THE

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
TRAINERS
HANDBOOK
Improving standards in the UK VA Industry
Best practice standards

© Society of Virtual Assistants 2019

 CONTENTS:
WHY? P3

THE RULES P5

LIST ME! P9

Any queries please email info@societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk

P2
Why do we need this?
VA Industry
Leaders involved:
Over the last 2 years, SVA have received an increasing number of
complaints from VAs about the standard of training they purchased.
These are some of the comments:
"I thought I'd be able to just work 5 hours a week in the evenings
Caroline Wylie,
and have the rest of my time free. I'm working all the time because
societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk
so much is unbillable" UK VA Survey: No VAs working under 10 hours
a week earned a replacement PA salary of £20k+ Amanda Johnson,
"I was told I'd earn £35 an hour, I've sent out proposals but they all vact.co.uk
say I'm too expensive..." UK VA Survey: None of the courses had
grads who on average earned £30+ an hour - it's unfair to quote higher Jo Munro,
thevahandbook.com
rates to your prospects unless you have statistically valid data to back
this up. The mode average (i.e. the most popular rate to charge) for VAs
Jo Sparkes &
was £25/hour. Whilst everyone can charge whatever they like, the grads Steph Middleton-Foster,
need to be aware of what is "normal" and what they can do to improve vapromag.co.uk
the value of the services they offer if they are going to charge more.
"I took out a loan for the training, I have no way of paying it back John Palmer,
because I've not earned anything as a VA. I'm having to go back to vaconference.co.uk

work just to repay the loan"

Gwen Backhouse,
"The training I bought was nothing you couldn't google" (UK Outstanding VA 2018)
"It didn't cover how you did stuff. The trainer told me to go to curlewsecretarial.co.uk
another trainer for that. I thought a VA start up course should
cover the technical side" Michelle Smith,
"My coach said I should have a niche, but I am struggling to get any (UK Outstanding VA 2017)
valueaddvirtual.co.uk
work, let alone specialise"
Naomi Campbell,
Additionally, SVA keeps on seeing "UK VA industry stats" quoted which (VA of the Year Scotland 2018)
aren't statistically valid - according to Chartered Institute of Marketing, to vavelocity.com
be statistically valid you need to have surveyed 10% of the subject - i.e.
10% of the UK VA industry. We know there are 2,500+ VAs currently Joanne Hawkins,
working in the UK, so any stats should have at least 250 respondents North West VA Conference
from the UK.
Annabel Kaye,
Koffee Klatch
Part of the problem is that anyone can call themselves a VA trainer - it is
not a protected term. There are no guidelines as to what VAs should
have before offering training and therefore the onus is on the buyer to
make relevant checks before purchase.
To address this we invited all the UK VA Trainers and Coaches to take
If you would like to be
part in an open discussion about how we reduce these complaints. involved in future discussions,
you are very welcome!
The initiative was well supported from UK industry ambassadors as
listed here. We also received significant support from the international Please contact
info@societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk
VA community via the VA Admins and Moderators Facebook Group
including allowing us to base our guidelines on their own "Core
Competencies" document.
Our thanks go out to them for giving their time and support to this issue.

P3
Why should we care?
Sure - it's a case of buyer beware. But here's why the whole VA industry should care about the professionals
offering training to newbie VAs:

Letting down clients: Every time one of those newbie VAs goes back to a "proper job", their clients are left
thinking that VAs are unprofessional and unreliable. It reflects badly on the industry as a whole. Next time you
speak to a prospect at a networking event and they recall the VA they worked with who disappeared 6 months
into working with them, it makes it incredibly hard to convince them you won't do the same.
#CollaborationNotCompetition is something truly unique to the VA industry and many of us have benefited
personally from it, it would be a shame to lose that ethos. Some of the stories have been really heartbreaking -
it's upsetting to be associated with an industry which is treating newcomers so badly, especially when
welcoming newcomers has been such a special part of the industry for so long.
Holding VA trainers to the same standards as UK VAs: SVA asks all VAs to move towards better standards
and best practice via the Approved VA scheme - VA trainers should be held to the same standards. Just like
when we first established those VA standards back in 2007, we now need to do the same for VA Trainers.

It is in all UK VA's interests to promote best practice in the VA Training community.

What are we talking about?

