Happy WinsDay - GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA)

Building better habits starts with examining the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we can do.

https://go-va.com.au

sales@go-va.com.au

#YouAreRemarkable 

Fiona Kesby: Leading Filipino Offshore Team

Fiona Kesby: Leading Filipino Offshore Team

One of the kindest and most helpful reminders you can share with your team is that it’s not only OK to ask questions. It’s important!

This is particularly true in cultures that have a high number on the Power Distance Index ー where asking your manager or leader a question may be seen as challenging someone in a position of authority.

Leading a diverse and distributed team takes skill and empathy. Like most things, this can be learned with deliberate practice.

Message me here if you’re curious about starting or leading your own global team better!

 

Welcome Our New Team Members - GO-VA CEO Fiona Kesby

 

Thank you to our new team members on the night shift who joined GO-VA CEO Fiona Kesby for the virtual version of our Welcome Tea today! 🌕🖥️☕

If, like this remarkable group, you’d like an opportunity to join our tribe, do check out our open job roles here: https://bit.ly/32Mjsbd.

GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) Thankful Thursday - Vincent, Financial Planner

 

Today, we are thankful for our kind clients and the remarkable team members who work with them ー our friends like Vincent, a Financial Planner Assistant for an Australian financial advisory business. 👨‍💼🧮💙

One of this year’s most important challenges is finding ways to strengthen and make our www.go-va.com.au culture visible, now that most of us work remotely. Gaining new friends like Vincent is part of what makes this whole adventure so rewarding.

What Questions Should You Ask An Office-Based Outsourcing Provider? By Fiona Kesby

 

So you have chosen to engage an Offshore service provider and not use a freelancer website - What questions should you ask?

What Questions Should You Ask An Office-Based Outsourcing Provider?

So you have chosen to engage an Offshore service provider and not use a freelancer website - What questions should you ask?

Do I get to choose who works for me?

Do you really want to work with someone you can’t understand or don’t get along with?

Can I start with just 1 team member?

This is my preferred model if you have not ventured into the world of offshoring before. Start small, have your systems and procedures in place and then scale fast.

Is the VA committed 100% to my company?

You don’t want them also working for a competitor or not available when you really need them.

How do you select VA’s?

You are looking for at least English Comprehension tests, profiling, personality and typing tests and most importantly a history of longevity with previous employers. Someone who has previously job hopped from one employer to the next will likely to the same to you.

Can I see the full resume of the VA?

You don’t want to be caught with a new VA that has a history of jumping ship every 2 months. Original resumes are a great way to see longevity and formatting skills.

Are VA’s located in an office?

If you want a cheap resource and happy to hear rosters and kids in the background, have downtime due to brownouts then this option may suit you. I have been there done that - got the t-shirt and it’s not for me.

Do you have high-speed internet as fast as the NBN?

You can’t get this in a home location, trust me I know, I live in the Philippines.

Do you have a coaching program that monitors and encourages productivity?

I’m a massive Franklin Covey Fan - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People & 4 Disciplines of Execution. At GO-VA we live and breath it! Each VA & client has a dedicated Results Coach.

Can I come and visit?

You wouldn’t have your own team working in below average conditions. Also, one visit face to face to strengthen a relationship is priceless. It’s a people play after all.

How do you monitor the VA’s productivity?

Look for companies using productivity tools including time tracking and proof of work completed. Electronic logins and health and well-being checks. A dedicated team leader or results coach who is not also working as a VA for another client.

How long is the contract?

And also ask how much notice is given? Provider varies from 1 to 3 to 12-month contracts.

Do you share the team members salary with me?

Look for companies that have transparent pricing models. This builds trust and you know that any increases or bonuses you want to give your team member go directly to them.

If I want to setup my own company in the Philippines, can I move my team?

If you are not happy with your service provider or you grow to a size that it is financially viable to setup your own office you want to know, you have the flexibility to move your team.

Are there any recruitment fees or security bonds to find and hire a VA?

Make sure there are no hidden surprises.

