Key performance indicators or KPIs can help measure an organisation?s progress towards its goals. The KPIs can also be used to measure the progress of employees as well. Issues, if any, can then be addressed through appropriate techniques. Similarly, your business can measure the performance of virtual assistants by using a range of KPIs for virtual assistants (VA).
Before we get into further details, let?s first define the term and explain why hiring a virtual assistant makes sense in today?s business world.
Why consider hiring a virtual assistant?
As an entrepreneur, there are a lot of tasks that you have to accomplish in a day. Besides looking after daily operations, you also have to plan, organize, lead and control your organisation. As such hiring a virtual assistant is important and makes sense. By entrusting day to day operations to the virtual assistant, you can free yourself a bit and focus on strategic planning and more important tasks.
Having a good virtual assistant is as good as having a trusted employee working for you remotely. But how do you know that your virtual assistant is performing up to the mark? This is where KPIs for virtual assistants can help.
It is often said that you need to frame KPIs for virtual assistants even before hiring a virtual assistant. If you are wondering why KPI is important for VA, then the following blog is for you. In the following paragraphs, we would help you understand the importance of KPIs and offer you a brief idea of the best performance monitoring KPIs for virtual assistants.
Why set KPIs for Virtual assistants?
In setting KPIs you actually are breaking up long term goals into specific strategies. These strategies can be instruments to measure the performance of your VA. For instance, consider yourself to be a real estate agent trying to increase sales. To achieve this goal, you might have a strategy to increase brand awareness.
For this, you might recruit a VA to work on areas of marketing that are measurable. For example one of the KPI can be increasing the followed count on Facebook by 10%. Thus the KPI matrices are in line with your goals and strategies and can help you measure the performance of your VA. KPIs can also help you to analyse your strategy and mend it if need be.
For instance, consider a scenario in which the VA implements all your strategies but fails to get results. In this situation, it can be safely assumed that the VA performed as per KPI, but the strategy needs mending. The above paragraphs clearly explain the need for performance-monitoring KPIs for virtual employees.
But, that?s not all. The following paragraphs further highlight the importance of deciding KPI for virtual assistants.
Measure reliability
It can be easy to judge the work ethic, output or performance of an employee when he or she is working in your office. However, the process can become difficult when the employee is working from a virtual location. As such, deciding KPIs for a virtual assistant is important to measure the reliability and performance of a virtual employee. The KPIs can be an objective base to determine whether your virtual assistant is working as per expectation and can be relied upon.
Assess long-term viability
Your project might require you to work with the virtual assistant for a long-term period. As such it is important to check the long-term viability of the virtual assistant. This is where KPIs for virtual assistants can help. KPIs can give you an objective view of the performance of the virtual employee against preset parameters.
Based on the result of your evaluation, you can take the decision on whether or not to hire the virtual assistant for a long term period. Thus, KPIs can be a good benchmark to evaluate the long term viability of your virtual assistant.
Measure efficiency
It is important to clearly define your expectations to the virtual employee prior to starting your work. This will definitely allow you to avoid confusion and streamline your relationship with the virtual assistant. You also need to define whether your virtual assistant needs to clock in fixed working hours or not.
Another option might be to allow your virtual assistant to work flexible hours as long he is able to deliver the deliverables on time. Additionally, you should also define the frequency at which the virtual assistant should send you daily reports. It is equally important to define the working structure and the work outline at the outset.
When a person is working remotely, communications can suffer. Therefore it is always recommended to decide and define KPIs for the virtual assistants at the outset. The KPIs can not only help you evaluate the performance of the virtual assistant but also form the bedrock of a strong long-term relationship.
The best KPIs for virtual assistants
In regards to KPIs, it is important to consider that every business is special. Thus a single set of KPIs cannot serve virtual assistants and businesses of all kinds. Therefore to set the KPIs for virtual assistants for your particular business it is important to start by concentrating on your long term strategy.
The long term strategy can be broken down into smaller goals that need to be achieved over the immediate time frame. The goals created should be based on SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). Break down the SMART goals further into specific strategies or performance indicators that your virtual assistant needs to adhere to.
The key performance indicators can help to track the progress or performance of the virtual assistant with respect to the goal. Following this sequence of steps can help you develop the best KPIs for virtual assistants working for your business.
Want to know more? Connect with a virtual assistant provider now.
As the editor of the blog, She curate insightful content that sparks curiosity and fosters learning. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, she strive to bring diverse perspectives and engaging narratives to readers, ensuring every piece informs, inspires, and enriches.
