How to Work Well with a Virtual Assistant

Taking the plunge and deciding to welcome someone on-board to help with the workload is a very difficult decision. Running your business is something personal to you and you might feel like you are the only one good at it. 

Learning to delegate and to trust someone other than yourself may be a challenge, but it is one which will transform the quality and the way you work. The following points will make the transition and your relationship with your virtual assistant much easier.  

Communication 

Communication is key. Make sure you are comfortable with each other and have built a foundation for a good relationship. It will make things run smoothly. Your VA will feel much better when sharing issues or making suggestions. Take time to have a few calls monthly if you can’t see each other in person. This will make sure your assistant is familiar with your manner of speech and will build rapport. Relying heavily on written communication lends itself to misconstrued intentions and misunderstandings. 

Create Shared Record

This is a trick that will keep you sane through the first few weeks of work with an assistant. Having a place to keep all your records everyone might need, cuts back on time spent going back and forth sending documents and passwords, thus decreasing productivity.  

Similarly, keeping track of shared records can be a place where you can keep track of tasks in progress and delegating new ones. Use task tracking software like Asana or Zoho to keep on top of everything. 

Compliment on the skills you value 

Giving praise where it’s due can go a long way to improving the work your assistant does. If you see they’ve done something well and even more than once, that they show affinity towards something, praising them increases their confidence and readiness to work harder and share their ideas. 

Share your expectations 

Don’t shy away from sharing your overall goals and expectations for your company with your assistant. This helps them prioritize tasks and come up with ideas which might help in the cause. 

Also, knowing the hours your assistant work helps when you need to contact them. You can schedule weekly or monthly calls to check up on the progress of the assigned task and sort out any issued or difficulties that might arise. 

Introduce to Team 

As your assistant will most likely be working remotely, they will lack the proper atmosphere of a company. If you have a meeting with the entire team, make sure you include your assistant and introduce them to everybody so they feel welcome. 

Share a description of the role they’ll be performing  

Make sure your assistant is aware of their job position and what is expected of them. Have training recordings ready and film yourself doing the task your assistant will be taking over, to make the transition easier and smoother. 

Finally, and most importantly, figure out what you’ll invest all your newly discovered free time in. This is equally as important as any of the steps above and makes sure you use them to their full potential! 

Author: Thomas Smallwood is an outsourcing specialist. Having worked in companies around Europe, from the support desk to the boardroom, he founded bizee.co to help small businesses grow through efficient delegation to skilled virtual assistants. He is an award-winning blogger and a passionate advocate for mental health awareness.

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn.