Tips On How To Effectively Manage Your Virtual Assistant

When it comes to working with a virtual assistant, it can be a little daunting when you have no idea what you are doing. In the last 10 years, where most of it I was a virtual assistant and now having my own executive assistant agency, I really learned a lot when it comes to making sure that things get done, and that the assistant feels supported and they can work without handholding.⁣⁣
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HIRE SLOW BUT FIRE FAST

This sounds a little bit harsh, but you must keep in mind that when working with a virtual assistant, it has to be a good match. You can’t be forcing each other’s strengths and weaknesses if a lot of your ideas just don’t match. You have to bear in mind that there is probably a better job for them if they’re not a good fit for you. You must have a really good standard set as you hire a virtual assistant and if they are not a fit as soon as they start working with you, know that it’s okay to let them go. You don’t have to give people chances every time if they just don’t feel right.⁣⁣
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COMMUNICATE REGULARLY

Inside 2xYou, we require our assistants to create a daily report at the end of the day stating the tasks they finished, their plans for the next day and any bottleneck or issues they need help with. I go through them every morning, so I am well-informed of where things are at. Weekly, I have a call with the assistants with their clients. So, then their clients are looped in on what are the things that happened during the week. And the clients can give instructions on the things that need to be focused on for the following week. Monthly, we have a coaching call. This is basically a check-in call to see where they’re at in their growth inside their client’s business and to be able to coach them through any problems that they may be having. This is to make sure that they have everything they need to be able to move forward.⁣
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KEEP RESOURCES AVAILABLE

Make sure that resources are readily available for your virtual assistant. Whether it’s making sure that you put important files or tools in a shared space, whether it’s giving them access or log-ins they need to keep moving forward, or simply being available to them when they need your help. Your job as the employer is to give them all they need and then get out of the way.⁣
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RECORD VIDEOS

When you’re giving instructions or giving feedback, it’s always best especially if you’re not on a zoom call, to record your screen and talk your way through it. Most of the time with emails and chats, things get lost like tone and intention. With recorded videos, the instructions and urgency are clearer and chances of miscommunication will be slim to none.⁣
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DELEGATE TASKS PROPERLY

In giving tasks, make sure that the instructions and the outcome is clear. As mentioned above, for clarity, creating a video instruction is highly recommended. You want to make sure that you give your virtual assistant the “what” or the “how” but not both, to help them get started and get that work done. When you are delegating tasks, you must make sure that you are giving tasks that are appropriate for them. Additionally, make sure that you don’t give your assistant tasks that are essential to your business that ONLY YOU can really do at that point.⁣
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MONITOR THEIR PERFORMANCE

Having a way where you can track their progress, that your assistant can also see their wins is super important to make sure that things are rolling, and that there’s still that continuity of the progress that they’re doing as they are working with you. You can use different tools or apps like Hubstaff to monitor their time, or Trello, Notion, or Asana for their tasks and progress.⁣
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ESTABLISH A GOOD CULTURE

As the employer, you must set the culture, the tone, of how you want the company to grow. Basically, you want to ask yourself, who are the kind of people that you want to work with, who are the people who can get the work done inside your business based on the top values of your company.⁣⁣
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Inside of 2xYou, these 5 values are our pillars:⁣⁣
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• Kindly Confident

This means being confident and having empathy

• Passionately Curious

Being resourceful enough to find the right information for the client

• Constantly Growing

Constantly growing both hard skills and soft skills

• Systems Ninja

Always creating systems to make things easier

• Tribe of Superheroes

Being part of a tribe where they can ask and give help as needed

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With these values, we are able to create a culture where our assistants help each other, and everyone is high performing on their own. As the employer, it is important that you cultivate some sort of culture that they can follow and easily replicate as you hire more and more people.⁣
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MAKE TRAINING AS EASY AND TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE

What I mean by this is try to strategize what are the books, courses and trainings your assistant can go through that can get them at least close enough to your level so they can start taking over your tasks. You must make sure that you are showing them what the growth track is like in your company. This will help inspire them and motivate them to keep going.⁣
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GIVE EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK

Giving effective feedback is crucial to make your point across. Essentially, it boils down to focusing on what it is that you want them to work on instead of focusing on what it is they did wrong.⁣
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UPGRADE YOURSELF

Aside from giving your assistants training. you also need to train yourself in becoming a better boss.  You need to ask yourself what kind of boss you want to be and what do you have to do to get there based on the goals you set for your company.⁣
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Managing a virtual assistant can really be intimidating especially if you haven’t done it before. But with these tips, you can ensure that you are on the right path to effectively manage your virtual assistant.⁣
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If you like this article and if you have more tips not mentioned above, let’s discuss in the comment section below!