5 Tips For Working With A Part-Time Virtual Assistant
As more and more productivity tools hit the market, founders and operation managers are looking for the next and best “productivity hack”. Yes, utilizing tools like Trello, QuickBooks, and InfusionSoft help streamline workflows and processes within your company, but a lot of work within these tools still require human capital to push the needle forward. Some of this workload must be handled by in-house employees, but other segments can certainly be outsourced.
We believe that any company can add a virtual assistant to help create their own “productivity hack”.
Virtual assistants are known for handling mundane tasks like bookkeeping and data entry, but they can also manage more complex tasks like basic marketing initiatives (with a little training). Virtual assistants work remotely, so they are able to work for your company at a fraction of the cost – there is no overhead, no insurance, they only bill for time worked, etc…
Whether you hire a virtual assistant for 5 hours/month or 160 hours/month, here are some tips on how to work with your virtual assistant to make the best use of everyone’s time.
1. Start Small Then Grow
Once you start thinking about all the tasks that you would like a virtual assistant to take off your plate, the list typically gets pretty long. Start small and add more responsibilities over time. Pretend like you just hired an employee; on your first day you’re not going to give him/her 15 things to do - you ease into it. The best way approach this is to pick projects/tasks that happen on a daily or weekly basis that you can easily train your assistant up on. Here are some categories and tasks that teams typically outsource.
2. Invest In Training Upfront
We suggest having a kickoff call with your assistant on the first day to do training and a screen-share walkthrough of all of your tools that you will be using. UberConference is a great free resource to use for your screen-sharing. The best way to train is to do the task yourself and walk through exactly how it should be done.
From there, create detailed instructions and documentation for each tool and process that you trained your virtual assistant on; within these instructions be as specific as possible. Also, set clear expectations on what you would like delivered back as a completed work product. Virtual assistants are not mind readers, and if you’re not clear it could cause unnecessary back and forth communication and frustration. Keeping detailed instructions are also extremely helpful to have if you want to replace a virtual assistant for an in-house employee in the future or add another virtual assistant to your team.
3. Use Cloud Storage & Apps For Everything
Google Docs, Slack, and CloudApp are changing the game in terms of fast remote collaboration. By utilizing tools like these, you can quickly get your point across and always keep track of what’s going on with your outsourced work. Email attachments typically get lost or you get bogged down with too many versions of one document.
4. Create A Schedule
After you train your assistant, it’s important to set a schedule – especially if you only hire a virtual assistant for a 5-20 hours a month. Most virtual assistants have other clients and other obligations. For example, if you hire a virtual assistant for only 10 hours/month, you should not expect him/her to respond immediately like a typical employee. A perfect example is when you have a virtual assistant schedule meetings for you. In this case, we typically suggest having check-in times at 10:00am and then again around 2:30pm. Alternatively, if you have a virtual assistant helping you with a blog, set deadlines like 1 post a week that are due on Tuesdays.
5. Create A Feedback Loop & Have Check-in Calls
Everyone has different preferences and processes within their company. It’s extremely important to be patient and constantly provide feedback. The most successful client-to-virtual assistant relationships are when there is a weekly or monthly check-in call to go over past and future work and provide feedback to each other. The more you invest in your virtual assistant and documentation the more success you will have.
Follow these five tips and you will end up have a great relationship with your virtual assistant and save time and money in the long run by avoiding a lot of the initial roadblocks of getting your virtual assistant up to speed.
