Business

5 Tips on working with a Virtual Assistant for a successful business

There is no such thing as a difficult task as long as it is divided into easier ones. This is one of the secrets of a successful business. Running an online business is, of course, associated with creating a virtual team. And each member of the team requires tasks that are appointed to them.

In business, it is not new that people would hire and work with Virtual Assistants, it is fine if you would like to function as a one-man team, but you will need some help at some point. Virtual Assistants help business owners deal with administrative works such as bookkeeping, Social media management, and marketing. If you are an expert in these fields, then good for you, but you have to ensure that whilst doing these tasks, you may need to perform another, just to ensure that your business is running. That is why hiring a Virtual Assistant is an ideal technique for business owners.

And to be honest, working with a Virtual Assistant can be an extremely gruelling process, as miscommunication may arouse. And do not worry this is really common, as human beings are prone to human errors, of course. So here are some ways to effectively communicate with your VA without putting too much strain on yourself, and some tips for hiring a virtual assistant.

1. Know the task

This is the most vital part of hiring a Virtual Assistant, remember to take note and ask yourself how to hire a Virtual Assistant since you should be delegating tasks in order to comply with another. So make sure that you hire the right VA for the job. As mentioned miscommunication seldom arises, and you might not get the correct VA in the process.

It is recommended that you notate every single task that you are working on. Then once you have the tasks figure out which one you can delegate to another. You will then have a list of what you were doing, and it will be easier for you to have it divided. In line with this, you may have an issue delegating all of the tasks. This is fine. One part of hiring a virtual assistant is finding out which task can be distributed, and you may not accomplish this in the long run, but you may notice that you can delegate more over time.

2. Working with a Virtual assistant is working with a human being

A challenge is the most helpful way for someone to grow, but do not set the bar too high for the VA. It is fine if you cannot delegate complex tasks right off the bat, and this is absolutely fine. You will, however, find yourself distributing more tasks in the long run.

As mentioned a Virtual Assistant is not some machine, they are human beings just like us they can get overwhelmed with some tasks, and being overwhelmed may cause them to underperform, they seldom have no idea how to finish the task on time or finish them at all, so it is recommended that you follow the next advice.

3. Complete training specifically for your VA

You may conduct a short training, simple Loom video will suffice. This is just to ensure that you communicate the task that you want to be done, questions from the Virtual Assistants are inevitable, and this is actually good. That means that they are up to the task and want to ensure that they deliver what you want from them. 

The training will not only serve as a good communique between you and your Virtual Assistant, it will also be helpful for the VA to learn 90% of the task on their own. Let them know which paperwork should be done, communicate on which application they should use and points that they needed to know.

With that said, you will now need to operate as a team. 

4. Operate as a team (organize a process)

If you have decided to hire a VA, you will then need to operate as a team (as mentioned above). Set up a standard means of communication, consider their timezone, and if they need adjusting for their work. Ensure that the role is established and how would they perform their task. Cater to their needs so they can cater to what you assign to them in the most precise manner.

Monitoring a Virtual Assistant’s performance would help each of you as well, it may be too much but some employers utilize screen recording to track the VA’s performance. This is just to ensure that you may cater to their questions or if you would like to modify any ideas that are needed. As your business and partnership progress, you will then learn how to work with a Virtual Assistant more efficiently.

5. Set a budget (Looking for a VA)

Know your budget and how much you should pay the VA. Are you looking for a VA on a freelance market, or is it through an agency? In my opinion, one of the best ways to hire a VA is through a referral. This is due to the reason that they have already done great work from a colleague or a friend. And since you have mutual connections, communication would be easier. 

This will provide you immediate knowledge of their rates and how well they perform. If this is not available, then you may consider posting the job on your work-related social media accounts

Furthermore, if you are looking for a quality and lower rate you may hire a Filipino Virtual Assistant. Virtual assistants in the Philippines provide quality services at a lower cost since there is a low cost of living in the Philippines. The same goes for other Asian countries such as India.

And always remember, that once you hire a VA you both have an agreement to work as a team. And working as a team means that you two will need to communicate properly, so set up a task, schedule a meeting if necessary, and know each other’s time. I hope you will find this helpful in your journey.

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