Top 5 Questions To Ask a Virtual Assistant Company

When hiring a virtual assistant through a staffing company, there are a few key questions property management company owners should ask to ensure success when choosing and hiring a VA. While plenty of companies and platforms can deliver a virtual assistant, not all companies offer the same services, quality VAs, or pricing. 

Evaluating the company you choose to hire from is as important as the virtual property management assistant you hire! Here are the Top Five questions property managers should ask the company before posting a job or hiring a VA.

1. Is There a Placement Fee? If So, How Much?

Some virtual assistant companies charge a placement service fee, which is essentially a finder's fee for connecting a property manager with a virtual assistant. Make sure you know how much this fee is and whether or not it's negotiable. If your goal is to reduce overhead and payroll costs, paying for a software solution or company to let you post and hire for remote property management jobs can quickly become cost-prohibitive. 

While industry standards for a platform fee can be as much as 10%, the best "fee" is free! If you're not sure if virtual assistants are available without a placement or service fee, VPM Solutions is! We offer "No Company Fees Ever," meaning that you never pay to post a job or hire a VA through our platform. With thousands of available virtual assistants, "free" also delivers skilled talent without sacrificing quality for property management companies!

2. Do You Train Virtual Assistants for Property Management or Real Estate Industries?

Not all virtual assistant companies offer training for their virtual assistants. In addition, the companies that offer training options for VAs may not offer property management or real-estate-specific training to best support your business. 

Using a platform that delivers experienced property management virtual assistants can be extremely helpful in ensuring that your VA has the skills necessary to complete property management tasks. Ask a virtual assistant company if they offer specific training for virtual assistants in the property management or real estate industry. If they don't, you're in the wrong place! 

VPM Solutions offers ongoing property management training opportunities to VAs through our platform. We want to ensure that property managers always have access to industry-skilled remote assistants and that VAs have the resources they need to serve you and your clients well. 

3. How Much Are You Charging Me Per Hour? 

The follow-up question to this one is often "how much does my VA get?"

One of the most important questions to ask a placement company is how much you will be paying per hour and how much the virtual assistant will receive after completing and getting paid for work for a business owner. This question ensures that you and the virtual assistant get good value for your money. 

With the right virtual assistant company, businesses shouldn't experience any "per hour" fees for simply using the resource or hiring a VA. With VPM Solutions, the only payments you make are to your virtual assistant through our platform. We process all payments and guarantee that your contracted VAs receive payments right away. 

How much your property management virtual assistant receives depends on the compensation you agree to with your VA at hiring. We encourage property managers and real estate professionals to offer competitive salaries depending on where your remote assistant works and payscales in that country. 

4. Do You Run Background Checks on Virtual Assistants?

Many property management business and real estate tasks require working with confidential and sensitive information. Therefore, before hiring a virtual assistant, it's important to ask the virtual assistant company if they run background checks on their virtual assistants. 

If you're uncomfortable with the idea of having an unvetted virtual assistant working with your clients or access to company files and databases, ensure that the placement service you're considering offers comprehensive background checks on virtual assistants. 

VPM Solutions offers comprehensive background checks on all our virtual assistants as part of our onboarding process. This helps ensure that only qualified and skilled virtual assistants represent your business and interact with your clients. 

5. What Can I Do to Guarantee My VA Will Be Successful?

No one can guarantee a virtual assistant will be successful, but hiring managers can take steps to increase the potential of success with a new VA. 

Start by using a virtual assistant company that offers thousands of skilled VAs for the real estate or property management industry—like VPM Solutions. Hiring a VA with the right industry experience and skills helps businesses enjoy better success! Just like hiring any U.S.-based employee, ensuring that your remote assistant has the skills necessary to complete tasks is an integral part of building a successful remote workforce. 

Then, onboard and train your new property management VA to make sure they understand the job role, their responsibilities, and your expectations. Monitor progress and track KPIs to retain excellent virtual assistants long-term. 

VPM Solutions Has the Answers You Need for Success With a Virtual Assistant

Asking these critical questions as you research potential virtual assistant companies can help you avoid VA hiring mistakes. These questions can also help you find the best company to deliver the property management virtual assistants you need to scale your business and reduce payroll costs!

If you're ready for the right answers to these excellent questions, VPM Solutions is here! It's easy to get started with a free profile or schedule a consultation to discuss your questions. 

Do companies really find success when hiring virtual assistants? Yes! See a real-life example when downloading our free resource, "From Chaos to Clarity: A Virtual Assistant Impact Case Study."