How to Hire a Virtual Assistant for Your Service Business

1. Determine your needs

Before you do anything else, you need to figure out what you need a virtual assistant for. Ask yourself: 

• What tasks can I easily give to someone else?
• Is there anything I would like to do but don’t have time for, like posting on social media or asking for reviews?
• What are my peak operating hours?
• What days do I need someone to be available?
• Where is my time best spent? 
• What communication methods work best for my business? (Email, phone, virtual meetings, or direct messaging)
• Do I need someone with industry experience? 

Since VAs offer many different services, answering these questions will help you pinpoint what you want in a skilled virtual assistant.

For example, you may need a virtual assistant with no specific industry experience who can manage customer communication, schedule jobs, and monitor Google Reviews between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. 

That way, you can use your time to visit job sites, draft project proposals, or attract new leads. 

2. Consider job requirements

Do you need someone familiar with the CRM software you use or who knows their way around Microsoft Office? 

The more specialized a skillset you require, the more a virtual assistant will cost, and the harder it will be to find the right person. 

Consider what you need someone to know and what specialized skill you would like them to have. 

For example, you may need them to be comfortable setting up meetings in Zoom or Microsoft Teams, but it might not be essential for them to know the ins and outs of plumbing, even though it would be a bonus.

And if you require special skills, consider whether they’re things someone can quickly learn or be trained on or if you need them to hit the ground running. 

For example, if they’re going to help dispatch crews for lawn care, you need them to estimate job times or optimize routes using specific software.

3. Set a budget

Once you understand what you’re looking for, it’ll be easier to set a budget. Consider how many hours you need someone to work each week and what experience level you need, then multiply it by an hourly rate.

How much does it cost to hire a virtual assistant? You can expect to pay an average of $30 an hour, with rates anywhere from $17 an hour for entry-level VAs to $40+ an hour for an experienced virtual assistant with specialized skills or backgrounds. 

Virtual assistant cost can also fluctuate based on demand, location, and industry experience.

Many virtual assistants can accommodate clients who need as few as five hours a week or as many as 40, meaning your budget could be anywhere from $150 to $1200 per week. 

Some virtual assistants will also work on an as-needed basis, meaning they only bill you for their work, which may vary each week. However, they may require a minimum amount of guaranteed work hours per week or month, so clarify their needs and expectations before moving ahead.

4. Prioritize your timezone

Having a VA who’s available during business hours is essential for responding to customer queries, booking jobs, and sending out payment reminders. 

While you don’t necessarily need a virtual assistant who lives in the same city or state as you, choosing someone who can work when you do prevents delays, facilitates timely communication, and ensures any mistakes or errors are corrected as soon as possible.

5. Use a virtual hiring platform

While you can use traditional hiring methods to search for a virtual assistant, hiring platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are built for independent contractors who work remotely, like VAs. You can also leverage a virtual assistant agency like BELAY or VA Staffer to find an assistant for you.

These platforms also handle contracts and payment processing as well as hiring support, like reviews or consultations, to help you find the right virtual assistant.

They also allow you to post job listings, filter candidates based on experience or industry, and review profiles for VAs looking for work, including their rates and availability. 

Using a virtual hiring platform makes the hiring process easier and eliminates the guesswork involved in finding and hiring a remote worker. 

6. Set clear expectations

Use your business needs and requirements to set clear expectations for whoever you hire and communicate them to any candidates you’re considering. 

Expectations should include: 

• When you need them to be available
• How you want them to communicate with you
• Which tasks you want them to handle
• How many hours you want them to work each week
• Deadlines or turnarounds for tasks (like responding to a booking request within 24 hours)
• Any tools or software they’ll need to use
• What your check-in or reporting process is, like whether you want a daily write-up of their tasks or a monthly summary

Include these details in the job description you post on hiring platforms, and review them in your interviews or consultations to boost your chances of finding the best match.

7. Conduct interviews

While hiring a freelancer or independent contractor is different than hiring an employee, you can still conduct virtual interviews to find the right candidate. 

Once you have a handful of potential hires to consider, set up meetings to go over your expectations and needs and ask any questions you have about their experience. 