About the Author:

Fiona Kesby is the CEO and co-founder of GO-VA.com.au. An Australian owned and operated Managed Operations in Cebu & Clark, Philippines. Fiona currently lives in Cebu and has experience offshoring tasks since 2008. She has 18 years experience in Recruitment. She is passionate about sourcing the best talent in the market, developing leaders without titles and providing a culture built on the love of learning, execution, care, finding a way, drive, humility and gratitude. Her team can help you source a VA to work from home or in an office. Fiona can personally work with you if you need to start a team in incubation in one of their locations while you set up your own Philipines entity. You can contact her on fiona.kesby@go-va.com.au

What is Managed Operations? Smart Offshoring for SME's By Fiona Kesby

 

Manage Operations is the hassle free way to set up a Virtual Assistant or a Team of Virtual Assistants in the Philippines. It’s the perfect middle ground between outsourcing (where you have no control over who does your work or how it’s done) and setting up your own office in the Philippines (costly & high risk navigating local government & labor laws).

Businesses have found that offshoring to the Philippines is easier and more successful when done through managed operations, because:

• Philippines has a very high standard of English both written and spoken.
• Staff use a modern office, with fiber optic internet connection as fast as the NBN.
• Choose a provider that can offer you a Results Coaches program to guide Virtual Assistants in prioritizing daily tasks
• Productivity increases as work is monitored through screenshots and reports. Creating SOP's, training videos and work flow maps.
• Moral increase when people work together in a office environment
• Staff enjoy perks such as private medical insurance, monthly retention activities, government benefits, nurse on site and much more
• Dedicated recruitment team to search for top talent, interview & test for you
• You meet online applicants online and choose who you would like on your team
• Team members work to your policy and procedures. Speak to them as often as you like - they are your team members - house and cared for with the support of your Managed Operations Partner.

Increase revenue, reduce costs, and scale through offshoring low value tasks to the Philippines via Managed Operations.

Fiona Kesby is the CEO of GO-VA.com.au an Australian owned and operated Managed Operations in Cebu, Philippines. Fiona currently lives in Cebu and has experience outsourcing and offshoring tasks since 2008.

How Does a 7- Point Meeting Planner Work?

Virtual assistants and anyone who works with a globally distributed team these days because of the COVID-19 pandemic will need tools to stay effective. In this Daily Update, GO-VA Founder Matt Kesby shares a planning tool that will help you prepare for an effective meeting.

Discover More: https://www.go-va.com.ph/daily_updates/covid-19-daily-update-for-go-va-how-does-a-7-point-meeting-planner-work-27-july-2020/

About GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA)

GO-VA Inc. is a registered Australian-Filipino owned company growing in the heart of Cebu City, Philippines. Situated in an IT complex with modern facilities, GO-VA's Managed Operations & Streamlined Services provides scalable opportunities that spell sustainability, growth, and success for any business venture. As your offshore workforce, GO-VA's goal is to create winnable games and strategies across all the work that we do, knowing that your success is our long-term fulfillment. 

GO-VA helps Australian, NZ, US, and UK businesses to increase revenue, reduce costs, and scale through outsourced offshoring.

If you need to build or expand your virtual assistant team, we can help you. Schedule a meeting with us: https://calendly.com/klein-serrano

Send your resume to careers@go-va.com.au or create your profile here: https://go-va.com.ph. Come join our tribe!

AU (+61) 2 7227 8809 

US (+1) 302 207 2767 

PH (+63) 32 410 7523

9th Floor, i1 Bldg, Jose Maria del Mar Street, IT Park, Apas

Cebu City, Philippines 6000

Website: https://go-va.com.au

Blog: https://blog.go-va.com.au

sales@go-va.com.au

10 Helpful Tips When Doing Applicant Interviews

 

We all remember how nerve-wracking a job interview can get, right? As a business leader, you can help by telling the candidate that it's perfectly normal to feel nervous at the start of an interview. That's actually excitement. It's a sign that they care about the interview and want to do well. Let's talk about 10 helpful tips when interviewing applicants, from Global Office CEO Fiona Kesby, in this episode of All In!

