What makes a great virtual assistant? Part of it is skill. Some of it is attitude. A lot of it is consistency. And most of this can be taught.
We at Magic consider our VAs’ quality and reliability to be fundamental to our services. Without good workers in our recruitment pool, we wouldn’t be able to help businesses reach their goals. Accordingly, we invest time and resources in cultivating our assistants’ skills.
There are three main components to our training program. First is our basic training for VAs; this covers fundamental skills and principles for working as a VA, as well as an introduction to digital tools that can improve their efficiency. Second is our library of self-paced courses, which can help them learn or shore up various VA-related skills. Finally, in some cases, we provide our remote workers with hands-on training in a remote position.
This threefold approach ensures that our virtual assistant candidates are well-prepared for whatever jobs they take on. Read on for a closer look at what goes into their training.
Training Goals
In addition to honing specific skills, our training programs are designed to give our VA candidates a well-rounded foundation. We emphasize three primary aspects of an exemplary remote assistant.
Communication: Our training ensures VAs know how to comprehend and convey information relevant to their roles and responsibilities. This emphasizes clarity, transparency, and organization of all messages they send. Training covers best practices for specific online channels, as well as principles they can adapt to any platforms they may need to use.
Work Ethic: Assistants are trained to be resourceful and attentive in their work. They are also given practical advice for managing their time and adapting to clients’ workflows and preferences. In addition to best practices, training includes the use of tools to help with note-taking, problem-solving, and organizing their work.
Integrity: Training includes principles and practices that safeguard clients’ data and information, and minimizing exposure to risks from mishandling or misattributing information.
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Extensive Virtual Assistant Training
The extensive training program for our assistants is held over multiple half-day sessions. These training sessions include short lectures and explainers, simulated exercises and roleplay, as well as formal assessments. Training sessions cover practical skills as well as matters of mindset—part soft skills, part coaching in the kind of professional attitude an effective VA needs to adopt.
What We Train Our Assistants On
Here’s a quick rundown of the topics covered in training.
Data Privacy: Information security is a major concern in remote work. We make sure VAs know how to handle confidential information, protect clients’ data, and work in compliance with basic data security and privacy regulations.
Communication: This part of the training involves practical instruction in widely-used communication tools, such as email, voice calls, and instant messaging; it also covers communication strategies, such as providing updates, clarifying instructions, and ensuring transparency.
Time Management: VAs are coached in basic time management principles and strategies. These include proper prioritization, setting deadlines, and organizing or ordering tasks.
Research: Remote assistant candidates are trained in the effective use of search engines and other research tools, including Magic AI. We also ensure they know how to verify the information and distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources.
Rapport and Attentiveness: VA candidates are taught how to listen—or read—attentively: how to identify primarily goals or requests, how to adapt to an employer’s preferences and context, and how to build rapport and receive feedback.
See Also: Setting the Right Expectations in Virtual Assistant Outsourcing
Self-Paced Learning
While we screen for VA candidates with relevant work experience, the demands of a VA role can be broad—and adapting to fully remote work may entail additional challenges of its own. To address any skill gaps our VAs may have, we provide candidates with access to a library of self-paced online courses.
Our online training courses cover the basics of doing VA work and effective remote collaboration. Some also cover more specialized remote work, such as bookkeeping or digital marketing. Each course is a few hours long, serving as an introduction to basic concepts and skills that candidates in our recruiting pool can pursue further on their own.
Hands-On Work Experience
Our latest training initiative is providing our VAs with the opportunity for on-the-job training, working with a high-growth company with a distributed team setup. VAs in this program work for a set period while awaiting recruitment, honing their skills and gaining experience.
This training program is limited to sales roles right now since we’ve found the hands-on experience to have a significant and immediate impact on their performance. We may expand it to other roles in the future—we’re still exploring options for short training programs with significant results.
Get Great VAs with Magic
Finding a virtual assistant who truly matches the way you work can be tricky—but it’s not a matter of innate compatibility. VAs who are trained to listen attentively, to adapt, and to be proactive in their duties are much more likely to be effective and to stick with their role.
Since implementing our training program, we’ve seen improvements in client satisfaction, as well as VA retention by as much as 30%.
When you recruit through Magic, you get skilled virtual assistants who are ready to work for you. Schedule a call and let us know what sort of skills you’re looking for in a VA!
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