Even if setting up effective and open business communication flow with your virtual assistant were brain surgery, you would want to do it in case you aim at better results, timely delivery, excellent team performance, and on the whole productive virtual assistant work. Successful business practices rest upon well thought-out communication strategy as much as upon focus, discipline and perseverance whether your business is already up and running or you are just getting it off the ground by putting together your team, vetting candidates, setting up efficient workflow, studying tips for successful business leaders, figuring out how to work with a virtual assistant.
Fortunately, it is no brain surgery, not even a gut-busting riddle, more like a jigsaw puzzle you need to assemble before you get big picture. How about marking each piece with numbers so you could complete this puzzle fast by setting up necessary communication flow with your virtual assistant and you had one question less on your how-to-work-with-a-virtual assistant list.
Here we go:
1. Start on safe ground – up your email and phone calls with virtual assistant in the early days.
I risk provoking outspoken displeasure among business owners who have already enough tasks, worries and responsibilities on their mind and this on might be just overwhelming. But, in fact, this point should be number one on your list of things you’ve noted down on under the heading: how to work with a virtual assistant? This one works for the long-term perspective. Firstly, you communicate daily, you coordinate virtual assistant work via email or by phone and even plan your virtual assistant day, then before you know it your VA will start to understand you halfway through.
2. Schedule training for your right-hand assistant.
Guiding your virtual assistant through main responsibilities, additional duties and you expectations is simply the first step you cover at the job interview. At this point you no longer ask questions like “how does a virtual assistant work?” and don’t leave anything to chance you set the course for your virtual assistant work and ensure that your assistant has picked it up.
3. Set up contact times.
Exchange the best times to reach each other. If you know your virtual assistant work day schedule and you’ve let your helpmate into your work hours you are more likely to find the best hour to contact each other in case of urgent tasks or unscheduled call.
4. Create and share docs on GoogleDrive or in a Dropbox folder.
To save yourself the trouble of constantly emailing new passwords, updates, deadlines or even tasks you can always create a file and grant your virtual assistant access to it. In turn, va may edit this file, enter new accounts data, In the same manner, your virtual assistant day with arranged by priority tasks could be planned and stored in a shared document.
5. Be as informative as possible.
Communicate your expectations clearly, give detailed description of the task and do not hesitate to ask questions to confirm clear understanding. It is better to overdo something than regret not doing it when your virtual assistant work shows signs of misunderstood assignment.
6. Give feedback upon task completion.
How does a virtual assistant work? Most of the time hard to meet deadlines and expectations sometimes without having a single minute of their virtual assistant day to themselves. Positive feedback, a word of praise at work can go a long way to incite a person to put in extra effort, inspire and increase productivity which is always good for the bottom line.
No matter how many bullet points you have generated on your how to work with a virtual assistant list or by searching answer to the question how does virtual assistant work you are unlikely to see the full picture unless you remember about the basics. Don’t be too distant and condescending. Make your virtual assistant feel like part of you team, like part of your mission by adopting less official style of interaction and showing appreciation for their efforts.