The terms ‘coaching’ and ‘mentoring’ are often used
interchangeably in a personal and organisational development
context as the difference between them is not clear cut. For the avoidance of doubt, SVA is
ONLY interested in those who are
Common skills for coaches and mentors are strong interpersonal skills, and charging money for start up VA
include, good listening skills, good questioning style, suspending judgement, courses or books as an "all in one"
giving constructive feedback, checking understanding and providing focus. The solution.
value of these key attributes are that they clarify issues, solve problems and
change patterns of behaviour to help the individual to learn, and develop. It is not our aim to stop VAs from
sharing knowledge, or exploiting their
Coaching relies on the agenda being set by the individual (learner) finding their skills by training other people in that
own way forward, and them being committed to their course of action. Coaching skill. The main aim is that standards of
tends to be about achieving specific and measurable goals / task focused. coaching, mentoring and training
improve to get the best results for virtual
While, mentoring can be ‘directive’ and provide specific advice where appropriate assistants in the UK.
it is often about sharing of knowledge, experience and opening doors for an
individual to access opportunities they would not have otherwise done so. Amanda Johnson helpfully defined
"coaching" and "mentoring" for us,
The CIPD give a great summary of the difference: "A coach has some great because there is sometimes confusion
questions for your answers; a mentor has some great answers for your about what they mean and what you are
questions." purchasing.

So why do some VA Trainers, call themselves a coach and a

mentor – well part of what you're paying them for is the ability to
pick their brains and learn from them – in whichever manner is
most appropriate for you, so they could be there to help you find
the answers within yourself or to guide you on what has worked /
not worked for themselves or others in the past.

Amanda Johnson, VACT

P4
Core Competencies for Virtual
Assistant Trainers:
What should a VA Coach have?
Experience Marketing Ability Privacy Compliance
5+ years' being a VA OR worked
Should be registered as a Data
with 20+ different clients, 3+
Controller with ICO.
different industries, offering 3+
Should be able to demonstrate at
different skill sets as a VA (not as
least 10 different ways to attract Any group coaching sessions
an employee).
VA clients effectively. should also have a privacy
5 years' experience training other
disclaimer at the beginning and
people (as a VA or as an
get agreement from all parties
employee) OR a recognised
before commencing.
teaching qualification.

Accuracy Complaints Integrity

All learning and marketing Procedure Recognise intellectual property
law (and not encourage
materials should show the source
plagiarising marketing materials
of any data quoted. Should have a written complaints
or software piracy etc.)
procedure in place which is
All learning and marketing publicly displayed.
Illustrates
materials should include what
#CollaborationNotCompetition in
VAs will require to complete the
their business.
course (time/resources/pre-
existing skills/commitment).

Legal CPD Insurance

Coaches should commit to
Should understand the legal
continuing professional
responsibilities of running a Training providers including
development (CPD) themselves -
business - including Distance coaches, mentors, online trainers
either formal or informal training
Selling Regulations, PECR, etc will have the appropriate
of at least 10 hours per year -
GDPR, MLR, employment law, professional indemnity insurance
and will also make sure they
contract law and reasons to cover their coaching work.
engage with latest industry
for/against being a limited
research such as UK VA Survey,
company as a VA.
small business statistics etc.

P5
Core Competencies for Virtual
Assistant Trainers: Explanation of rationale
Experience Time served doesn't necessarily equate to experience... However, it does
5+ years' being a VA OR worked show they've been able to sustain themselves for a long period of time
with 20+ different clients, 3+ which would suggest they've had experience with lots of different clients,
different industries, offering 3+ lots of different skills and evolving their business model as the industry
different skill sets as a VA (not as
changes.
an employee).
5 years' experience training other
people (as a VA or as an Being able to demonstrate that you have built a successful, sustainable VA
employee) OR a recognised business over a period of time cements your expertise and broadens your
teaching qualification. knowledge of the different kinds of VA model, risks over time, and trends
within the industry.

If you don't have that experience, we want to see that this person has good
skills to pass on. If someone is paying for training, the bottom line is, they
want to make money - so the ability to get new clients is absolute. We want
to see they have experience in different kinds of VA clients too, so different
industries and marketing different services would be key. These should be
gained as a VA, not as an employee - retaining clients as a VA is a skill
separate to those a PA would have, and this is what people pay VA trainers
for. Whilst a lot of different clients may suggest they've not been able to
retain them, having a good variety of different kinds of clients and what they
need is essential to gain experience in working as a virtual assistant.
Having experience as a trainer is also important. Just because you are an
amazing VA, it doesn't mean you will make a good teacher.

