For business owners, trust is perhaps one of the most expensive expenses. It may take years for a manager or an executive to earn the trust of his or her employees, but it only takes a few seconds to lose it. It can be even more difficult to trust someone like a virtual assistant, who works from home and does not seem like a person you know at all more so, delegating tasks such as Facebook ads, sharing passwords, and other information about your business.
Small and medium business owners, even large companies often hire virtual assistants to help them with things they are not an expert with and to reduce their workload. Virtual assistants are making a real difference in the lives of their clients in meaningful and important ways, and you can do the same thing for yourself. Finding the right virtual assistant whom you can truly be a big risk, though. When you hire a virtual assistant, the most important thing you can do is trust the person you hire.
Trust spreads from you and reflects you from others. As they say, trust is a direction. To gain and give trust, is to be brave and vulnerable at the same time. It is the risk – and it can be worth taking, especially when it comes to business. How you model trust affects how trustworthy others view you to be.
That being said, here are five ways trust is destroyed and what is going on.
Expectations
Setting clear expectations is the first step to building trust with your virtual assistant. Your expectations should be based on the VA’s capabilities, experience, scope of responsibilities, and budget. While VA’s are reliable, there are limitations to what they can and cannot do. You should know what he or she is capable of as well as what they can’t. Choose someone who has professional skills or training. Your VA will be able to do more if you know what you need them to do and what they can do. This will make you feel more confident and in charge when you give them tasks.
Confidential and Sensitive Information
It is understandable to be concerned about entrusting your confidential information like login credentials to a virtual assistant. They may, after all, change your passwords without notifying you, then abandon you and go, leaving you unable to access your accounts.
Fortunately, a password manager is the answer. To access internet services, this is a safe and handy piece of software that creates unique and difficult passwords and stores them in an encrypted database.
If you grow suspicious about your VA for any reason, or if they leave you, you may prevent them from logging into your accounts at any moment by removing their access. There are a plethora of password managers to choose from.
If your VA’s task includes handling sensitive information, such as financial details and client private details, you can do the following
- Let your VA sign a non-disclosure agreement or NDA
- Hire a VA who is experienced at handling private information
- For transactions, if unavoidable, get a prepaid card
- Hire a VA from a reputable agency, like VALUE Virtual Assistants
Regular Communication
Regular and good communication is the most important thing in business and in building trust. Talk to your VA often and be clear about what you want them to do. In return, they should be able to ask questions, raise any concerns, and make suggestions if they think there is a better way to do things. People need to be able to talk to each other and trust each other.
Ensure that each remote worker’s requirements are satisfied.
Virtual assistants have the basic equipment for remote work, like a laptop and internet. Most VAs have an account for basic software for remote work, like Slack, Canva, Trello, and more. It may be difficult to get the critical corporate information they want on a regular basis. It is your responsibility to prepare the prerequisites for getting the work done smoothly which include documents for turnover and software access.
Trust begins in the hiring process.
During the hiring process, you can get a sense of how a virtual assistant is so you can trust them. Business owners and managers may be able to learn about the VAs’ strengths, values, and weaknesses during the hiring process – from the portfolio, interview, to character references.
Key Take Away
Trust is a word we use like everyone has the same definition but in reality, trust is gained diversely and different things make people lose trust. However, there are ways to build trust, and they all depend on a leader who is self-aware, proactive, and pays attention to the conversations their virtual assistants, or in general employees, are having in their heads.
Starting a business is a risk itself but there are always methods to reduce the risk when you put your trust in others. On the other hand, picking the people to be on your team and trust, is another leap of faith you have to take.
Hiring virtual assistants is any more or less difficult than hiring onsite employees, but the benefit is that you have access to a global pool of possible talent rather than being confined to those who reside in your area. Minimize the threat of distrust by hiring a virtual assistant or remote team through trusted agencies like VALUE Virtual Assistants.
Get started by booking a complimentary consultation with us NOW.