It can be helpful to come up with a list of questions to ask during the interview, such as: 

• Can you walk me through your experience?
• Why would you be a good fit for this role?
• How do you usually communicate with clients?
• What tools or software do you use?
• Do you have experience working in home service industries?
• Are you available during my work hours?

Prepared interview questions will help narrow down your list of virtual assistants based on their answers so you can move forward with references.

8. Check reviews and references

If you use a hiring platform, be sure to check any reviews before reaching out to a potential virtual assistant. These will tell you what real employers or clients thought about their performance, work ethic, and technical abilities. 

If you decide to hire through a more traditional method, like posting a job on Indeed or LinkedIn, ask potential hires for references. That way, you can get a feel for their reliability, communication skills, and overall fit with your business before committing.

9. Plan for data security and privacy

One of the most important parts of hiring a virtual assistant is ensuring your customer data is handled securely and that you maintain their privacy. 

This can be tricky when you’re working with a remote employee because you may need to grant them access to sensitive information, but you can protect yourself and your customers by: 

• Having the VA sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA)
• Only granting access to customer or business data on a need-to-know basis
• Using strong passwords and a multifactor authentication app like Microsoft Authenticator
• Including security- and privacy-related terms in your contract, like how the VA is permitted to handle, store, delete, or use data
• Monitoring your virtual assistant’s access and activities to ensure compliance with security protocols

It’s also important to make sure that if sending emails or text messages on your behalf is part of their virtual assistant services, they comply with state or federal laws related to email management and communications.

10. Start with a trial period

When you choose a virtual assistant to hire, start your contract with a trial period. This protects you from being stuck in a long-term contract if the virtual assistant isn’t the right fit or your budget or needs change. 

For example, consider a 30-, 60-, or 90-day trial period and make the contract’s renewal dependent on their performance during that time. 

During the trial period, assess: 

• The quality and timeliness of their work
• Their responsiveness and communication skills
• How well they fit your business needs
• How they respond to feedback
• Whether they meet your expectations

Then, at the end of the timeframe, use this information to decide whether to offer them a longer-term role or explore other options. 

11. Use software

While hiring a dedicated virtual assistant works well for many businesses, it’s not your only option to reduce your admin workload. 

Depending on which tasks you need help with, field service management software like Jobber can be the optimal solution. 

For example, Jobber can help: 

• Send professional quotes that are easy to approve online and automate your quote follow-ups
• Instantly generate accurate invoices that are ready to send to your customers by text or email
• Get paid 4x faster with convenient online payment processing
• Schedule jobs faster and automatically generate the fastest, most fuel-efficient routes to fit more work in the day 
• Keep clients in the loop before, during, and after the job with automated customer reminders and follow-ups
• Double your monthly Google reviews with automatic review collection to build your online presence and attract more leads

That way, you maintain complete control over your business while cutting back on admin tasks by automating tedious and time-consuming processes.

The pros and cons of hiring a virtual assistant

If you’re still on the fence about hiring a virtual assistant, review these pros and cons to help you decide. 

Benefits of a virtual assistant

In a service business, virtual assistants come with the following pros: 

• They’re usually less expensive than hiring a full-time employee
• They can work from anywhere
• They help streamline business operations and save you time
• They can work on an as-needed or part-time basis
• They can take on specialized tasks
• They free up your time

Virtual assistant cons

Virtual assistants aren’t for everyone, though. They also come with downsides, such as: 

• Limited or no in-person availability
• Increased potential for data privacy and security concerns
• Technical difficulties that can disrupt communication and cause delays
• They may require more oversight and training compared to someone familiar with your industry
• Virtual communication can lead to misunderstandings, missed messages, and delayed response times

A virtual personal or executive assistant could be a great choice if you need help with tasks like answering calls, responding to customer emails, and scheduling personal appointments or meetings should be a great choice.

But if you’re just looking for a way to automate some of the admin tasks on your plate, using software may be a more efficient and cost-effective option. That way, you get the support you need without the added work of interviewing, hiring, and training someone.