Do you Have Any Advice for a Successful Working Relationship with a Virtual Assistant?
If you delegate in increments, you allow the trust to be built. Here are actions you can take to ensure a positive, successful working relationship with a virtual assistant.
5 Step Plan for a Successful Working Relationship with a Virtual Assistant (VA)
Do exactly what I ask.
Your first step is where you ask your assistant to only do a specific task. EXACTLY what you ask them to do. Nothing more, nothing less. Be very specific.
For example; make 500 copies of the digital file sent via email at XYZ copy center and mail them to the XYZ venue.
Research and report.
Your second step is where you see if they can research a need and find a solution. You are not asking them to decide, just report back to you the information they find.
For example; find a vendor where we can get 500 copies of a digital file printed and couriered to the venue. How much will it cost? How long will it take?
Research, Report and Recommend.
In this third step you are asking them to evaluate the research they did and make a recommendation based on their preference.
For example; the same as step two but you are asking for their preference. This allows you to evaluate their decision-making skills.
Decide and Inform.
When you reach a certain level of trust, then you can give more latitude with assignments. Just require that they inform you of the decision made so you are not caught off guard. Don’t micro-manage the decision. If you have given complete information, trust their decision. Often, when we are frustrated with a decision, it is because we did not give clear expectations or guidelines.
For example; you need 500 copies of the digital file printed and couriered to the venue. You can only bill the client $250. Anything over $250 comes out of our pocket.
Freedom to Decide.
This is the ultimate freedom for you. You have built the level of trust where your assistant can just make the decision, leaving you free to focus on higher-level tasks. To accomplish this, they will need to have access to information.
For example; they will need to access the contract where they can see the budget, who needs what, and when.
For a little fun, you might want to read Should’ve Hired a VA.
If you have read through this and are ready to discuss your needs, schedule a call today.