The Mantra for Hiring the Best Virtual Assistants

By now offshore virtual assistants from India and other outsourcing hubs are common in companies across domains- be it day to day clerical or secretarial work or designing websites and maintenance of servers or writing content for you. However, engaging in offshore hiring, despite proving to be a winning formula more often than not, also has its own set of challenges- thanks to geographical separation and no direct oversight being possible. Hence, many I know have ended up hiring the wrong resources and as a result have had unsatisfactory experiences. In this article, we will discuss how we can overcome those challenges and ensure that the right sort of resource is hired. .

1.       Hire through an established agency: There are a number of established agencies which cater specifically to virtual assistant services. India remains the largest hub, but there are also a few agencies in countries like Philippines, Malaysia, Bulgaria etc. Hiring through an agency ensures that there are proper safeguards in place to protect you- the client. You would be indulging in a “pay as you go” service and can terminate the service with minimum fuss.

2.       Insist on multiple choice of candidates: One of the biggest reasons to hire virtual assistant services is to enable you access to a much bigger talent pool. Developed markets are almost saturated in terms of available talent. Developing economies like India are not. Insist on multiple candidates and chose the best possible one, once you are yourself satisfied. Most agencies will try and fill your requirement in-house with the talent available at their disposal. But the best ones will give you the option of fresh hiring. Explore all options before deciding. .

3.       Check the communication skills of the candidates yourself: Communication, when working from thousands of miles away, is absolutely critical to day to day functioning. Conduct the interview rounds yourself and ensure that you are comfortable with a candidate’s aptitude in not just the domain, but also the English language or for that matter any other language that your business requires. The very best virtual assistant from India or anywhere else speak English with an almost native fluency. One of the biggest reasons why call centers flourished in countries like India and Philippines was due to the command of the English language amongst the average educated Indian or Philippine.

4.       Insist on regular oversight- Cloud computing has ensured that A sitting in Texas can easily what B sitting in Bangalore is doing on his/her computer- real time! You can easily keep tabs through scree sharing, Skype and other tools and ensure a personal and direct oversight. This will also be beneficial for the employee as he/she will receive appropriate guidance just like your regular employees and he/she will feel part of your team.

 

Why India produces the best virtual employees

More than half of the world’s white collar jobs that are outsourced land in India. You must be wondering what makes India such a heavyweight in outsourcing. The answer is simple- size. India is home to 1.3 billion people. The active workforce is half a billion. India has a long way to go in terms of reaching the same levels of education that the west can lay claim to. However, even a fraction of this huge workforce is bigger than the entire population of countries like Australia. Most countries who have are jostling for space in the outsourcing market apart from India quite small. Countries like Bulgaria, Philippines, Ireland- combined they don’t even come close to this kind of workforce. This enormous size has thrown up some rather strange peculiarities.

1.       India has the second largest number of English speakers globally after the US. This, despite only about a quarter of its population being English literate. What helps is that English is seen as the lingua franca of the aspirational middle class. The best virtual assistants from India, invariably belong to this class, post millennials who have grown up on a steady diet of American sitcoms and movies. A large number consider English as their first language.

2.       India has close to 1000 higher education institutes adding close to a million skilled professionals to its workforce annually. The supply never ceases. If you hire virtual assistant in India, you will always be spoilt for choices.

3.       India has a strong domestic market and the government is extremely favorable to ideas that can generate jobs and hence employment. This has resulted in legislation creating a friendly environment for investment in technological and knowledge based industries. Hence, there are a huge number of technology startups and knowledge based firms thriving in India. Virtual assistant services in India are part of this recurring boom.

 

So, I hope I have been able to paint a clear and fair picture that can help you hire the best virtual assistants in India or elsewhere if you like. The right resources, especially the right human resource will always prove to be beneficial to you and your company and help you reach the proverbial next level.

So, all the best!