When you decide to hire a Virtual Assistant there’s a few things you should get clearly documented before even commencing the hiring process. Then once you’ve chosen a Virtual Assistant there’s also likely to be some form of paperwork to be done.
Here’s my list of everything that you should have documented, as well as what you may get from a Virtual Assistant. Of course, this is all suggested – you may need some of these documents, you may need none or there may even be other things you find you want or need to get written down before you start.
Before you even set out to hire a Virtual Assistant you should consider:
- A specific idea of what are you going to get them to do
- Document the scope of work you’ll want
- Document (or get your Virtual Assistant to help create) procedures & style manuals
- Have a clear picture of the voice of your business, and either write it down, or get your Virtual Assistant to create a written brief of the company voice which covers such things as tone (friendly, professional, formal, casual etc.) and any other specifics in the way you want the company to communicate i.e.: “Wherever suitable use we rather than I”, or “don’t use contractions” (do not instead of don’t) etc.
Your Virtual Assistant will probably have one or more of these:
- A questionnaire or list of services for you to select which you’re going to need
- A contract and/or schedule of services provided
- Details of how the Virtual Assistant works, including turnaround times, business hours, payment terms etc.
- A confidentiality agreement
- A “welcome pack” consisting of some or all of the above and any other documentation your Virtual Assistant might want to give.
It may seem like a huge pain to write so much down, but it’s the only way to guarantee that you’re both clear on your expectations. It also gives you both a solid standing in case the relationship sours and you need to seek mediation or even commence legal action.
If you are in a hurry to get started, but need to have contracts, confidentiality agreements or anything similar signed there are several ways to get that done. Echosign and HelloSign are both free for a limited number of signatures per month, can be signed into via your Google account and can connect to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box and Evernote to grab the documents which make them quick and easy to use. If you have concerns about the legality of the signatures, you can read EchoSigns’ Are Electronic Signatures Legal or the HelloSign Legality Statement or if you’re really keen, check out the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 which is the relevant Australian law.
Taking the time to create documentation and make sure you have all the important facets of the relationship written down, both for yourself and as a reference or contract is a key ingredient in creating a successful working partnership and will quickly make the time taken to set it up, more than worthwhile.
