While most businesses are hesitant to share the secrets in their training and onboarding ‘secret sauce,’ we consider ourselves more akin to Montell Jordan: This is how we do it.
Why?
Because every organization — and employee — should be given every opportunity to succeed.
So here is a behind-the-scenes look at just how we’ve been so successful at serving our clients by grabbing our fairy godmother wands and matching the right contractors with each of them.
Our process includes a short one-way video interview, a skills assessment, and two interviews with recruiters. From application to contract date, it can take one week on average depending on the volume of applicants the recruiters are working with at that time.
If a candidate doesn’t seem proactive, a work-from-home productivity master, or loves helping others achieve their goals, well, then they may not like serving BELAY clients. We keep a close eye out for that.
At BELAY, we have a team of Client Success Consultants who work directly with our clients to discover wants and determine their needs.
Our proprietary matching process pairs our clients with contractors who are accepted by standards more rigorous than Harvard’s, only accepting just over three percent of those who apply.
We also have a multistep process for our clients to ensure the perfect contractor match is made for their businesses. This process includes key points such as technology, professionalism, software, preferred skill set, personality type, and communication style.
Throughout the interview process, we are primarily looking to see if the candidate shows a kind, humble heart while also displaying resourcefulness, timeliness, and competency. This delicate balance of professional skills and emotional intelligence is what makes our clients and our contractor engagements successful.
We want to make sure that both the client and contractor are set up for success.
The ideal candidate is someone with five years of Executive Assistant or Virtual Assistant experience, high emotional intelligence (the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others), a broad range of technology experience, and a huge heart for serving.
Some of the signs we are looking for are resourcefulness, timeliness, and competency. During the video interviews, we are looking to see if the applicant is hungry, humble, and smart — displaying a high emotional intelligence.
Once we receive an application, our TA team reviews it to see if the candidate fits the minimum requirements. If so, they are invited to complete a basic accounting test. If the candidate passes the assessment, an invitation for a Zoom video interview is extended.
Following the interview, candidates complete a two-phase QuickBooks assessment. Part one is a 21-question test. Part two is an assessment, which is like a real-life roleplaying task. We explain a mock scenario, which includes money spent and funds received. The candidate is asked to provide a profit-and-loss, general ledger, and balance sheet for two consecutive months.
The ideal Social Media Manager candidate has more than three years of developing strategies for individual social media campaigns in a variety of social channels.
Something we keep in mind during the interview process is whether or not the candidate seems to enjoy content creation. This isn’t the role for them if they don’t. Similarly, if they need a client to give them all the ideas, this also isn’t the role for them.
Also, a BELAY SMM should be a master storyteller – one who understands how to leverage social media management and analytic tools.
They should also be experts in writing, editing, and crafting content for the social media space and demonstrate proficiency in using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Excel, Google Analytics, and scheduling tools.
Before a potential client hires BELAY, we like to give them a good overview of what the process is and how everything works so they can know what to expect throughout the process.
Here’s what we lay out for them.
Meet with your Solutions Consultant to identify your exact needs and pain points to determine if we are a fit. If so, we’ll send you an agreement to sign and you’ll be assigned a Client Success Consultant.
Meet with your Client Success Consultant to deep dive into your tasks, tools, culture, and personality requirements to ensure we match you with the right talent.
Now, for our Secret Sauce. Your Client Success Consultant will vet and select 2-3 top candidates from our bench of nearly 2,000 U.S.-based talent to then interview and select the best match for you. The best part? On average, our clients are matched within one week.
You, your Client Success Consultant, and your talent will have a kickoff call – the official start to your partnership – to meet your talent, set initial goals, discuss communication plans, and set yourselves up for success.
Your Client Success Consultant stays close to providing high-touch relational service to guide you through our proven onboarding process.
You will have ongoing check-ins to support both you and your talent throughout your partnership with BELAY.
We’re all about taking the best next steps at BELAY, and today we’re sharing with you two of our organization-wide favorite books, EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey and Getting Naked by Patrick Lencioni.
Both of these books express themes that are important for the culture of our company, and these books are read by every new employee to ensure that our culture continues to thrive as our team grows.