So you hired a virtual assistant to give yourself more time and save your business resources and carry out tasks you cannot get to. In reality, it does not always work out well. For some business owners, outsourcing created problems and increased work for them as a result of hiring and working with a mismatched virtual assistant.
The right virtual assistant can make the difference between elevating your business and growing your profits. Those are just two of the many benefits of having the right virtual assistant in your team. However, challenges can arise from time to time. It is up to to you how you will approach and resolve issues that may arise with working with your virtual assistant.
If you’ve arrived at the point and hired a virtual assistant, but your business is not progressing even a bit or you are still very hands-on, it may be time to review, reevaluate, and have a talk with your virtual assistant.
If you think the virtual assistant’s skill set did not match your requirements and your business, you may be right. A word of caution though. Remember, it takes two to tango. It is not always and not the virtual assistant’ shortcoming, there may be a chance you have your share of lapses too.
Why it did not work out and what to do
Discover the common reasons you and your virtual assistant did not work out and how to avoid issues. We have uncovered the difficulties by one or more of the factors below.
- Your budget for a virtual assistant is the lowest.
Fact: Not all virtual assistants are the same. While the main unique selling point of a virtual assistant is the competitive pricing as opposed to hiring a traditional employee, there is still a standard of how affordable a virtual assistant can charge a client.
Some virtual assistants can be hired for as low as $2 per hour on several websites. Virtual assistants who put a value on their experience and skills charge clients accordingly.
When business owners bargain for the service rate of a virtual assistant, they often believe they are saving money. However, just like in any business transaction, you get what you pay for. At least set aside a reasonable budget to spend to hire a competent virtual assistant whom you can rely on and trust. Hiring the right virtual assistant the first time can save you important limited resources.
The fact that you are hiring a virtual assistant, you have already taken the first step in saving your business money. A virtual assistant is an investment in your business, so make the best decision possible.
- You undermine the needs of your business.
There is a misconception that virtual assistants only work as administrative assistants. Most companies and business owners hire virtual assistants for general tasks such as transcription, data entry, appointment setter, and email management.
However, virtual assistants are not only restricted to administrative tasks but some develop specialised abilities and expertise. For your business to fully maximize your virtual assistant’s talents, identifying whether your business requires a general virtual assistant vs a specialized virtual assistant is an important first step in working with a virtual assistant.
From a standpoint, you’ll see that both virtual assistants are dependent on your expectations. What qualifications are you looking for? It is critical to have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish while running a business.
Finally, no one individual can be knowledgeable about all administrative activities. If you have a broad range of activities that you’d want to delegate to a virtual assistant, it’s a better idea to employ many people and assign them to different areas.
If you need a general administrative virtual assistant and a virtual assistant to fill in tasks for creatives, customer service, web development, and lead generation, it is advisable to hire separate people for different specialized functions.
- Your virtual assistant misses deadlines.
Is your virtual assistant able to deliver outputs on time? Are the outputs submitted to meet your expectations?
If your virtual assistant is missing out on deadlines, asking the following questions will help you approach your next steps more objectively:
- Is it entirely your virtual assistant’s fault?
- Is your deadline reasonable? Or are you rushing your deliverables
- Are you effectively conveying resources, deliverables, and deadlines?
- Does your virtual assistant regularly come up with a personal reason for not meeting deadlines?
What is the best way to address the problem?
Discussing projects with your VA well in advance is a smart practice. Together, set the objectives, milestones, and realistic deadlines. An experienced virtual assistant will inform you if your expectations are realistic and/or suggest solutions.
Do not forget to provide the right resources so your virtual assistant can efficiently accomplish the work. If your VA is proactive, she will let you know what is needed ahead of the deadline.
- Your virtual assistant is not communicating.
Is there a breakdown in communication with your virtual assistant?
Who is responsible for this issue? Ask yourself these questions.
- Is your VA not responding to your emails, phone calls, and so on?
- Are your goals and objectives not clear to your virtual assistant?
- How long does it take you to respond to your VA?
- Are you failing to communicate the larger picture?
- Are you effectively sharing the greater context?
How to address the problem.
If your virtual assistant isn’t talking with you as you’d want, consider a different platform for communicating. Ask your virtual assistant what works for your virtual assistant. If you chose an approach that neither of you is willing to work on, then chances are, communication will be challenging for you.
It may be beneficial to organize frequent meetings over the phone or use technology such as Zoom. Make certain that you both commit to this time.
As a business owner, your plate is full but it is your responsibility too to respond to your virtual assistant. An answer that is unnecessarily delayed might stymie progress. If there is a question about a project, work cannot advance on time until everyone involved quickly responds to requests and inquiries.
Recruitment is the most important aspect of hiring the right virtual assistant
After identifying the issues and coming up with solutions, immediately talk to your virtual assistant. Evaluate if your virtual assistant is optimistic and eager to work on a solution to keep the work going. Remember that not every business owner, entrepreneur, and virtual assistant will click instantly. If the virtual assistant is not willing to work it out, do not put your business at risk. Find a VA who may be more suitable.
VALUE Virtual Assistants can help you avoid these issues by starting it right – recruiting and matching you with the right virtual assistant. We will set up an interview schedule, prepare the contract, and help you monitor your virtual assistant’s productivity.
We can help you grow your business and free up time for tasks that matter. For a free consultation to establish your remote staffing requirements and whether or not employing a VA is ideal for you, ask for a FREE session now!
