1. Know what you want done – Always have a good idea what work you need doing and what kind of skills are required to do the task.
2. Set your requirements – Ask yourself the following questions: What kind of person do I need? Do they need to be in a certain time zone? Do they need to speak other languages?
3. Due diligence & testing your VA – Before committing ask them to do a task for you, this way you can identify if they are what you are looking for.
4. Expect to put in time upfront – Be prepared to show your VA how you work, how your business works and your services/products.
5. Put time aside for updates – Decide if you would like to have a weekly or monthly update from your VA, making sure you both set this time aside for each other.
6. Be patient and tell them exactly what you need - A virtual assistant is not mind-reader. So be clear and tell them exactly what you expect, what you want and how you want it done. If you don’t care how something is done, tell them that, but tell them what the result should look like.
7. Use videos – Record a video if you are wanting to speed up the process, or even if the task is difficult to follow.
8. Give your VA power – Trust them, the point of hiring a virtual assistant is to free up your time. Give them perimeters to work with, what they can do and what they need to highlight to you. Your VA will know they are trusted and appreciated.
9. Company email – Set them up with a company email, this keeps your brand consistent for customers. If you have multiple VA’s use a generic email like assistant@yourcompany.com or desk@yourcompany.com.
10. Pay on time – When they invoice you for work done, make sure you pay on time. They also have business costs to cover, and everyday things to pay for.
11. Respect their time - Your VA is working for themselves to support their lives, make sure you are organised and prepared for your call.
12. Get to know them - Having great working systems in place, combined with never meeting your VA, can make your relationship feel a little bit robotic. But your VA is a real person! Get to know them, ask them how they are doing and have a relationship with them.