If you are someone who is in desperate need for a virtual secretary to help you with your paperwork and dealing with calls from customers, then hiring a virtual secretary should be done immediately. But you need to do it the right way. Here are seven simple steps to follow when contracting a virtual secretary:

One: If you are overwhelmed with paperwork the take stock of how much paperwork you need done. Can it be done in a 10, 20, or 30 hours in a month? A lot of virtual assistants can serve this number of hours, rare can you find someone who will do it without sacrificing the schedule of their other clients. If you need more work hours in a month, then you might need more than one virtual secretary.

Two: Delegate the tasks according to categories: faxing, email services, data processing, bookkeeping and others. Think about how much time you would normally take to finish all these tasks, once you reach a time schedule, that is what you should ask the virtual assistant to do. Also, if there are more tasks for the next many months make sure that the VA you hire knows this is a long term assignment, otherwise they will look for other clients in preparation for when you let go of their services.

Three: Create a list where all that you want done are listed according to importance. Start looking for Virtual Assistant sites and not just freelancing sites. Virtual Assistant sites have better access to skilled and experience VA who is trustworthy. The sites will also have blogs where you can post your questions and doubts. Most assuredly, the VAs will answer your questions and even recommend who will best suit your needs.

Fourth: There will be several Virtual Assistant sites who will respond to your needs. Examine their offers and packages fully, also their prices. Discuss with the personnel online, if any, about any concerns. There are some which offer one week free trials where you could assign minor tasks to test out the skills of the assistants that you may hire.

Fifth: While the trial is going on, this is the time to make sure that the assistant who is assigned to you is comfortable to work with. It is not unreasonable to find someone who has no connection with you, but most of the time the first try out is a good way to know the comfort level of working with a particular VA.

Sixth: If you have been going through trials with two or more and then selected only one, call or email those whom you did not select and make a good impression by sending them a thank you for their time. This will ensure your position in the future in case you need their services. Once you choose the one, look over the contract and sign it and send over immediately. This will make the VA you hired know that you are someone who is serious in making this relationship work.

Seventh: Trust the VA. Once you have assigned them the tasks, go out for a bit and relax. Don’t keep disturbing their work because you are meticulous or simply because you are edgy. They will not feel relaxed and they will feel that you do not trust them. Make sure that they get to arrange for your vacation by making your new VA get your travel arrangements ready. This way, you show your trust in their abilities and you can get that much needed rest.