Wondering how best to prepare for your new virtual assistant? We've got you covered with our four step plan.
1. Mindset
When you're delegating your tasks to a new virtual assistant, you need to be an open book and keep an open mind. This process will challenge you!
You're going to have to let go of things that you've always controlled, and trust that over time your virtual assistant will learn to look after them for you.
It will take time for them to learn how you like to do things and to learn your brand ‘voice’.
So let go of control, open things up, let them have the access they need so that they can then get started quickly. This is number one on our list as it's the most important!
2. Commit to training time
The next one is committing to the handover and the training time.
People will often hire a virtual assistant when they're too busy to dedicate time to a proper handover to get their VA off to the best start.
This leads to trying to train your VA a little bit at a time as tasks come up, which is simply not cost or time efficient.
You'll reap the rewards faster if you're actually blocking out time and giving your VA a couple of hours in that first handover meeting, where you can really talk everything through and give them access to all of the accounts they need to take over.
Even though you're super busy, committing to this time will yield a huge return on investment when your VA is able to hit the ground running and minimise the back and forwards.
3. Be clear on your focus
You need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and what your goals are with your VA's help.
You may not know right away all the tasks you want to hand over to your VA, but as long as you have some understanding of the primary tasks you want to hand over, your VA will be able to guide you from there.
By communicating clearly about what you want to achieve, your VA will be able to take the reins and take care of the tasks you set out for them.
4. Have your business tech sorted
A virtual assistant works remotely. Because of this, you’ll need to have some basics set up before your VA starts to ensure they can access everything they need to complete their tasks.
An idea of where to start:
- Download Whatsapp or Voxer on your phone. This is a quick and easy messaging app that you and your VA can use for communicating throughout the workday.
- Make sure you have your Zoom account set up and ready for your handover meeting.
- Make sure that you either have G Suite or Office 365 set up for email and calendar management. Upgrading to these from the free versions is a worthwhile investment if you require your VA to manage your inbox or calendar.
- Ensure that all the files your VA will need are in the Cloud or accessible to them remotely.
- Make sure you have login details available for all of the accounts that your VA will need to log into.
If you’re unsure about any of the above, your VA will be able to guide you through the setup process.
