Do you know why most startups sigh and say “I need a virtual assistant. A new one,” at the end of their work week?

The answer is a no-brainer --they hired the wrong guy.
Where do you think did it go wrong?
It wasn’t in your hiring process. The real issue lies in your training and onboarding procedure. This is where your hired online assistant familiarizes on how the company works along with the tasks and responsibilities he needs to handle. Apart from that, onboarding allows you to introduce them to different software and tools you’re using within the company. Hence, it’s essential to have a strategic onboarding. Yet, the entire process is, unfortunately, unorganized for several companies. As a matter of fact, the Society For Human Resource Management conducted a survey regarding this matter and found out that tons of businesses lose roughly 40% of new employees annually, be it in a physical or virtual setup.

First thing first. To onboard or not to onboard?
The thing is, new skilled talents play a significant role in your business success. However, searching for the right one is a tough journey particularly for remote employees. They won’t get the chance to answer questions or even meet their workmates as they live in different time zones and locations. It’s more difficult for independent contractors to adapt to your company’s culture. Thus, if you are not using an effective onboarding process, odds are, you’ll isolate these new virtual employees.

To help you decide whether to onboard a potential candidate, here are some characteristics you may consider:
Employee experience level.
This is among the factors that affect the process in which the experienced members within the workforce are more likely to acclimate the new organization. This is mainly because of the seasoned employees could draw from their own past experiences help them adjust to new settings of their work. They are likely to be less affected by the specific efforts in socialization because they possess better virtual assistant skills and deeper understanding.

Proactive personality
Aside from the proper training that they should have undergone, the proactive personality that they possess would help you decide if you can now onboard them. This characteristic of employees pertains to the tendency in which they tend to take charge of the different situations as well as achieve control over the virtual environment. This mainly pre-disposes the workers in order to be engaged in such behaviors including seeking of information responsible for accelerating the process of socialization. In addition to that, they are more likely to adapt efficiently and become members who are high functioning. The “Big Five”. The personality traits that belong to this are neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness. Proactive remote employees are more likely to look for feedback, information, relationships with co-workers, and acceptance. Moreover, they also exhibit a high level of adjustment and most of all tend to frame the events in positive ways. What to expect? Keep in your mind that your VA won’t be able to catch things right away. Hence, it is your responsibility to teach them. There is a fine line between someone who’s still keeping up with you and someone who is not efficient. Make sure you know the difference.