Discover More Here: https://blog.go-va.com.au/10-helpful-tips-when-doing-applicant-interviews/
 

About GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA)

GO-VA Inc. is a registered Australian-Filipino owned company growing in the heart of Cebu City, Philippines. Situated in an IT complex with modern facilities, GO-VA's Managed Operations & Streamlined Services provides scalable opportunities that spell sustainability, growth, and success for any business venture. As your offshore workforce, GO-VA's goal is to create winnable games and strategies across all the work that we do, knowing that your success is our long-term fulfillment. 

GO-VA helps Australian, NZ, US, and UK businesses to increase revenue, reduce costs, and scale through outsourced offshoring.

If you need to build or expand your virtual assistant team, we can help you. Schedule a meeting with us: https://calendly.com/klein-serrano

Send your resume to careers@go-va.com.au or create your profile here: https://go-va.com.ph. Come join our tribe!

AU (+61) 2 7227 8809 

US (+1) 302 207 2767 

PH (+63) 32 410 7523

9th Floor, i1 Bldg, Jose Maria del Mar Street, IT Park, Apas

Cebu City, Philippines 6000

Website: https://go-va.com.au

Blog: https://blog.go-va.com.au

sales@go-va.com.au

Business Outsourcing Tip 7 - GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA)

 

Business Outsourcing Tip 7 - GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) from GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) on Vimeo.

Business Outsourcing Tip No 5 - GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA)

Business Outsourcing Tip 5 - GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) from GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) on Vimeo.

Business Outsourcing Tip 4 by GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) CEO, Fiona Kesby

Business Outsourcing Tip 4 - GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) from GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) on Vimeo.

Test for this skill when choosing your global team. All our www.go-va.com.au clients have the opportunity to meet and test candidates we’ve vetted. You have the final say! 

About GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA)

GO-VA Inc. is a registered Australian-Filipino owned company growing in the heart of Cebu City, Philippines. Situated in an IT complex with modern facilities, GO-VA's Managed Operations & Streamlined Services provides scalable opportunities that spell sustainability, growth, and success for any business venture. As your offshore workforce, GO-VA's goal is to create winnable games and strategies across all the work that we do, knowing that your success is our long-term fulfillment. 

GO-VA helps Australian, NZ, US, and UK businesses to increase revenue, reduce costs, and scale through outsourced offshoring.

If you need to build or expand your virtual assistant team, we can help you. Schedule a meeting with us: https://calendly.com/klein-serrano

Send your resume to careers@go-va.com.au or create your profile here: https://go-va.com.ph. Come join our tribe!

AU (+61) 2 7227 8809 

US (+1) 302 207 2767 

PH (+63) 32 410 7523

9th Floor, i1 Bldg, Jose Maria del Mar Street, IT Park, Apas

Cebu City, Philippines 6000

Website: https://go-va.com.au

Blog: https://blog.go-va.com.au

sales@go-va.com.au

 

Business Outsourcing Tip 3 by GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) CEO, Fiona Kesby

Business Outsourcing Tip 3 - GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) from GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA) on Vimeo.

Do you know what “saving face” means to your team, in their context? It’s all part of the challenges and joys of leading globally distributed teams!

About GO Virtual Assistants (GO-VA)

GO-VA Inc. is a registered Australian-Filipino owned company growing in the heart of Cebu City, Philippines. Situated in an IT complex with modern facilities, GO-VA's Managed Operations & Streamlined Services provides scalable opportunities that spell sustainability, growth, and success for any business venture. As your offshore workforce, GO-VA's goal is to create winnable games and strategies across all the work that we do, knowing that your success is our long-term fulfillment. 

GO-VA helps Australian, NZ, US, and UK businesses to increase revenue, reduce costs, and scale through outsourced offshoring.

If you need to build or expand your virtual assistant team, we can help you. Schedule a meeting with us: https://calendly.com/klein-serrano

Send your resume to careers@go-va.com.au or create your profile here: https://go-va.com.ph. Come join our tribe!

