10 Tips to Working Successfully with Virtual Assistants

1. Explain What You Want Done as Clearly and Exhaustively as Possible

In human communication there will always be some misunderstandings, but, in business,
you want to keep that to an absolute minimum. When working with your VA, present a
list of pending tasks as well as detailed instructions on how you expect each of them to
be done (and in what timeframe).
Remember that, when working with VAs, youll be communicating with people who live in
different parts of the world, each with its own customs, languages and dialects. You want
to be as clear as you can possibly be, even superfluous. Better to provide too much
information than not enough. This will help to cut down emails and phone calls from VAs
requesting further instructions.
Bottom line: After the first meeting, the VA must walk away with a crystal clear set of
task-related parameters as well as a detailed summary of his or her responsibilities.
Never assume that the VA knows what you want. The VA may indeed understand the
kind of work that you are requesting. However, details about your particular style and
business vision must be communicated.
In the same manger, expect that there might initially be some mistakes. Review your
VAs performance regularly to ensure proper fulfillment. Always encourage your VAs to
ask questions if they are uncertain about something. This two-way line of communication
improves in the measure that you and the VA get to know each other better (more about
that shortly).
2. Enter the Process with Positive but Not Over-Inflated Expectations
True, VAs can give your business a huge push forward by taking over numerous tasks
so that you can concentrate on business strategizing and expansion. Many business
owners have seen their bottom line boom after some months of working with VAs. Yes,
the potential is huge.

However, this is not a panacea or an overnight-success formula. VAs arent magicians

or genies in a bottle. Look at the transition realistically. Virtual outsourcing helps you
to re-organize your business and make it run more effectively. This will happen over
time. Do not hire a VA with the expectation that things will change instantly; you are
running a real, not a microwave business!
Theres nothing wrong with you projecting growth, but dont do it based solely on the
addition of virtual assistants. Rather, your growth projections should be based on smart
business planning, the benefits you will receive from virtual outsourcing AND from real,
on-the-floor market conditions.
If you are already running your business smoothly, then the positive effects of
outsourcing will be noticed very quickly. On the other hand, if the business is new, is
facing challenges or is disorganized, then it could take a bit longer. Even so, the relief
that you will feel from knowing that you no longer have to spend hours performing
repetitive and time-consuming tasks will be immediate and often drastic. Some business
owners use this extra time to spend it with their loved ones, while others, seeing their
hands no longer tied to the shop, have gone as far as starting a second business! The
benefits are truly endless.
Moreover, keep an open mind on how the VA does things. You may be used to doing
things a certain way, but the VA may have found other ways to perform the same task.
As long as the end result is positive, remain receptive to the new ideas. Lastly, keep tabs
on progress by doing periodic evaluations of your VA staff. This will give you a constant
assurance that your team is meeting goals and performing satisfactorily.
3. Over Time, Build a Relationship with Your VAs
When you run a business that includes virtual assistance from the other side of the globe
(with distinct cultural and social backgrounds), one may be tempted to just let them do
their work and minimize contact. This would be a huge mistake. To build a dynamic
company that is engaged, growing and prospering, it is indispensable for you to build
(over time) relationships with the people that are helping you build your dream.
No matter how busy you may be, take regular time to get to know your VAs better.
Although you are running a business, not a social club, the human interaction is still a
very important part of the process. Believe me, your VAs will be delighted to get to know
you; the interaction will increase motivation and keep morale high.
Share your thoughts, opinions and experiences and be receptive to feedback from your
VAs. The more they know you, your vision and your goals, the better they will perform to
achieve your objectives. Communication will help the VAs feel as part of the team.
After all, you want every employee that you hire, VA or not, to care and want the very
best for your business, right? No matter what culture or background your VAs may come
from, this Open-Communication approach places everyone in equal footing and with the
collective goal of making the business more and more successful.
4. Be Fastidious About Crystal Clear Communication
Exchanging e- mails and chat messages isnt enough to ensure there is no
miscommunication between you and the VA. In the virtual world, the closest you will

