Working with virtual assistants (VA) can make your life easier!
A significant shift for entrepreneurs is to realize when it is time to bring on a team to continue growing their business. You need people that will help to complete your dream team. You can’t do everything by yourself, but finding the right person or persons, training them, and working with them can be time-consuming. However, it’s worth it in the long run!
A common frustration when hiring a VA is not only the training time but the inability to find qualified candidates, saying yes to the wrong people or assigning them the wrong set of tasks to complete.
You don’t have to get frustrated with trying to do “all the things” and being afraid to outsource work. There are some tips and tricks to having a positive experience with hiring virtual assistants; which is what I plan to share with you. Below are my top 5 tips for working with Virtual Assistants.
Start Part-Time
Never begin with your VA full-time. Always start on a part-time basis for a couple of reasons – to try them out first. The interview could be great; you see what they can do, and you know you they have potential but don’t jump in full-time.
Having a trial or probationary period is beneficial because it will allow you to see what they’re capable of — reviewing their skills, ingenuity, willingness to be part of a team, communication, and quality of work, to name a few. Testing them allows you to “try before you buy” and eliminate the headache of having to fire them down the road.
Record Your Processes
You have to understand that not every project is significant that needs outsourcing to virtual assistants. The best tasks for a virtual assistant are ones that are available for completion online and are repeatable. Think of your standard operating procedures that need attention daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and even yearly.
If you find yourself repeating specific tasks frequently, those are the kind of jobs that you can automate and delegate to your team. By doing this, it allows them the freedom to work and reduces the number of repetitive tasks that are required to operate a thriving business on your end.
Additionally, if you can’t take the time to train a VA, you can always explain it through a video tutorial. They’re not going to want to write a step-by-step guide and waste precious hours that could be spent focusing on tasks to complete.
The advantage of this opportunity is that you can build a library of all the videos so that they’re able to refer back to them at any time without interrupting you throughout the day and you’ll have them for future hires. Video tutorials are an easy way to train your VA without having to create extra work for yourself; which frees up more of your time.
Provide Opportunities
Try to encourage the people on your team to learn more about what your company does. It’s crucial for them to understand how the business works, and they will begin to see ways that the company could grow or improve. Additionally, allowing your VA to tie their passions into your business will build morale and provide opportunities for them and the company to take on additional projects.
Moreover, if a VA has been with you for a while, and you trust them, and they’re building up their skills, you may want to consider providing them an opportunity to show you what they got! The goal is to see if their skills, talents, ingenuity, and freedom to explore ways to help you grow your business and take it to the next level.
Utilize Tools
For the right tools to use as a VA, well, there are many. Some popular options are Dropbox or Evernote for easy access to files and information, Buffer or Hootsuite for social media scheduling, and Toggl for time tracking. Using these tools will benefit the VA and the business as a whole.
Communication is Key
Communication with your team is vital to the success of everyone working together to complete projects on time to serve your clients. It’s important to state your preferences for everything from blog posts to time off.
Provide clear and concise instructions for projects. As a business owner, always remember to be patient and give one task out at a time so that they’re able to process the information and apply what they’re learning.
Also, understand the limitations that a VA may have based on their family, location, or life circumstances. It’s easy to forget the advantages that we have in a first-world economy versus a third-world economy. Be considerate of their unique situation no matter where your team resides.
Furthermore, helping your VA get started is never wasted. There is a significant amount of time required to onboard a new team member and train them on your process. However, keep in mind once trained, they can complete tasks quicker than you; which means, in the long run, you’ll have more time freedom.
These are my top five tips for working with virtual assistants. It can be frustrating and challenging to build a thriving business and to create your movement, you need to have a team, and so you have to have the courage, fortitude, and conviction to focus on the long-term goal that a team will provide you to bring your dreams to fruition.
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