A virtual assistant is in all definitions an employee, only that a VA is not under your payroll.
A contract with a Virtual assistant is purely a business contract as opposed to an employment contract that you give your staff.
One good thing with a Virtual Assistant contract is that you can base it on a given period or a given task.
With your employee, the contract is sometimes defined by the labor laws. You are required also to pay not less than the Government’s recommended minimum wage, and there are laws relating to the termination of the contract.
Since a Virtual Assistant is an equivalent of your employee, there are certain qualities that he or she must have to be very effective when relating with you.
1. A Virtual Assistant has to be easy to get a long with. He or she must understand that you have your own work schedule and ways of handling specific issues affecting your business. The VA must follow your orders.
2. The VA must be honest. He/she should not try ways of dodging you when the work is required, A good virtual assistant must be able to say he or she may not be able to meet your deadline when circumstances warrant
3. The VA must be able to meet deadlines. Your schedules in business should not change to fit in the shoes of the VA. He or she must adapt to your schedule
4. A good VA must also charge reasonably. The services that he or she is offering must be commensurate with the pay given.
5. A good VA ought to be innovative. Though , the VA may not tamper with your business strategies, he or she should be in a position to add value to you in whatever he or she is doing.