If you are reading this article, it means you’ve decided to hire a VA. Hiring a Virtual Assistant has many benefits and there is no need to list all of them. We already have done it here: https://vafromeurope.com/tasks-to-be-delegated-to-a-va-agency/

Hiring a virtual assistant provides more freedom and frees some time for yourself or the new ideas, gives you a chance to outsource the top talents from all over the world. You have found the right person, agreed on services and signed the contract. But this is not going to happen unless you establish a good relationship with your virtual assistant.

There are a few easy steps you can take to help you go through this process smoothly.

#1 Onboard properly

A successful relationship full of trust starts with an onboarding process. Like your other employees, a Virtual Assistant wants to be an integral part of your success. Make sure a Virtual Assistant is familiar with your vision and mission, goals, and priorities. Familiarize your new employee with the business, services you provide, and products you sell.

You might also want to get to know a person who works for you. People always have plenty of stories to share. Besides that, VAs work harder when they are treated as a part of the team and a team’s success. That is why getting to know each other is a crucial part of the onboarding process.

Make sure your new enrollee has enough time to adjust to your business speed and processes. VAs are professionals but they cannot read minds. You need to invest some time into training when you first hire a VA. Teaching someone from a distance can be a challenge, but luckily you can use multiple online tools to your advantage.

Everybody has questions at the start. But if you think it’s too much, it’s because your VA wants to perform his best.

#2 Clear communication and expectations

Communication is important for everybody. First, try to find a convenient way of communication for both of you. If you enjoy talking over the phone, but your VA does not, your relationship is very unlikely to last long.

Being honest is also very important for establishing a good relationship with your Virtual Assistant. You should not fear sharing too much information with your new employee. The more information about the business you give, the better understanding of it your enrollee with have. In this case, your VA might come up with his/her creative ideas to help you achieve what you want.

Here comes the idea of expectations. Virtual Assistants perform their best when they have a clear understanding of what is expected from them. If you are not clear about what kind of tasks you expect your VA to do, you will not get the results you expect.

You cannot possibly give too many instructions in the early stages. A VA should know exactly what tasks he or she is expected to do and in what way. Give clear instructions and create a monthly/weekly/ daily task list and mention the priorities. If something unexpected pops up on the agenda, discuss it right away and give a VA some time to adjust to the schedule. For the start, you can even create tutorial videos of what needs to be done and schedule regular calls or meetings to make it clear.

#3 Share your feedback

VA’s are human beings just like you and they make mistakes. If your personal assistant is doing his or her best, but you’re not satisfied with the result you get, don’t leave him wondering what is wrong. Give honest feedback, but don’t start finding fault with the person who works for you. In other words, you need to explain the way you prefer this work to be done next time.

Like other humans, a VA needs to feel appreciated. The feeling of appreciation is like magic for productivity and creativity. So, if a VA did a good job, don’t forget to mention it during the next meeting.

And last, but not least, your remote employees also have bills to pay, so paying your bill on time is a sign of appreciation as well.

In conclusion, if you take these simple steps, you will definitely manage to establish a productive and long-lasting relationship with your Virtual Assistant. If something does not really work, do not despair and give it one more try. In this case, working with a VA Agency has more advantages because you’ll have a variety of assistants to choose from.

If you need more information, give VAfromEurope a call, and let’s chat.