AU (+61) 2 7227 8809 

US (+1) 302 207 2767 

PH (+63) 32 410 7523

9th Floor, i1 Bldg, Jose Maria del Mar Street, IT Park, Apas

Cebu City, Philippines 6000

Website: https://go-va.com.au

Blog: https://blog.go-va.com.au

sales@go-va.com.au

 

5 Tips on Choosing Virtual Assistants Who Will Exceed Your Expectations

 

Global Office PH · Tips On Choosing Virtual Assistants Who Will Exceed Your Expectations

Take your time in the search. But when you find great talent that’s also a great fit for you and your business culture, offer really fast! Global Office PH CEO, Fiona Kesby shares her tips for choosing exceptional VAs, in this episode of All In!

Gem: Are you ready to go…

Gem and Jason: All In?

Gem: I’m Gem,

Jason: and I’m Jason. For today’s session, Global Office PH CEO, Fiona Kesby will be sharing with us her tips on choosing virtual assistants who will exceed your expectations.

Gem and Jason: Hi Fiona!

Fiona: Hello, Gem and Jason. I’m really excited to be sharing with you my tips on choosing a exceptional virtual assistant.

Fiona: So tip one, it’s all about the resume. So is the resume well formatted and does the applicant have a history of longevity from previous employers? We’re looking for individuals who have spent at least two years on each previous job role.

Fiona: Tip two. It’s all about the testing. Now, the first testing is about English comprehension. So we all speak English really well, don’t we? Now, the key is the comprehension. Do people really understand what you’re asking of them? Can they read your instructions and reply back quickly and follow them? So set the standard really high for English comprehension. Now you can find many free tools online, and the key here is, test yourself and test your high performing team. And this will create the benchmark for when you test your team, offshore. Now, there’s also testing for typing skills. So if there’s a lot of admin in the role, then you’re looking for someone who is fast and accurate. And again, you can find lots of online tests there, too. Now, the best test that you can also do is a sample of the work they’re actually going to be completing. So, for example, if you are a recruitment agency looking for a recruitment administrator and you’re having resumes formatted, give them a resume to format and show them what it needs to look like and time them on how long it takes to do. Now, another example is if they are a graphic designer, then actually give them a flyer that you would like created. And again, time them and see if they can follow the instructions that you’ve got as well. Another way is to, if it’s a really technical role, is to email them questions on a word document and ask them to complete that. And this way you can, you can test for their technical knowledge and also how is their formatting, their punctuation, their sentence construction and grammar.

Fiona: Tip three. Use hobbies and interests as a benchmark so you could, for example, choose someone with similar interests to yourself, which can build a rapport really quickly. I personally look for really healthy all rounders. So for example, do they enjoy fitness or sports and taking care of their health? You know, do they love to read? Are they active learners? And then here’s the big tip. Run a mile if someone tells you that their main hobby is surfing the Internet. Yes, I have heard this a few times over the years and it’s probably going to mean that they’re going to spend their work time doing exactly that, surfing the Internet and watching YouTube videos.

Fiona: Now tip four, is set the bar high on quality and I mean everything from the quality of how their resume is formatted to their test results, to their appearance. Yes, meet them virtually online first and interview them, what their written communication skills are like, their verbal communication skills, and don’t compromise, ever. Remember, it’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint. Take your time in the search, but then when you find the right virtual assistant, offer really fast. Like anywhere in the world, really great talent goes really quickly.

Fiona: Tip five. Now, this is not something that I would say you have to have, but it’s a nice value add or bonus if you do come across that. And that is look for people who are virtual assistants who have lived or traveled to another country. So in our own team, we have team members that have either lived or worked or traveled to Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East, the UK, the USA and Australia. Now it shows that they can step outside their comfort zone, have experience working with foreigners. Hey, they might even get your sense of humor as well. And sometimes they can actually understand my Aussie slang, which can be very challenging. So that’s it for today. I have more tips on the way to share with you all.

Gem: Thank you Fiona for sharing your tips on choosing an exceptional virtual assistant, for your business.

Jason: Yes, thank you, Fiona.

Fiona: Thank you, Gem. Thank you, Jason. I’ll talk to you again really soon. Have a great day.

Gem: I am Gem,

Jason: and I am Jason. And this is…

Gem and Jason: All In!

Gem: Where we talk about leading global teams, helping businesses to scale and being a catalyst for people to exceed.

Jason: All in this brought to you by Global Office PH. From sunny Cebu in the Philippines.