decisions are made quickly and decisively, and therefore these traits make a good VA. Often, experienced VA’s will be given the authority to make decisions if their superior is unable to at the time, so these skills must be honed and efficient. While their title may be as an assistant, they can be as important to the success of a business as the owners themselves. Far from being just a meetings planner or scheduler, modern VAs may be required to merge roles such as marketing, admin to even finance. Being able to make effective decisions is of utmost importance.
3) Technological skills
As the title suggests, a VA will mainly be working remotely using computers, tablets and phones, so they will certainly need to be proficient in using different devices for different situations, seamlessly. They should be competent users of the standard Microsoft Office package and the Google versions, as well as different productivity and communication apps such as Slack and Trello, often used by smaller, more flexible organisations.
4) Self-motivation
With remote working comes great responsibility; you won’t have your boss physically present keeping an eye on you and for some, this can lead them to become distracted and lazy. Self-motivation is important to ensure you can get out of bed in the morning on time even if you are not tracked strictly, and also work effectively without external pressures.
