Comprehensive and Continuous VA Training

Latest Training Methods and Tools

We provide our virtual assistants with a systemized training platform with many tiers that makes it easy for them to learn and gives our management team a way to monitor their progress.  Although we still practice many traditional teaching and testing methods, we are firm believers in using technology to deliver training.  For example, we have found that video tutorials are an excellent method for teaching VAs proper techniques for search engine optimization and link building.  Having the ability to view and examine web page screen shots with audio instructions is a much more effective learning method than just reading text.  We make it fun to learn.  When students enjoy what they’re studying they absorb the course material more quickly and more thoroughly. We reinforce the training with appropriate supervised tasks and case studies to be certain that our people not only understand but can actually do it!

Moodle Training Programs

Perhaps the best technological instruction tool we have discovered is Moodle.  Moodle is an open source Course Management System (CMS) designed to help educators create high quality online courses.  This innovative virtual learning environment has a significant user base with nearly 17 million users in over 1.5 million courses.  One of the eminent advantages of Moodle that appeals to us is that it facilitates collaborative work between our VAs.  It provides them the opportunity to learn new skills independently, while also giving them the ability to be connected to a group of colleagues who can share ideas and deliberate on each other’s work. 

Moodle is so well respected in the academic community that many universities such as San Francisco State University, University of Minnesota Duluth, Bath University and Dublin City University incorporate Moodle teaching systems into their curriculum.  In fact, Louisiana State University expects to have their online course system fully converted to Moodle by the end of 2008 according to Sheri Thompson, LSU’s informational technology planning and communications officer.

Our Initial and Ongoing Training 

When a VA has successfully passed our pre-employment screening, they still must undergo through and comprehensive training process in our particular methods. They attend a pre-training session that gives them an outline of the 160 hours of training they are about to enter and how we conduct business at Virtual Assistant Inc. Even after they successfully complete the initial 160 hours of training, their education has only just begun.  We follow-up the initial training with an additional mandatory 5 hours of course work to be completed every month.  The amount of initial training and our 5-hour per month Continuous Training Program are unique to the industry.  The Continuous Training Program ensures that our VAs are current on all new technologies and practices to help make them more effective and efficient.

Additional training and resource support that we provide includes:

• A private VA training area using multi-media
• In-house training sessions with our managers
• A comprehensive reference area filled with instruction and procedure manuals

Real Experience Benefits You

Experience is another key element that we share with our group of virtual assistants.  Craig Donnelly, who directs the team at Virtual Assistant Inc, has been deeply involved with outsourcing and Internet marketing and sales since 1999.  Craig has substantial hands on experience with the international business community that he shares with our VAs.  Andy Donnelly brings a wealth of business experience to our organization and is a valuable resource to our VAs.  Andy has been the CEO of several large corporations and is highly adept at finding solutions to problems in the business world.  Greg Lee contributes design and marketing aspects of our VAs education based on over 10 years personal experience.  Chuck Jaymes brings over 20 years worth of administrative, marketing and management experience to our team.  Chuck is our on-site manager and oversees the hiring and training of our virtual assistant staff.

VA Training from Top Industry Experts 

Another important feature of our systemized training platform is the use of experts.  We don’t claim to know everything, so if we’re in doubt we consult the pros that know.  For example, in search engine optimization we follow the rules and advice of SEO guru Bruce Clay, Aaron Wall and several other optimization experts.  For copywriting and marketing techniques, we employ the proven methods of industry veterans like Michael Masterson and Dan Kennedy.  We keep a constant watch on industry leaders and filter down pertinent techniques to our virtual assistants.  In this way we ensure our virtual assistants to have the most up-to-date training from industry experts.

We Do What We Do ...and We Do It Well 

Unlike many other virtual assistant services, we have absolutely no desire or intent in being a catch all company that offers a plethora of services from buying flowers for you online to balancing your personal checkbook to virtually walking your dog.  We offer full-time VAs with real talent working out of a professional office environment.  Our professional training program allows us to attract a different class of virtual assistants.  At Virtual Assistant Inc, we focus on core areas where we have the experience and expertise to effectively perform tasks that others cannot.