VAs: Make The Most of Having Them in Your Team
VAs can be the secret ingredient of your company if you know how to work efficiently with them.
Sometimes entrepreneurs hire VAs with a rather naïve notion that the VA knows how to do everything; VAs may be aware of certain processes, however, it could be their first time working with your company.
This is one of the main reasons why you start having problems with VAs at the beginning of the onboarding process.
It is because we want to avoid all the misunderstandings and waste of time that we have developed some main tips that you can take into account once you have hired a VA for your company.
Clarity First and Foremost
The first thing you should evaluate when you hire your VA is the number of tasks you need to outsource. We assume that you are very clear on your goals and the strategies you are using to achieve them.
However, it never hurts to remind you that setting objectives helps us to know where we are going; setting up systems or strategies helps us to build a solid foundation to achieve our goals.
If you have not developed clear and specific strategies, you will most likely have your VA wasting time on unnecessary or low-priority tasks.
Communication is Key!
Sometimes we forget that communicating is not only about talking, it is also about listening and having conversations.
VAs are not there to only follow instructions; in addition to bringing many insights to your business, they can also help you evaluate the strategy’s scope.
So it is important to be a good listener, set expectations, discuss possible strategies and agree on deadlines.
Have a meeting with your VA to set up strategies for the week or to discuss the results you’ve achieved; or better yet, both!
Use The Right Tools
In addition to being clear about your objectives and knowing how to communicate them to your VA, it is also important to take into account the tools you can use to work more effectively with your VA.
On the Internet, there are thousands of tools that can support your work with your VA; you’ll find collaboration tools, organization, project management, work monitoring, instant communication, among others.
The proper use of tools helps promote productivity in remote teams like the one you have with your VA, even if it’s just the two of you.
VAs Need You to be Available
The onboarding process is often the time when employers spend the most time with their VAs, but that doesn’t mean the onboarding process is over.
Quite the contrary, it is after the onboarding process that you start to notice all the gaps, misinterpreted information, necessary adjustments in strategies or task execution.
That is why it’s important that you keep spaces available to communicate with your VA if they need your support in any way.
The more communication you have without excessive meetings, the better.
VAs Can be Trained According to Your Specific Needs
VAs can perform many tasks. Train them in specific areas and they will become one of the best investments you make in your business.
Every day VAs are becoming more specialized and have become a trend among entrepreneurs around the world. However, some entrepreneurs focus on only one type of VA: the ones outside the continent.
Nearshore VAs are a Treasure for the American Entrepreneur
We know that Philippine VAs are one of the biggest trends in the business world, especially since the Philippines was a US colony before World War II.
However, the differences between the two countries have increased as the years have passed. And yes, it is also true that in the Philippines you can find VAs that are very familiar with English and even with the American culture, but there are a couple of important aspects that must be taken into account when hiring a VA for an American company.
As we mentioned before, one of the critical points to get the best out of having a VA is communication.
Now, how do you think you can maintain good communication with a person who lives 12 hours away from you? What happens if you have an urgent project?
Unless your VA works night shifts, you will have to wait for them to begin their work shift, which happens when you are going to sleep.
That’s why we say that in Latin America you can find both worlds, on-shore and off-shore, in other words, VAs on American soil and VAs on another continent.
At There is Talent, we have VAs that meet your company’s needs, are fully bilingual, and work in the same time zone. Book a strategic call with our director Claudia to learn more about our team and what they have to support your company!
