Hiring a virtual assistant to help with mundane tasks can lower your daily costs, save you hours of work and help you focus on more important tasks, but only if you know how to work productively with them. There are different ways to maximise your virtual assistant’s time and output. There are also things that you can do to improve your working relationship. Here are some of the ways to work well with your virtual assistant
Prioritize communication
To work well with virtual assistants, effective communication should be your priority. You may be tempted to keep phone calls and emails to a minimum while working with your virtual assistant. However, communication will always be vital for mutual understanding and for maintaining a good relationship especially when you are just getting started. Effective communication is the only way for you to provide clear instructions for work to be completed. Checking in with your remote worker and having regular meetings is key to your success. This ensures that the virtual assistant is well informed on important tasks that need to be completed and how to go about them.
Instructions should be clear
Apart from communication, being clear and concise on what should be done is another key for your success. Instructions not being clear is one of the reasons why many virtual assistants do not work well with their bosses. Although virtual assistants are good at handling mundane work, you do not just assume that they will figure out what to do on their own. Before you even make a move to hire a virtual assistant, you should write down the list of tasks to be completed.
Virtual assistants are always equipped to accomplish a wide range of instructions and tasks but they can only be productive when you give clear instructions. Tasks that can be completed by a virtual assistant include sales calls, bookkeeping, social media management, real estate administration, managing emails, office management, and tax returns tasks among others. Once you have finalized the list of tasks, you should go ahead to delegate them accordingly. Make sure that your assistant is well prepared, has the right access, and has all the passwords needed to complete the tasks remotely.
Your deadlines should be reasonable
When you are delegating virtual assistant tasks, it is very important to set reasonable deadlines. If there are tasks that should be completed daily, make sure that your remote worker is aware of your expectations. You should also equip the assistant with the right tools to facilitate the completion of work on time. If the virtual assistant will be working on multiple deadlines, make arrangements to communicate early enough. Everything should be discussed at the time that you are delegating tasks to avoid confusion.
Use the right virtual assistant tools
Although you will be counting on your virtual assistant to complete tasks for you, incorporating the right tools may help in speeding up processes. Communication and any needed training can only be effective when the right tools are used. To access the right virtual assistant tools and remote workers, talk to Shrewd Virtual Assistants
Reward your assistants
The best way to have a productive working relationship with your assistant is by rewarding a job well done. Rewarding the VA’s skills can shape their output. If you reward them, they will work on a higher value on the tasks delegated to them. Always remember that an encouraged VA is a productive VA.
Conclusion
Virtual assistants can be of great help with mundane work, but only when you know how to work productively with them. To make your working relationship productive and satisfactory, you should prioritize communication, create shared records, reward your VA’s for work well done, share your expectations and build a good rapport.