Dec 27, 2016 01:41:02 PM by Jonathan S
Hello,
I'm doing research about virtual assistants to determine if it's a good fit for my business type, any insight would be helpful. My business is that of property management. We will soon be acquiring additional properties and I need to adjust how we handle inbound and outbound tenant communication.
I'll need someone available M-F, 9:00-5:00. This assistant would answer inbound calls and then input the call into our property management software. At this time, inbound calls occur approximately 5 times per week. With the expansion of the business, the number of calls could triple to maybe 15 calls per week.
I will occasionally also task the assistant with making outbound calls to tenants, primarily for rent reminders.
With these needs in mind, the assistant will not be doing 40 hours worth of actual work, but they will need to be available for 40 hours per week. Is a virtual assistant appropriate? Is there a way to compensate an assistant based on the time spent on the functions described above?
Thanks,
Jonathan
Dec 27, 2016 08:09:30 PM by Valeria K
Hi Jonathan,
A lot of VAs are hired for hourly contracts, so you may want to try that model as well. You may also find this Hiring Headquarters article useful.
Dec 28, 2016 07:07:29 AM by Jonathan S
Hi Valerie,
Thanks for your response and I'll review the article.
Regarding the hourly compensation structure, would I need to hire someone for the full 40 hour work week though?
Thanks,
Jonathan
Dec 28, 2016 01:08:38 PM by Valeria K
Jonathan,
When you create an offer, you'll be able to set a weekly limit and the freelancer will not be able to bill you for more than that. On hourly contracts, you are paying for freelancer's time, so if you want the freelancer to dedicate 40 hours a week to your project, you will need to pay for their time.
Check out this articles about Paying for Hourly Contracts and Paying for Fixed-price Contracts.
Dec 29, 2016 08:41:20 AM by Petra R
@Jonathan S wrote:Regarding the hourly compensation structure, would I need to hire someone for the full 40 hour work week though?
You said in your OP "I'll need someone available M-F, 9:00-5:00. " - were you thinking of needing someone to be "available" 40 hours but only paying them for the time they were actually on the phone? Surely not....
Dec 29, 2016 09:22:47 AM by Anna K
Hi Jonathan S,
If you need a VA to be available M-F 9:00 to 5:00 then I believe that the best option is to allocate some additional administrative tasks that can be completed while the freelancer is "stand by", waiting to assist with the inbound calls. This would be more fair, as you would be paying for hours that are actually worked and it's common for seasoned VA's to multitask (handling calls while operating another duty), so this won't raise complications.
A second option would be to set a fixed price contract where you could complensate the contractor per call they handle, with the quote being slightly increased in comparison to what you would expect to pay on an hourly contract, so that it is fair for the contractor who would be kept "stand by" for those hours.
I understand the second option has a few complications and if I were you, I would by all means stick with the first option, provided that I had tasks to delegate to the freelancer.
Best of luck
Anna Kourteli
Virtual Assistant