Again this relates to showing a depth of experience...

Marketing Ability
We know face to face networking works really well for VAs - but that's of little
Should be able to demonstrate at use to someone who lives on a Welsh hillside or who has childcare issues
least 10 different ways to attract early morning/evenings. VA trainers should be able to demonstrate a variety
VA clients effectively. of ways to get new business.

The trainer should know what are currently effective ways of marketing VA
businesses are - e.g. Twitter is much less effective than it used to be.

P6
Core Competencies for Virtual
Assistant Trainers: Explanation of rationale
Privacy Compliance We expect data privacy from the VAs, the VA trainers are handling
hugely sensitive data about clients' businesses. They should be held to
Should be registered as a Data
the same account.
Controller with ICO.

Any group coaching sessions

should also have a privacy
disclaimer at the beginning and
get agreement from all parties
before commencing.

Accuracy The source of the data makes a huge difference - we've seen examples
where a sample size of ONE business has been used to produce
All learning and marketing
"research". Any data should have its source listed.
materials should show the source
of any data quoted.
Trainers stressed that they often get people not completing courses
All learning and marketing simply because they lack commitment and they felt it was unfair to be
materials should include what judged on that VA's progress when they hadn't even completed the
VAs will require to complete the
course (time/resources/pre-
course.
existing skills/commitment).
We've also had examples where franchises have taken fees from VAs,
given them materials, and then refused to grant a licence to operate or
a refund because the franchisee failed to have pre existing skills.
They've also been gagged from speaking publicly about it because of
the franchise agreement they signed.

Complaints Trainers want to know if VAs aren't happy with the course they
purchased. If possible, the complaint should be addressed to someone
Procedure
who didn't do the training with the VA.
Should have a written complaints
procedure in place which is If offering online courses or videos, there should be some way of adding
publicly displayed. this information onto the course materials.

If you are unable to resolve this dispute with the training provider,
please email info@societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk.

P6
Core Competencies for Virtual
Assistant Trainers: Explanation of Rationale
Integrity We need to encourage the VA trainers to believe in
Recognise intellectual property #CollaborationNotCompetition... All of them at some point have
law (and not encourage benefited from this. They should be giving something back.
plagiarising marketing materials
or software piracy etc.)
Additionally, we need the VA trainers to be epitomising integrity and
Illustrates not nicking blog posts off each other!
#CollaborationNotCompetition in
their business.

Legal These are the kind of questions you would expect a VA coach to
understand - or at least to know enough about to forward a VA onto a
Should understand the legal legal resource when they get asked about them.
responsibilities of running a
business - including Distance
Selling Regulations, PECR,
GDPR, MLR, employment law,
contract law and reasons
for/against being a limited
company as a VA.

CPD Especially if not currently trading, VA coaches and trainers need to keep
Coaches should commit to
continuing professional up with this fast moving industry. E.g. If you used the Twitter advice
development (CPD) themselves - from 5 years ago as a social media trainer, it simply would not work - the
either formal or informal training world has moved on. Having said that, it's difficult for very experienced
of at least 10 hours per year - VAs to access suitable training for themselves, as a lot of the resources
and will also make sure they
available are aimed squarely at new start VAs. We suggest a minimum
engage with latest industry
research such as UK VA Survey, of 10 hours' CPD per year, either formal or informal.
small business statistics etc.

Insurance We expect VAs to have it, coaches should have it too. It should be
specific training insurance, not VA insurance.

Training providers including

coaches, mentors, online trainers
etc will have the appropriate
professional indemnity insurance
to cover their coaching work.

P7
Should I be a virtual assistant trainer?

P8
List me!
We hope the information contained in this white paper is useful both to Virtual Assistants seeking training and
those looking to offer VA training. SVA is willing to list VA coaches and trainers for free on their website as
long as they are willing to abide by these rules.

PLEASE NOTE:
SVA reserves the right to remove any trainer at our own discretion.

Email info@societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk
for more info

SocietyOfVirtualAssistants.co.uk