Frequently Asked Questions
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What exactly is a Virtual Assistant?A virtual assistant (VA) is an individual who provides business support services in a variety of areas. They do not work out of your office, but work virtually for you from our company offices. Support service areas can include website development and maintenance, marketing, search engine optimization, content writing, graphic design and link building. A VA is not an employee, but an independent contractor who provides services through our organization for a monthly retainer. |
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How do I start the process of obtaining a Virtual Assistant?To begin the process, you can call or email one of our managers and provide them with a detailed description of your project and its requirements, including deadlines. Our manager will then work with you to determine how long you will require the services of one of our VAs. We will then select a VA for you that have the experience and qualifications to meet your requirements. The more detailed your request, the better we can match up the most qualified VA to fit your needs. |
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How can I be sure that the Virtual Assistant selected for me is qualified?All of the virtual assistants employed by Virtual Assistant Inc must successfully pass an intensive pre-employment screening process. This involves IQ testing and background checks including personal references and verification of educational requirements. When they successfully complete this rigorous process, they are then enrolled in our intensive 160-hour training program to ensure they fully understand our practices and procedures. Our innovative training program assures our management team that all of our VAs have the appropriate skill levels in their particular fields. |
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Is it really cheaper to hire a Virtual Assistant than a full-time employee?Without a doubt. By using one of our VAs, you only pay a monthly retainer for their services. There are no other hidden fees involved. Hiring a full-time employee makes you liable for all kinds of additional costs such as federal and state payroll taxes, FICA, unemployment insurance, vacation pay, employee benefits and training costs. You also don’t have to worry about paying for any additional office space or equipment costs for desks, chairs, computers, etc. |
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Your Virtual Assistants are located overseas. Will this cause communication problems for me?Not at all. All of our VAs are located where English is a second language. Many of our VAs attended Catholic grammar and high schools and have been using English since they were small children. Our VAs all hold college degrees and our pre-employment screening process weeds out individuals with poor communication skills. Also, U.S. citizens manage all of our offices. |
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Most Virtual Assistant companies only offer administrative and secretarial support. Is it possible to get skilled support for my website?Yes, this is our specialty. The vast majority of our VAs hold degrees in computer science. They are proficient in all areas of website support from graphic design to SEO to content writing and all things in between. We teach our VAs our proven formulas in our 160-hour training program and in our unique 5 hour per month Continuous Training Program. This additional training ensures that our VAs are up to date on all new emerging technologies and gives our managers a way to monitor their progress. |
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How can I accurately track the time my Virtual Assistant spends on my project?We fully understand the anxiety of many clients who wonder how much actual time is being spent on their project when their VA is thousands of miles away. For this reason, we use sophisticated tracking software that allows our managers to see every keystroke made by every one of our VAs. This innovative software keeps accurate and up to date records of every time one of our VAs “punch-in” and “punch-out” of your project. All of our VAs work out of our company offices, not their homes, with management supervision to eliminate any potential “goofing off” on your nickel. The VAs work off of our server with a secure network and behind a firewall. Your information is only accessable from our office. We also provide our clients with a detailed invoice each month. |
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How can I trust that my intellectual property is secure?At Virtual Assistant Inc, we realize that trust is one of the most important factors in our collaboration with our clients. Therefore, we take several steps to ensure your intellectual property is safe. Prior to employment, all of our VAs are required to read, understand and sign a Confidentially Agreement. We also have a strict Code of Ethics that our VAs must abide by or face dismissal. Other important measures we take to protect your privacy include: Internet firewalls, security software to prevent any unauthorized downloading, forwarding or printing of your sensitive data, security cameras in every office, fingerprint based building entry & exit systems and security guards. |