have to a shared space discussion is through a live call. It is a good idea to do a pre shift
call every day during the first month of the engagement. For a period of 30 minutes, go
over the agenda for the day.
Discuss goals, resolve pending issues and concerns. Always ask your VA if he or she
understood everything perfectly. To be sure, ask him to relay the instructions back to
you. Establish communication protocols that should be strictly followed by the VA.
5. Set Work Schedules Ahead of Time
Entrepreneurs often forget that a VA is not a full- time employee. VAs are likewise
entrepreneurs and on average they will manage three to four other clients at one time. If
you plan on making changes to an established work schedule, it is best if you inform
your VA at least seven days in advance. This will provide enough time to rearrange
schedules and without missing other commitments.
If your VA is from a remote location such as the Philippines or India, you should have a
calendar of special holidays, especially those with religious significance. On those days,
people from the Philippines and India do not work. Keeping track of these holidays and
respecting their meaning shows deep regard for their culture and will go a long way in
building a trusting relationship.
In the following email, we will share with you the final 5 Tips to Working Successfully
with a Virtual Assistant. There we will go deeper into the topic, giving you solid and
tested information that will help you to get the very most out of your virtual outsourcing
experience.

RECAP OVER TIP 1-5

We looked at the importance of clear communications. Many of your VAs may likely live
in far-flung countries with different customs, traditions and holidays. Therefore, clear
communication is imperative and must be constantly improving. One text message
without a follow-up wont work. If you use texting, make sure that the VA texts you back
to confirm receipt.
But keep text messages simple.Do NOT carry on full-length conversations with your VA
via text message. This lends itself to misinterpretation and, honestly, is a waste of time.
If you have something you want to communicate to your VA staff, do it via telephone,
email or Skype. That way everybody is on the same page and time wont be wasted. A
30-second phone conversation can eradicate up to 45 minutes of back and forth texting.
* Here are TWO ongoing homework assignments for you:
A. Get to know your VAs. Talk, listen ask them about their countries and customs; let
them know
that just because they are virtual helpers, that you still value, appreciate and respect
them.
AND,

B. Get to know the dates of special holidays of your VAs respective countries. If you fail
to follow this simple suggestion, chaos could potentially ensue. You want to make
absolutely sure that you know who is working today, who is off, who is on holiday, and
who is off for other reasons as sickness, etc.
In short, do not just hire a VA and then forget that he or she is there.
Even if the VA is doing a great job, I guarantee you that regular communication could
double and A review

6. Design an Effective Work Flow: Even though you will receive help from VAs, the
business is still your own, so you are the man (or lady) with the plan. You have a vision
of how you want your business to run.
Therefore, it is imperative that you immediately design an effective work
flow for your VAs to follow.
Put together a detailed set of guidelines and instructions that describe how you wish the
daily operations to flow. The more detail you add to the work flow, the more effective
your business will run. VAs wont have to go around guessing what to do, when to do it,
or how. Everything will be presented and explained in black and white. Lets say for
example that you hired several VAs to transcribe audio files containing important
business presentations you had done. This being the scenario, then the work flow would
look very much like this:
Log- in to time tracking software like T-Sheets, TimeCamp, Harvest, Time Doctor or
Toggl
Deploy a task management software like Flow, Producteev or Asana to check the
pending jobs for that day
Use cloud storage services like Spider Oak, Wuala, Tresorit, Mega, Box Crypto or
DropBox to store and retrieve files that need transcribing
Download the audio file youve been assigned to transcribe from the selected cloud
storage system
When the job is completed, simply upload the transcribed file back into the cloud
storage system, making sure to save it to the proper (designated) folder
Send an e- mail to the Administrator to let him or her know that the file has been
uploaded and is ready for further use
Log- out of the time tracking software system
7. Be Generous and Show Gratitude
Do not for a moment forget that, though they are called Virtual Assistants, they are not
impersonal machines or automatons. They are, in every way, human beings just like you.
And every human being working at any capacity likes to know that he or she is doing a
good job. So dont be stingy with praise and acknowledgement. Were not saying that

you have to go around all day smiling from ear-to-ear and congratulating indiscriminately.
No. However, when you notice that the tasks you assigned are being done properly,
consistently and meeting all deadlines, then it is well for you to communicate to the VA
that you are grateful for the job well done. Often, a word of praise from the boss can go
much further than even cash.
As the skipper, you want to create an environment where confidence and optimism
permeate. It is under these circumstances that the business becomes more productive
and can even explode beyond your wildest dreams. As mentioned earlier, another good
gesture is to remember special dates such as birthdays or Christmas. Some clients will
send well- wishes or small tokens of appreciation. These actions will help build a
stronger bond between you and your VAs.
Below as an example are all of the holidays and important dates in India and The
Philippines, two countries with a growing pool of virtual assistant professionals.

