Success Hack: The Best Way to Communicate with Virtual Assistant

When was the last time you got off work at 5 pm?

It’s weird to think that entrepreneurs want to be self-directed and have freedom over their time when in reality, most actually don’t.

From bookkeeping and email marketing to content creation, there’s always something left to do in the office that needs immediate attention.

We get it; TIME IS MONEY — and time wasted can never be found again.

As a fledging business owner, you can’t do every day-to-day task in your company, despite thinking that you’re probably the most efficient person to do them.

It might seem to work at first, but in the long run, it will only keep you small. You need to see the potential of your business to grow, and learning to delegate tasks to someone else will help you do just that.

Bringing in a virtual assistant is taking a step toward saving hours of work and increasing productivity, giving you more resources to focus on high-priority projects.

But in order to maximize these talents, there’s one important step that you need to do.

Let’s learn the things you must discuss with your VA, including the best way to communicate with a virtual assistant.

How Do You Effectively Work with a Virtual Assistant?

It’s no surprise that many business owners and entrepreneurs want to work with virtual assistants.

Adding a VA to your team reduces cost, saves time, increases productivity and provides access to a wider pool of knowledge. But of course, all collaborations are still highly dependent on your ability to efficiently manage your time and talents.

As you plan and prepare your venture for success, there are important things you MUST discuss with your virtual assistant.

• Your Vision
  

  Perhaps, you’re adamant about sharing information with your virtual assistant. But did you know that the more open you are to your VA, the more meaningful and productive your relationship with them will be?

  Remember, your team plays a huge role in helping you achieve that end goal, so it does make perfect sense to share your vision with them.

  Sharing goals and visions for your company helps them understand what role they play in the grand scheme of things and how their work can tie back to your vision. This could lead to a more engaged and robust working relationship.

  Here’s how you can effectively share your vision with your virtual assistant:

  • Keep it Simple: Give an effective and simple statement, the main thing is to make the vision obvious in every channel you share it with — communication, social media, and website.
  • Believe in that Vision: Work actively towards your vision: walk the talk.
  
  

  Once they understand what they’re working towards and how they can help you achieve your bottom line, they’ll be more devoted to the role and strive even harder.

• Schedule
  

  Once you’ve made it clear to your virtual assistant what you want from them and for your business, you need to set up a working schedule.

  You can start off by answering these questions:

  • What time are you most productive each day?
  • What day do you prefer to have meetings?
  • How much time do you need for team meetings or to shift between projects?
  
  

  Afterward, you need to consider these factors when determining a schedule that works.

  • Priorities
    
    

    To allocate best your time and resources, you need to identify which tasks are more urgent and higher valued.

  • Realistic Expectations
    
    

    Don’t overcommit and end up hurting the quality of work. You must realistically determine how much time is needed for a certain task to be completed.

  • Flexibility
    
    

    Everything is subject to change and that includes your working schedule — you must set your time with that in mind.

  
  
• Communication
  

  What makes having effective communication in the workplace so vital is that it encourages engagement, boosts morale and increases productivity and satisfaction.

  It is the ultimate key to having a successful collaboration — driving better individual, team and organization results.

  When working with a virtual assistant, good communication provides the best possible service and successful events

  You can set up a strong channel of communication with your VA by knowing the following.

  • Communication Platform Preference
    
    

    Do you prefer emails? Or do you find it easy to use collaboration tools like Trello or Google Drive? What about video conferencing?

    When deciding which one to opt for, think about what works best for your day-to-day routine.

    There are so many communication platforms out there with distinct features and benefits. For sure, there’s one that suits your preference.

  • Communication Style
    
    

    The thing about not understanding communication style is that it can lead to misunderstandings. By knowing, you can hold genuine conversations and have more control over the delivery of these important messages

    Some people are aggressive communicators who tend to be loud and upfront. Others might be assertive and choose to state their views clearly with one sentence or a word.

    Because they know these things about you, you wouldn’t feel the need to go around your way to make an effort when that response already sufficed.