Published March 31, 2022
Updated May 24, 2023
Are you feeling hesitant about adding a virtual assistant to your workforce? Are you unsure about how to verify the time they work and output? You're not alone!
Many companies are reluctant to choose remote workers, fearing that they won't be able to trust them. However, you can take steps to ensure that your property management virtual assistant is trustworthy and reports completed work and hours correctly.
It's also important to protect your business when bringing on new team members. Here's what our experts at VPM Solutions recommend to verify honest VAs and check their work!
One of the best ways to protect yourself is to conduct a background check on your virtual assistant candidates. This will give you an idea of their past employment history and any criminal activity they may have been involved in.
If you see any red flags in a background report, you have the information you need to avoid a bad VA and move on to a better candidate.
However, it's important to note that the results of a background check will vary depending on the country of residence. When finding virtual assistants through VPM Solutions, companies have the option to conduct in-depth background screenings through our partnership with Hire Image LLC. Through this relationship, property managers have easy access within the platform to conduct different types of background checks during the virtual team member selection process.
Another way to ensure that your virtual assistant is trustworthy is to limit their access to sensitive information. Not every VA needs access to databases, client or tenant rosters, or other sensitive data, depending on their roles for your property management company.
As you get to know your new virtual assistant, only give them access to the systems and information they need to do their job. This will help protect your business from data breaches and other malicious attacks.
If you're not sure how to limit access, our team at VPM Solutions can help! We recommend that VAs should only have access to sensitive data if they've passed a background screening and proven to be reliable.
One final way to verify that your virtual assistant is trustworthy is to monitor their work output. Keep track of the hours they work and the tasks they complete. If you see any discrepancies, you can directly address them with the VA.
To help sync the work you perceive from remote team members vs. what they put into timecards and report back to you:
Consider conducting random check-ins. In addition to scheduled update meetings (weekly or bi-weekly), reach out to your VA and ask for an update on their projects.
Review their work against KPIs (promptly). When an assistant finishes a task, take time to review their work as soon as possible. We know you're busy! However, delaying a VA's work review by a few days (or a week) can make it difficult to confirm that they produced what you needed from them.
Conduct routine meetings. We mentioned random check-ins, but scheduling routine meetings with a virtual assistant also helps you build confidence in their abilities and trustworthiness.
Give ongoing feedback. It probably seems easy to give plenty of feedback when training new remote workers during their first few weeks on the job. However, it's important to continue giving feedback long-term! This helps your VA understand that you value their work and are paying attention.
Regular communication helps build trust and good relationships with remote property management assistants! It also helps hold VAs accountable throughout a project or as long-term team members delivering property management services.
It's also important to remember that not all virtual assistants (or workforce sourcing platforms) are created equal. Research different companies and find one that fits your specific needs while delivering the best virtual assistant skills.
When you start with a pool of the best skilled remote workers, you have a better chance of finding reliable and trustworthy workers who add value to your company, tenants, and property owners!
VPM Solutions offers thousands of the best virtual assistants in the property management and real estate industries! Starting your search on our platform gives you a better pool of candidates and the resources you need to screen potential VAs and reduce the amount of time you spend on your hiring process.
Because we want property managers to find the best talent to grow their businesses, we also provide free training to virtual contractors on our platform.
That means that you can use our background check partnership to verify a potential VA before adding them to your team and find virtual assistants with experience, training, and certification in the property management industry.
VPM Solutions also makes it easy to verify timesheets for every VA on your team and manage remote teams with ease. Our Company Accounts feature means that any manager for your company can review timesheets for virtual assistants. If they see any discrepancy in reported time vs. actual output, our system makes it simple to dispute a timesheet before paying a virtual contractor.
In addition to providing free access to the best remote workers in the business, VPM Solutions makes it easy to track performance, review timecards, and pay VAs accurately. You pay only for the quality hours your virtual assistants work!
When you're ready to experience the best way to find the talent you need to build your workforce and scale your business—while lowering payroll costs and improving profitability—get started with your Free Company Profile!
We make it easy to create a job description and hire virtual assistants! Download our free "Real Estate Virtual Assistant Hiring Kit."