How to Hire a brilliant UK Virtual Assistant in 2025: Step-by-Step Guide for Busy Founders

More UK founders than ever are bringing on their first (or next) virtual assistant. Done right, it’s life-changing. Done wrong, it’s weeks wasted and money down the drain.

We’ve placed hundreds of UK-based VAs with busy founders and executives over the last few years, so we’ve seen what actually works. Here’s the exact process we recommend – whether you decide to hire directly or let an agency handle it for you.

Step 1 – Get crystal clear on what you need help with

Most people start too broad (“I need a VA”). Instead, list the specific tasks that eat your time:

- Inbox triage & replies

- Diary & travel booking

- Social media scheduling

- Expense tracking

- CRM updates or follow-ups

Pro tip: track your time for one week. Anything you do repeatedly that isn’t revenue-generating is perfect to delegate.

Step 2 – Decide: UK-based vs offshore

Many founders try offshore first for price, then switch to UK-based once the hidden friction becomes painful.

Step 3 – Where to actually find great UK VAs

Option A – Do it yourself

- Post on specialist UK Facebook groups (e.g. “Virtual Assistants UK”)

- Use BeMyVA, Society of Virtual Assistants directory, or Time Etc’s “hire direct” board

- Ask founder friends for referrals

Option B – Let a specialist agency match you (often faster & lower risk)

Agencies pre-screen, reference-check, and personality-match. You usually get introduced to your VA within a week and most offer a happiness guarantee.

(We obviously run this kind of service at Bright Spark PAs, but there are a handful of good UK agencies – pick one you vibe with.)

Step 4 – The questions we use to vet VAs (steal these)

1. “Walk me through how you’d clear a 1,200-email inbox in a week.”

2. “Give me an example of when you had to chase someone who wasn’t replying.”

3. “What tools are you strongest in?” (look for Asana, Gmail, Calendly, etc.)

4. “How do you handle urgent last-minute changes when the boss is in back-to-back meetings?”

A great UK VA answers these confidently and with specific examples.

Step 5 – Onboarding that sticks

- Start with a paid 2-hour trial task

- Record short Loom videos of your processes once (saves hundreds of explanations)

- Have a 15-minute daily stand-up for the first week, then drop to twice weekly

- Agree communication rules upfront (Slack for quick, email for detailed, etc.)

The bottom line

Hiring your first UK-based virtual assistant is one of the highest-ROI moves you can make in 2026. Do the preparation above and you’ll free up 10–20 hours a week within a month.

If you’d like to do it yourself – great, use the steps above.

If you’d rather skip the trial-and-error and get matched with a proven UK assistant quickly and risk-free, we’re always happy to help (no hard sell – just a 15-minute chat to see if it’s a fit).

→ Book a free 15-minute discovery call

→ Or reply to this post if you have a question – happy to help either way.

Bright Spark PAs – UK-based virtual assistants for busy founders & executives.