How to Make the Most of a Virtual Assistant
Finding a Virtual Assistant is the first step toward a far more productive and stress-free working day. However, learning how to correctly use a Virtual Assistant – and the actions you need to take to get the most out of the relationship – can be a very different beast.
What practical advice do you require in order to make the most efficient use of a VA’s talents and experience? How do you get beyond roadblocks, reservations, and the looming threat of inefficiency?
The Value of Effective Delegation
Your Virtual Assistant is available to assist you — the name says it all. They are professionals at aiding you during the course of your workday. However, they can only do so if they understand what you want them to do.
Clients who have trouble putting what they need help with – and how they want it done – into words are setting themselves up for a rough ride. They carelessly delegate whatever task comes to them at any given time during the day. Clients that take the time to create clear objectives for themselves, to think through exactly what they are asking their VA to accomplish – before asking them to do it – are the ones who put their new partnership up for success.
Delegating efficiently and effectively is a combination of art and science. If you don’t think about the process at all, it can be tough to get into the groove of things.
Concentrate on the long-term benefits.
Instead of focusing on how much time it will take you to explain a single task to your VA, consider how much time you would save by not having to perform it yourself. It’s understandable if you feel a little overwhelmed at first. But, before a VA gets started, you must commit to spending time explaining the intricacies of your business and then detailing the key tasks you require assistance with.
Most clients’ main motivation during this initial ‘onboarding’ phase – which can be irritating because they have to set aside this time-is to think about the ultimate result they’ll enjoy for months or years to come. Consider your time spent here as an investment.
If you have long-term, repeating responsibilities like inbox management or customer service, you should only have to describe them once.
Give as much information as possible about these duties. If you think it would be helpful, include screenshots or other types of supporting documentation. Finally, double-check that your Virtual Assistant comprehended your instructions. It is critical that students get the opportunity to ask questions before beginning work.
Selecting the Appropriate Tasks to Delegate
This one can be challenging, partially because you don’t have time to explain how to handle the more complicated or tough things on your plate, and partly because you think it’s just easier to do them yourself.
However, it’s critical to remember why you established your company in the first place. Isn’t it true that the goal was to make a ton of money and become a global powerhouse in the industry? Or, at the very least, you wanted to accomplish something more, something better, than what you were doing previously. You wanted to be a part of something exceptional and make decisions that would lead to a healthy, successful company’s continued growth and expansion.
You didn’t plan on spending your days doing things you don’t have time for (without entirely losing your personal life), don’t enjoy doing, or don’t have any ability to do. None of these scenarios are pleasant, and the contradiction between the reality of a regular working day and how you would prefer to spend your time as a business owner may become highly demotivating over time.
The only way to change that reality is to delegate something so that you have more time to work on other, “better” things.
It’s now entirely up to you to decide which tasks you want your VA to handle. Make a list of everything you need to do and decide which of them can be delegated. The ones you choose to delegate don’t have to be complicated, as long as you take the time to properly explain them to your virtual assistant.
The actions to take in practice
I recommend starting by removing any backlog of one-time, simply explained activities you may have. Cancelling a subscription, submitting a complaint letter, purchasing something, or investigating a new mobile phone contract are all examples of this. Getting these tasks completed will begin to clear your plate, allowing you to experience the benefits of working with a Virtual Assistant and allow you to form a bond with one another.
Set aside time while your Virtual Assistant is working on those duties to think about what longer-term, recurrent tasks they can handle for you. This could range from managing your calendar and emails to monitoring your recruitment funnel or responding to incoming sales inquiries.
These chores will undoubtedly take some time to describe, so start by taking notes on each process (Google Docs is ideal for this), and include screenshots as needed (take a look at CloudApp). Try to anticipate any queries your VA might have, and make sure you provide them with any software they’ll need.
Next, schedule a call with your virtual assistant to go through these and ‘hand over’ these critical, long-term duties. These are the activities that will help you save time. Each and every day.
Make the most of their knowledge and experience.
There are an endless number of things that a Virtual Assistant might possibly assist you with, but when selecting how to employ a Virtual Assistant most successfully, it’s critical to consider both their personal (or “soft”) and professional (or “hard”) skills.
You’ll probably find that your VA can assist you with a lot more than you originally expected. Some VAs specialise in marketing, HR, project management, financial administration, or completely distinct fields, for which you’d be forgiven for believing you needed a separate expert.
Then there are the soft skills: time management, organization, analytics, and knowing how to get the greatest offers for you… These are all unique attributes that can help your new VA be more effective in specific aspects of your organization.
The key is to avoid categorizing your beliefs. Instead of thinking about what they’re meant to do, think about what they can do for you.
