Staying on top of day to day tasks and administration while running a business can be incredibly challenging.
Deciding to hire a remote virtual assistant (VA) is the perfect solution for many CEOs and executives.
However, if you’ve never hired a remote VA, you might not yet know how to work with one efficiently and effectively.
Regardless of your role and the size of your business, you want to ensure that you’re beginning any working relationship on the right foot, and this guide is here to support you.
To work effectively with a remote virtual assistant, you will want to:
Be honest with your virtual assistant about what you’re struggling with and what you expect from them, as this will be helpful in establishing goals and priorities.
Your expectations will likely include work hours, confidentiality, response times, and more.
In short, clear employee expectations are important to help employees understand what is expected of them and promote higher job satisfaction.
Considering that ‘providing employees with clear job expectations results in a significant 55% increase in their motivation and engagement levels’, it’s important to set expectations early on.
With time, your virtual assistant will become a valued extension of your team. Setting expectations during onboarding and reinforcing them will set your working relationship up for success.
All effective working relationships rely on open communication, which also rings true with your remote virtual assistant.
Although an experienced virtual assistant will be confident to carry out an array of tasks independently, an open line of communication will remain invaluable, particularly during the first few weeks.
Prioritising communication is key to understanding your virtual assistant’s progress and addressing any issues, so be sure to schedule regular check-ins.
Research has shown that ‘50% of respondents reported that ineffective communication impacted job satisfaction’, making the importance of good communication all the more evident.
A high quality virtual assistant enables you to run your business more efficiently while ensuring things run smoothly when you’re taking time off, and good communication supports this.
To build a long-lasting working relationship, you will also need to foster trust and mutual respect with your remote virtual assistant.
Honesty, reliability, and experience are key characteristics to look for in a virtual assistant, so it’s important to trust that they’ll complete their tasks on time and to the best of their ability.
Although some executives find it easier to delegate than others, it plays a fundamental role in building a trusting relationship. A recent study found that ‘61% of workers agree that their perceived lack of trust by their employer impacts their ability to do their jobs well’.
As such, the importance of trusting that your virtual assistant’s work will be completed, whether you’re working or taking a well-deserved holiday, can’t be overstated.
At Virtual Assistant, Millie, we believe it is during these times that the trust between a virtual assistant and CEO is most evident, so you can sit back and relax on holiday, knowing that the work is being completed without your attention.
Contact us today to learn more about our services.
One of the best things about hiring a remote virtual assistant is that you can technically hire one who works from anywhere in the world, provided they’re working within a time zone that works for you.
If you select a virtual assistant who works internationally, you’ll need to build this into your expectations and schedule.
Working in a different time zone to your virtual assistant can be better for some entrepreneurs, especially as this can mean they’re working outside of normal office hours.
In turn, virtual assistants can boost efficiency and increase productivity in your business even when you’re not working.
Aside from this, working with a virtual assistant can offer a host of benefits.
To work effectively and efficiently with your virtual assistant, it’s important to create shared documents.
Your virtual assistant should have access to an array of important resources, from debit and credit card information to the class you prefer to fly.
Storing payment details and passwords in a Dropbox or Google Drive folder, for instance, can save a lot of time.
Moreover, you’ll want to create an ongoing project list where updates and feedback can be stored and easily accessed.
This will enable you to delegate tasks in order of priority and will allow your virtual assistant to update tasks as and when they’re completed.
Are you interested in hiring a remote virtual assistant? Virtual Assistant, Millie can help.
Our virtual assistants will lighten the load and have the experience to help busy business professionals with a variety of tasks.
Get in touch today to find out more.
