How to Succeed When Working with a Virtual Assistant

Introduction

Congratulations on taking the exciting step of working with a Virtual Assistant (VA)! You're about to embark on a journey that will free up your time, enhance your productivity, grow your business, and allow you to focus on what truly matters.

Effective preparation is essential to ensuring a smooth start and a successful partnership with your new VA. This guide will walk you through best practices for planning, delegating, training, and setting expectations with your new VA. Let's get started!

1. Planning Your Delegation Strategy

The first step to success with your VA is to identify the tasks you want to delegate.

Identify Tasks to Delegate

• List Daily Tasks: Write down all the tasks you handle daily.

• Categorize Tasks: Divide them into categories such as administrative, customer service, scheduling, and so on.

• Identify what mundane tasks someone else could do for you. 

• Prioritize Tasks: Identify which tasks are high-priority and which are routine but time-consuming.

• This is important because you should identify and inform your VA which tasks are more important and which to do first during their daily tasks for you. 

Create a Task Delegation Plan

• Select Tasks for Delegation: Choose tasks that are repetitive, time-consuming, or outside your core strengths.

• Document Processes: It is helpful if you already have SOPs and documented processes. However, don’t worry if you don't. Your VA can help you with this, too!

• Below is more information on how to train your VA. During this time, your VA can document the process for you. This is beneficial for both the VA to reference later and for your business to have documented processes in place for future use as you grow and scale your business. 

• Tools and Resources: Ensure your VA will have access to all necessary tools and resources to complete their tasks effectively. 

• Will you want the VA to have a company email address within your organization? Or do you prefer they use their personal working email address?

• Will your VA need a CRM login created for them? Or will you have them use an already established login? In either case, your VA will need these credentials and information on the first day. 
  

• Will your VA be handling business phone calls? If so, you will need to provide login credentials to your business phone system for them to use. 

  • Some VPN business phone systems are Vontage and RingCentral. Your VA can easily access and use these phone systems from anywhere in the world. However, if you do not want to incorporate a new phone system, you must establish and set up other phone system means for your VA. Skype calling is one, and there are many others. 

2. Setting Clear Expectations

Clear communication and setting expectations from the beginning will lay the foundation for a successful working relationship with your VA.

Define Roles and Responsibilities

• Job Description: Clearly outline the VA’s tasks and responsibilities.

• Expected Outcomes: Define what success looks like for each task.

• Example: You show your VA the steps to process a payment with a mortgage company. After you show them the process of how to complete the tasks, simply tell your VA, “This is important because we need the mortgage company to release the payments as fast as possible so all parties can get paid and the claim continues to move forward." 

• After you show your VA how to do key tasks you are delegating, tell your VA, “This is important because_(fill in the blank)__.” This will help your VA understand why they are doing that task and better understand the overall process in your business. 

Communication Guidelines

• Preferred Communication Channels: Decide whether you'll use email, WhatsApp, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, etc.

• Response Times: Set expectations for response times to your emails or messages.

• Regular Check-ins: Schedule regular meetings to discuss progress and provide feedback.

• In the beginning, check-ins may be needed more frequently, but as your VA continues to work with you, they will become less frequent. 

3. Providing Effective Training

Training your VA is crucial to ensure they understand your business and can perform tasks efficiently.

Onboarding Process

• Company Overview: Provide an introduction to your company and what your business does.

• If you are a Public Adjuster or Claim Professional your VA has already gone through our exclusive “Claims Industry VA Success Bootcamp”. 

• Tools and Resources: Ensure your VA has access to all necessary tools and resources, as mentioned above.

Task-Specific Training

• Step-by-Step Instructions: Provide clear, detailed instructions for each task.

• Shadowing Sessions: Allow your VA to observe how you handle tasks before they take over.

• A good practice is to encourage your VA to do a screen recording so they may reference it later. 

4. Building a Strong Working Relationship

A positive, collaborative working relationship with your VA will enhance productivity and job satisfaction for both parties.

Foster Open Communication

• Encourage Questions: Make sure your VA feels comfortable asking questions.

• Provide Feedback: Regularly give constructive feedback and acknowledge good work.

Empower and Trust Your VA

• Show Appreciation: Recognize and appreciate your VA's contributions. Many VAs are eager to do a job well done. By letting them know that you are satisfied with their work, will give them a sense of accomplishment.

• Communicate to Correct Errors: You must communicate any errors and/or when your expectations are not being met. 

• Virtual Assistants are human and just like anyone else who is working for your business, they are not mind readers. Communication is key to having a successful working relationship. 

• Simple emails or DM messages to your VA communicating the corrections needed are always valued by the VA. 

5. Continuous Improvement

Keep the momentum going by continuously improving your processes and relationship with your VA.

Review and Adjust

• Regular Reviews: Conduct regular performance reviews to discuss what’s working and what needs improvement.

• Adjust Responsibilities: As your VA becomes more proficient, consider delegating additional tasks or responsibilities.

Encourage Professional Development

• Training Opportunities: Provide opportunities for your VA to learn new tasks within your company. This will be a win-win for both of you. The VA will feel excited to be more valuable to you, and more time will be freed to do more important things. 

Conclusion

Planning your delegation strategy, setting clear expectations, providing thorough training, building a strong working relationship, and continuously improving set the stage for a successful partnership with your Virtual Assistant. This collaboration will help you achieve your business goals and provide you with more freedom and time to focus on what you do best. Embrace this new journey with excitement and confidence, knowing that your VA will become an invaluable asset to your team with the right preparation.

Blog article brought to you by Virtual Assistant Solutions - Brenda Heffner