Special Dates and Holidays in India for 2016

Date

Weekday

Holiday name

1
Jan 14
Jan 15
Jan 16
Jan 26
Feb 8
Feb 12
Feb 14
Feb 19
Feb 22
Mar 4
Mar 7
Mar 20
Mar 23

Friday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Tuesday
Monday
Friday
Sunday
Friday
Monday
Friday
Monday
Sunday
Wednesday

New Year's Day

Makar Sankranti
Pongal
Guru Govind Singh Jayanti
Republic Day
Chinese New Year
Vasant Panchami
Valentine's Day
Shivaji Jayanti
Guru Ravidas Jayanti
Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti
Maha Shivaratri/Shivaratri
March equinox
Holika Dahana

Mar 24

Thursday

Maundy Thursday

Mar 24
Mar 25
Mar 27
Apr 8
Apr 13
Apr 14
Apr 14
Apr 15
Apr 20
Apr 21
Apr 23
May 1
May 8
May 8
May 21
Jun 19
Jun 20
Jul 1
Jul 6

Thursday
Friday
Sunday
Friday
Wednesday
Thursday
Thursday
Friday
Wednesday
Thursday
Saturday
Sunday
Sunday
Sunday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Friday
Wednesday

Dolyatra
Good Friday
Easter Day
Chaitra Sukhladi
Vaisakhi
Mesadi/Vaisakhadi
Ambedkar Jayanti
Rama Navami
Mahavir Jayanti
Hazarat Ali's Birthday
First day of Passover
May Day
Mother's Day
Birthday of Ravindranath
Buddha Purnima/Vesak
Father's Day
June Solstice
Jamat Ul-Vida
Rath Yatra

Friday

Ramzan Id/Eid-ul-Fitar

Sunday
Monday

Friendship Day
Independence Day

Jul 8
Aug 7
Aug 15

Holiday type
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Observance
Restricted Holiday
Observance
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Season
Restricted Holiday
Observance,
Christian
Restricted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Observance
Gazetted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Observance
Observance
Observance
Restricted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Observance
Season
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Muslim, Common
Local holidays
Observance
Gazetted Holiday

Aug 15
Aug 17
Aug 18
Aug 25
Sep 5
Sep 12
Sep 14
Sep 22
Oct 2
Oct 11
Oct 12
Oct 16
Oct 19
Oct 29
Oct 30
Oct 31
Oct 31
Nov 1
Nov 6
Nov 24
Dec 13
Dec 21
Dec 24
Dec 25
Dec 25

Monday
Wednesday
Thursday
Thursday
Monday
Monday
Wednesday
Thursday
Sunday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Sunday
Wednesday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Monday
Tuesday
Sunday
Thursday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Saturday
Sunday
Sunday

Dec 31 Saturday

Thanksgiving Day
Parsi New Year
Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi)
Janmashtami
Ganesh Chaturthi/Vinayaka Chaturthi
Bakr Id/Eid ul-Adha
Onam
September equinox
Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti
Dussehra (Maha Navami)
Muharram/Ashura
Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti
Karaka Chaturthi (Karva Chauth)
Naraka Chaturdasi
Diwali/Deepavali
Halloween
Govardhan Puja
Bhai Duj
Chhat Puja (Pratihar Sashthi/Surya Sashthi)
Guru Tegh Bahadur's Martyrdom Day
Milad un-Nabi/Id-e-Milad
December Solstice
Christmas Eve
First Day of Hanukkah
Christmas
New Year's Eve

Observance
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Season
Gazetted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Observance
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Restricted Holiday
Gazetted Holiday
Season
Restricted Holiday
Observance
Gazetted Holiday
Observance,
Christian

Special Dates and Holidays in The Philippines for 2016

Date

Weekday

Holiday name

Holiday type

Jan 1

Friday

Jan 2

Saturday

New Year's Day

Special non-working day after New
Year

Feb 8

Monday

March equinox

Regular Holiday
Special Non-working
Holiday
Special Non-working
Holiday
Special Non-working
Holiday
Season

