The entrepreneur of a new business is often burdened with responsibilities. And more than often some of these responsibilities include improving the quality of business. As a business owner, you probably know how hard it is for a business to reach new heights. It takes time, patience and a great deal of strategy.
Thankfully, technology has made it easier for business owners to handle their business. And you need to keep track of the latest developments happening in the world of business. One such development is that of the virtual service provider which has made day to day jobs simpler.
We’ve talked about the office, but in this article, let’s talk about the person – the virtual assistant or popularly called as VA.
VAs can offer you almost anything you can think of. However, there are things you need to do to make the most of your work relationship with your VAs.
So, to help you out in your endeavor, here are few tips to help you understand and improve the use of VAs:
1. Building Healthy Work Relationship
Building a healthy work relationship with your VA is equally important. Most VAs are eager to get feedback from you. That is how they improve. They prioritize client communication above everything else in the world.
How you interact with them and provide feedback is completely up to you. You can use e-mail, Skype or any other freelancing method to create a communication channel.
Every medium may not be as effective as the others. Using Dropbox and Google drives are excellent ways of communication. You can also use e-mails. These mediums are fast and effective and not to mention they are hassle-free.
2. Clarify
Before anything, it is always good to clarify the nature of your job while assigning Vas certain jobs. The best example for this is e-mails. Sometimes, e-mails have information which are inadequate or have repetitive follow-ups. VAs don’t work on the same level as the human brain and are therefore unable to process information from a small piece of information.
This issue can be avoided by simply providing a brief and clear task outline. Be specific and ensure that the information sent is correct and has all the necessary elements for the VA to do his/her job.
You can avoid this with very minimal efforts.
3. Feeling of Togetherness
You know that one of the best ways to grow in a company is by having brainstorming sessions. In that case, why should your VA be left behind? There are two benefits of doing so. First, you will evolve into a better leader. And second, your VA will know you better.
VAs is self-sufficient and are able to handle any job with equal ease. But since they need to handle multiple jobs at once, it is better to keep them sharp.
You can start by having an informal conversation about the current project. During the conversation, deliver good ideas and convey information learned from experience. Plus, allow your VA to pass opinions because brainstorming sessions are all about searching for new ideas.
4. Delegating Skill
Delegating is a skillful task as it involves dealing with people. Sometimes, delegations have too many aspects to work with giving task-specific information is futile. It is therefore important to approach delegation with a different strategy.
First, provide your VA with a detailed outline of your company’s vision and mission. That way, your VA will know what is important and what can be done later.
Specifying deadlines and giving VAs routine tasks is yet another way of approaching the problem.
And this discovery is important because an organization is about the team.
5. Changing Attitude Towards VA
A VA feeds on the relationship he shares with you as a leader and your attitude is everything. It can define how the work will be done and it can definitely help create a sense of positivity and inspiration for the VA.
Changing your attitude can also work in a negative way. For ex., a VA can make the silliest of mistakes in the most routine job if you view his work with a different attitude.
6. Being Professional but Kind
Professionalism does not mean you have to be rude and ill-mannered towards others. Ultimately, VAs is helping you do your job and you must show them respect. Research has shown that leaders who lack kindness fail to elevate themselves to higher levels within the company.
7. Knowing Your VA
Knowledge is power and the more you know about those around you, the more empowered you’ll become. In partnerships, knowledge about the partner goes a long way. Never set daily goals when building a partnership. The planning is always long-term. And you should always know and understand the person with whom you will be working for the future.
8. Getting VA Involved
VAs is involved when they are given important job roles and responsibilities. Sometimes, doing daily jobs kills the interest in a VA. Sometimes, they need to be put in charge to make them feel important.
It is one of the best strategies to ensure that VAs don’t get fed up of their responsibilities. As a leader, you must use engaging language to keep the spirits high.
9. Overcommunicate with Your VA
Communication is one of the best things that happen at a workplace. A sign of healthy communication is a sign of progress. Sometimes more is better and that is true in case of communications with VAs. Since they are working from home, they might lose out on “obvious’ communications inside the office. Plus, they will handle different types of work at the same time. So, it is possible for them to miss out on important details about the project.
It is very important that you tell your partner everything that goes around in the office related to the task at hand. Communication is more than just building an information bridge between two people. It is also a way of discovering each other.
10. Being Honest and Transparent
Honesty is important and if you feel that there is something which you need to communicate with your VA, then do so. Because keeping information doesn’t help anyone, especially your VA.
Transparency is important in a business setting and as a leader you must ensure that there are no miscommunications between you and your VA.
