Hi and thank you for taking the time to come and read this month's blog. I decided it would be a good idea to do a little Q&A as I have come across a few people who hadn't heard of what a Virtual Assistant is and wanted to make it abundantly clear that we are not robots as some may think the title suggests. No, we (VA's) are indeed very human in fact, I would say that we are 'superhuman'. So being the superhuman VA that I am, I have put together a little Q&A blog to give more clarity on the role of a VA and how I work. The answers I have provided are based on my own processes and not necessarily that of other VA's as I'm sure you'll appreciate that everyone works differently.

Q - What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a person who provides remote (virtual) assistance to small businesses.

The VA services can vary dependent on what fields the VA specialises within.

Generally, a VA will provide administrative support such as managing your emails, booking appointments, diary management, social media support, bookkeeping, personal services such as arranging insurance, research etc…. and many other varied services, the list is endless!

By taking on a VA they are more often than not self-employed meaning that you would not be paying the additional costs that go with employing a member of staff. They will have their own equipment, insurances and premises to work from. It is a flexible way of getting the extra support you need without the commitment and cost of taking a staff member on.

Q - What do you do as VA?

My past experience has enabled me to offer a wide range of services that I specialise in such as...

·        Email management

·        Diary management

·        Invoicing

·        Document production

·        Training materials

·        Handling personal matters i.e., Insurance

·        Fleet management

·        Data entry

·        Call handling/customer service

·        Data filing and storage

Amongst other vital services that can be found on my website or social media platforms.

Q- How do I go about taking on your VA services?

I want to make your life as easy as possible, all you need to do is….

1. contact me in a method that suits you (contact form on my website, social media message, email, phone or text) and give me a brief description of your needs and requirements
2. I will then arrange a 20-30 minute discovery call with you to discuss your requirements/answer questions you may have
3. After the discovery call, I will send you a proposal within 24 hours which will include my terms of business, booking form and data privacy form (if you need assistance with these then I can help)
4. Read and sign the forms (physically or electronically) using eversign (a few clicks and it’s done but again, I’m here to help)
5. Once the forms have been received and date of start confirmed then I will require access to your systems and away we go!

Q - Are there legal contracts involved?

Yes, I have my terms of business which will be sent to you along with the booking and data processing forms. All of these documents form our legal contract to one another. I would also like access to your data processing policy and processes as I will adopt them when working with you and processing your client data.

Q - How do you access my systems and data?

Prior to starting work with you, I will send over my legally binding contract which includes my terms or business, booking form and data processing form.

On the booking and data processing form it will state how we have agreed for me to access your systems; the best way to do this is for you to create a unique log on for me as you would an employee and grant access to me on your shared systems.

Any log in credentials and passwords given to me to access such systems are then stored securely using a password management tool.

Once I have carried out the tasks set and no longer require such access you can then revoke the access as stated in the terms of business document.

Q - How do you keep my business data and client’s personal data safe and secure and in line with legislation (GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018)?

I am registered with the Information Commissioners Office as a Data Controller and am bound by UK GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018 for keeping your data safe, secure and confidential and have processes and systems in place to ensure this.

When working with you I may be processing personal data of your clients, for this you will remain the Data Controller and complete the data processing form giving me access as a Data Processor to your systems and processes as you would an employee. As part of my onboarding process, I will need a copy of your data processing policy as I will adopt and adhere to this whilst working on your projects/tasks.

You will still have control over the data that I have access to, process and store. I will not store any personal data of third parties on my own systems. My terms of business, booking form and data privacy form provide further clarity on this.

Any log in credentials and passwords given to me to access such systems are then stored securely using a password management tool. Once I have carried out the tasks set and no longer require such access you can then revoke the access as stated in the terms of business document.

I do hope that I have now provided more clarity on the role and legal aspects of working with a Virtual Assistant. If you have any other burning questions, then feel free to get in touch with this superhuman VA and I will get them answered for you! See you soon.