Maundy Thursday

Regular Holiday

Good Friday

Regular Holiday

Mar 26 Saturday

Holy Saturday

Observance

Mar 27

Sunday

Easter Sunday

Observance
Regular Holiday

Feb 25 Thursday
Mar 20

Sunday

Mar 24 Thursday
Mar 25

Friday

Chinese Lunar New Year's Day

People Power Anniversary

Apr 9

Saturday

The Day of Valor

May 1

Sunday

Labor Day

Regular Holiday

May 5

Thursday

Lailatul Isra Wal Mi Raj

Common Local holidays

Jun 12

Sunday

Independence Day

Regular Holiday

Jun 20

Monday

June Solstice

Season

Jul 8

Friday

Eidul-Fitar

Aug 21

Sunday

Ninoy Aquino Day

Aug 29

Monday

National Heroes Day holiday

Common Local holidays

Special Non-working
Holiday
Regular Holiday

Sep 13 Tuesday

Id-ul-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)

Common Local holidays

Sep 22 Thursday

September equinox

Season
Muslim, Common Local
holidays
National holiday
Special Non-working
Holiday

Oct 3

Monday

Amun Jadid

Oct 31

Monday

Special non-working Day

Nov 1

Tuesday

All Saints' Day

Nov 2 Wednesday

All Souls' Day

Observance

Nov 30 Wednesday

Bonifacio Day

Regular Holiday

Maulid un-Nabi

Common Local holidays

December Solstice

Season
Special Non-working
Holiday
Regular Holiday

Dec 12

Monday

Dec 21 Wednesday
Dec 24 Saturday

Christmas Eve

Dec 25

Sunday

Christmas Day

Dec 30

Friday

Rizal Day

Dec 31 Saturday

New Year's Eve

Regular Holiday
Special Non-working
Holiday

8. Respect the Learning Curve

A common mistake many clients make is to expect a wall-to-wall business explosion
right off the gate. For example, if they outsource blog posting and the usual benchmark
is three posts daily, then they expect the VA to step right in and immediately meet those
standards. If the VA is not at once able to complete three blog posts on his or her very
first day, then that means the agent is not up to par and needs to be replaced, right?
Wrong!
As they say, Rome wasnt built in a day. And certainly things were not running
completely smooth overnight. Building a business takes time. After you hire a VA, you
may not see the usual three blog posts the first day, perhaps not even on the second
or third.
But if you are patient, communicate openly with the agents and give them the time to
build their proficiencies, you may be surprised one day when SIX blog posts daily
becomes the new norm!
Remember tip #2, Moderate Expectations.
Instead of pressuring your VA, work with him or her to transcend the learning curve. The
more moderate you are with your expectations, the greater the chances that you will be
pleasantly surprised and even amazed at what a VA can accomplish.
9. Allow your Virtual Assistant to work
Close collaboration is a key element in a virtual assistance arrangement but at the same
time, you should not hover over your VA like impending danger. If you constantly check
up on your VA, it will create the impression that you are unsure about his or her
capacities to get the job done.

Still, today there are many excellent work tracking web-based programs that will keep
you abreast of your teams productivity. Some of these are:

Virtual Helper 247 (NEW timetracking software for VIP customers)

Workforce Productivity Software

Working Time Tracker

Worklog

WorkTime

Time Doctor

WorkTix

WorkTrail

Yaware

Zondertime.

Instead of constantly hovering like a vulture and interrupting your VA while he or she is
working, learn to step away and go about your business. Tell the VA to call you if there
are any questions. Likewise, if the shift ends, say at 5PM, you can set a meeting at
4:30PM to review the work and discuss issues. By following these suggestions, you
wont smother your VAs with excessive supervision, but youll still have plenty of ways to
make sure that your instructions are being followed.
10. Get your Virtual Assistant involved
Most virtual assistants are highly experienced. Many have had project management
experience in different industries. They have encountered their fair share of situations
and found ways to resolve them. A VA can be a valuable resource for advice on
managing your business. Also, because he is not emotionally attached to your business,
he will see it from a different filter; one without biases.
Encourage your VA to get involved with your business. At least once a month, schedule
a Process Improvement session whereby you discuss the current performance of the
business. Make sure to present figures and statistics from reliable analytics as the bases
for the performance review. Invite your VA to share his views, ideas and opinions on
current performance and inputs on how to improve the figures for the following month. It
may take some time to overcome old beliefs and habits but eventually you should arrive
at a comfort zone when working with a VA. You will realize that working with a VA is both
a rewarding and enriching experience.