Will this person be working from home?
Yes. As the world has changed - so have our work environments. We screen our VA’s to make sure that they have the necessary work environment, equipment and support to successfully work from their home office to provide you with the level of professionalism that you expect.
What can my new VA do?
Pretty much everything that you have a direct hire do. Once they get to know you and your staff they will be able to do most everything a direct hire is capable of performing. . With… maybe the exception of dusting or watering the plants. And let's be honest… how often does your direct hire actually go and get the dust rag out anyway?
They are familiar and trained to speak with your clients on the phone, email and texting from your AMS. They can send EOI’s and proofs of insurance, process policy changes, call your insureds and carriers to chase down signatures and needed information. Call out with prepared price quotes and to follow-up with people for the 100+ things that you need on a daily basis.
What can my new VA not do?
Besides windows and running the vacuum… They know and understand that any coverage questions needs to be referred to a licensed agent. Their training is to complete everything else on the call and then either transfer the call or have the phone call returned by their point of contact at your office.
This works out well and your customer would rather have a 2 second delay in receiving an answer knowing that the answer is correct (and this is what you want anyway, right).
Will my office information be secure?
Absolutely. Our assistants are screened and vetted prior to employment with our agency. We have all VA’s sign a non-disclosure and non-compete agreement that states that they will not share information with anyone outside of your agency environment. Much like you would have a traditional new hire sign.
Our VA’s are required to have updated anti-virus programs installed to protect your data to add an additional layer of protection.
What computer programs can they use?
Our VA’s are proficient with Microsoft Office, Google’s family of documents, PhotoShop and other graphic design software. Along with the experience using many different carrier sites (and we all know how different each carrier's sites can be).
Where are you located?
Our staffing company is located in Michigan and our VA’s are mainly located in the Philippians. Most of our VA’s hold an associates or a bachelor degree in business.
What will the VA do if they run out of things to do?
This does happen from time to time and could mean a good thing for your agency. Your VA can cross sell your mono-line business to help round out your accounts. Or use this time to do market research and build a database for your future marketing programs. The sky's the limit with their downtime.