Find Your Perfect Match
If you have any specific duties in mind that you’d like a VA to help you with, you’ll want to make sure you hire the right VA for the job. As a group of professionals, ‘Virtual Assistants’ can do a lot, but some have abilities that others don’t, and some require more flexibility while others can work more rigid hours. Every professional is distinct.
How long do you require them to work? What are the tasks you want them to complete? What qualifications and experience in the industry do they require? Consider the overall tone of your business model and brand image. Is there anything specific to your business that you need to consider when looking for your ideal Virtual Assistant?
All of this is taken into account by Votiko’s one-of-a-kind matching procedure!
It’s also critical that you speak with any potential VA, even if only for a few minutes. You must ensure that you “connect” and that they are capable of meeting your expectations, as well as providing an opportunity for both of you to ask each other questions.
Make Expectations Known
When it comes to expectations, it’s critical to think about them first and then lay them out clearly. Giving someone a broad description of who you want to work with or, once you’ve got them on board, what you want them to do isn’t going to cut it.
You should try to be as clear and concise as possible. Set out any “rules” and clarify any critical processes that must be followed to guarantee that you obtain exactly what you expect.
Along with the specifics of the responsibilities, such as any specific processes or paperwork that must be followed, you should also communicate with your Virtual Assistant your overall objectives for the company.
Giving your new VA access to the “larger picture” by explaining your long-term goals and how they may assist you in reaching them is a good idea. This empowers them to strive toward the same long-term objective as you, ensuring that everything they do is in line with the firm’s core values and also helps to move the company (and you, personally) ahead in the direction you desire. Furthermore, your new VA will be significantly more motivated if they believe they are making a significant contribution!
Determining A Role For A Virtual Assistant
It’s critical that your new Virtual Assistant understand exactly what you want done, how you want it done, and when you want it done.
At the end of the day, this is just another way of saying that your VA’s function should be well defined. Just like any other function in your company, whether it’s for an external supplier like an accountant or a new employee in Customer Service, there should be a clear description of each responsibility that person is responsible for, as well as a concise breakdown of what you expect in each of these areas (goals or targets are always useful here).
Virtual Assistants are the same way. Explain the types of activities you need them to perform, including what they should do on a typical day, week, or month, as well as any information about working hours or turnaround times. Make sure you spell out any details about each aspect of the business that your VA will be handling.
Your Virtual Assistant may not know where they fit into the organisation, what they’re supposed to be doing, or when they’re expected to be doing it for you if they don’t have a well-defined job position.
Manage, but put your trust in your VA.
Because managing remote employees differs from managing in-house employees, you may need to adjust your management style to accommodate the new working relationship.
One of the most important factors in developing a great partnership with your VA is trust. Once you’ve defined a clear role for them, one of the most crucial components in developing a great partnership with your VA is trust. Even though it makes you uncomfortable at first, it is necessary to ‘let go’ a little.
They won’t be able to thrive if you don’t trust them to do what they’re supposed to be doing for you, trust that they’ll do the task when they’re supposed to do it, or trust in their approach to how they’re supposed to do it. If you don’t let them, they won’t be able to show you what they’re made of.
Micromanagement consumes a lot of time. This is time that could be better spent on something more fruitful and satisfying. They’ll be able to take it from there once you’ve defined the role and efficiently delegated chores to your new VA.
They have a good understanding of what they’re doing. There’s no need to check in on them every five minutes or ask for information on a regular basis. Make it clear when you need to be updated — for example, when a critical milestone is reached – and then put your faith in them and the process.
Give constructive feedback, inspect their work when it is beneficial to both of you (at least at first), and meet regularly or biweekly through video or voice chat to catch up on key duties and delegate new ones.
Encourage participation
This is akin to the concept of trust, and it applies to practically every team member in any type of work environment, regardless of location. Valuing your new colleague’s perspective on topics in which they are knowledgeable not only demonstrates your faith in them, but it may also provide genuine value to your company.
Even if it’s merely because they don’t have as much experience in your industry as you do, they’ll inevitably come up with some brilliant suggestions. Remember that the duties you’ve assigned to them are within their area of expertise; they’re professionals. They may have suggestions on ways to increase efficiency, improve marketing campaign results, or increase impact.
Your VA will be more likely to go above and above for you and your company if you create a working atmosphere where they feel respected.
You’ll see the payoff once you’ve defined their job, started assigning work (with a concentration on recurring, long-term activities), and continued to trust, believe in, and encourage them. It takes time to learn how to utilise a Virtual Assistant correctly, but it is definitely worth the effort!
Are you interested in hiring a Virtual Assistant? Make an appointment for a free consultation today!
