The Search for the Perfect Virtual Assistant!

Above: Live2Care’s Army of Virtual Assistants, serving clients Worldwide!

Other than inbound call center solutions and outbound telesales services which Philippine call centers usually offer, the increase in demand for virtual assistant support has opened a whole new horizon in the offshore business process outsourcing industry in the Philippines. But what exactly does a virtual assistant or “VA” do and just how valuable are they for a business?

Just like highly-skilled jack-of-all-traders, a VA is proficient with anything clerical. From bookkeeping and desktop publishing, to data entry and making power point slides for a business report, a VA is ready to provide anything their clients need. VA’s are crucial to a business because it is also a part of their job to update their clients with deadlines and project developments. A VA’s work is really not that different from an actual office assistant; the only difference is that they can’t make a cup of coffee for their clients personally!

While skills and flexibility are really essential for a VA to have, below are some characteristics an exceptional VA possesses:

1.    Resourcefulness – this is probably the most important characteristic a VA should have since VA’s will be tasked to solve certain problems for their clients. A resourceful VA finds ways to get the answers and results they need to solve the problems by making quick and accurate decisions.

2.    Self-motivated – an ideal VA should have a high sense of self-motivation because every bit of work will be done with minimum or little supervision.

3.    Organized – a VA should be organized because there are times when they have to deal with multiple clients. An organized VA will be more efficient and productive even when under pressure from different clients.

4.    Excellent Communication Skills – a good VA must be able to understand instructions and at the same time communicate effectively to their clients.

5.    Professionalism – professional VA’s not only submit quality work on time, they also make it a point to be knowledgeable with their client’s businesses so that they could be confident when dealing with their clients and prospective clients.