Small business owners are constantly eager to improve every aspect of their business, which is precisely why they hire a virtual assistant to help them. Delegating chores to a virtual assistant (VA) helps you to make better use of your time and reduce your workload. A virtual assistant, depending on the scope of work and niche, can cover certain tasks that you lack knowledge of. Instead of spending a chunk of your time working on “desk duties”, you can spend your time thinking about, planning, and strategizing areas of your business to expand.
While virtual assistants offer plenty of assistance for business owners to be more organized and manageable, they are not superhumans who can complete a complicated task overnight. You, as the employer, must perform your duties to bring out the best in your virtual assistants, just as you would expect of a traditional employee.
What you should know about working with a virtual assistant
Hiring a virtual assistant has been shown to be beneficial for many small businesses. Many consider outsourcing and virtual assistants as the key to unlocking more energy, time, and resources for you. When businesses get support from a virtual assistant, they may save as much as 78% on their operational expenditures. Furthermore, virtual assistants are more productive, and productivity is one of the most pressing issues facing your business.
If you are one of the hundreds who need the services of a virtual assistant, hold for a moment. Before you rush and make a decision, you need to organize and prepare your strategy first. These are the things you should know about working with a virtual assistant.
Be realistic in your expectations.
Outsourcing is not a quick-fix magic pill that you can take and expect everything to run flawlessly from the get-go. As real as the promises of hiring a virtual assistant are, you have to set realistic expectations. For the relationship to work, you have to guide your virtual assistant to start to feel and know your workflow and system.
In addition and mentioned before, your virtual assistant is undoubtedly capable and trustworthy, but do not forget they are humans too. They will make mistakes and be imperfect. In this case, as a leader, your guidance, patience, and skills as a “boss” should come available and helpful.
Maximize your time.
It only makes sense to grab more time now that you have a virtual assistant on your team. Many business owners are too busy running their day-to-day operations to put up systems and strategies.
For your business to run smoothly daily, there are time-consuming tasks that must be completed every day. They do not need the attention of a high-level team member. but as equally necessary for your business. By delegating these activities to a virtual assistant, you are devoting substantial time to core business functions.
Working with a virtual assistant has several advantages, the most important of which is saving you more time, getting more time, and eventually being more productive as an entrepreneur.
Stop making assumptions.
This is a common circumstance in the field of virtual assistance. Many business owners are now curious and at the same time cautious. Many business owners are considering hiring a virtual assistant but many are receiving contradictory ideas and insights about virtual assistants. Hiring a virtual assistant is an intriguing but strange notion for most people, and today is the time to dispel some of the misconceptions in the virtual assistance sector. Some of which are:
- virtual assistants are secretaries only
- virtual assistants are moms
- virtual assistants lack high-level skills
- virtual assistants are untrustworthy
- virtual assistants work for full-time only
- virtual assistants are incompetent communicators
With the proper knowledge and understanding of how virtual assistants work, you fully experience the benefits of having one in your team.
Invest time in training your virtual assistant.
Spending time to train someone you hire to give you time in the future may seem counterintuitive and contradictory to “Maximize your time” advice.
Find your “genius zone” and outsource everything else. Once you’ve determined your strengths and goals, it’s time to let your competent virtual assistant handle the rest. Prepare to hire a virtual assistant by avoiding this common hiring mistake. Most employers – including business owners, understandably, make the mistake of failing to spend the necessary time to train their virtual assistants.
Part of being a great leader is being able to offer step-by-step directions and explain the reasons behind them in a clear and straightforward manner. The capacity to generate results through your team (and VA) is an essential skill of a competent leader.
Trust the whole process of hiring and working with a virtual assistant.
Trust is often an issue in all kinds of relationships and working with someone across the globe increases doubts, suspicion, and mistrust. Hiring a virtual assistant from the right and credible platforms and firms reduces the risk of working with scammers, incompetent, and dishonest VAs. Check the testimonies of the sites you come across to determine whether or not you can put your faith in the virtual assistant you want to hire.
Do not forget that trust is a two-way process. Your virtual assistant has to trust you too to put in their best effort.
If you are still overwhelmed with the concept of a virtual assistant or in doubt if you should hire one, make sure to book an obligation free consultation with us. Our friendly assistants at VALUE Virtual Assistants are ready to talk to you.
