On average, a typical virtual assistant spends around 8 to 10 hours working each day. Most of the time, this is more than the 6 to 8 hours of sleep they get daily (sometimes even less). This means that a full-time virtual personal assistant spends more time communicating with you and working on your tasks than accomplishing their own tasks. Therefore, how you treat them in the workplace can make or break their mood and, consequently, their overall productivity.
A highly-motivated VA can provide not only outstanding output but also an energized aura that can be contagious for your entire online working space. The positive ambiance this creates can lead to more opportunities for growth and can encourage creativity in performing their tasks. In this article, we will tackle some techniques to help you become more of a leader and less of a boss for not only your VA but your entire team.
Always have their best interest in mind.
To better put this into perspective, treat them as family in the sense that you will never abandon them no matter what. Allow them to know that even if they make a mistake from time-to-time, you will always be there for them without prior judgment. If you make them feel safe from day one, they will most likely have your back and will be willing to help you in any way they can. In a way, this is your VA’s way of expressing gratitude.
Affirm them for something awesome that they did.
That something may be a higher number of answered e-mails, a commendation from your client because of their work, or just a thoughtful note that helped you increase your sales in a day. It doesn’t matter if that something is small in the eyes of others. If it’s an achievement, it’s worth celebrating.
A simple but good way to do this is to acknowledge how their work ethic makes the workplace a little brighter. Even just a short e-mail or a quick chat message on how well they did will surely brighten your VA’s day. Most VAs who receive affirmations perform even better when they are shown appreciation.
Curb the urge to micromanage.
Frustration sets in when meddling with the work they do. Resist the urge to scrutinize their work. If someone were to do this to you, you would surely become frustrated as you are trusted to know your timeline and how to do your tasks. The same is so for most seasoned VAs.
Let your VA take ownership of what they do. Let them handle their time and resources as they see fit. Just ensure that these are within reasonable means and you’re good to go. If you hired a self-starter, you should allow them to set their own pace. Asking your VA for updates around once or twice a week is a good frequency.
Communicate clearly.
Aside from the initial orientation and training that your VA has to go through, you have to be clear with the outcomes you expect with each assigned task. Encourage two-way communication in your virtual workspace. Allow them to reach out to you if they need to ask questions or to simply raise a concern that’s on their mind. They will surely appreciate the openness and perform at their best.
As with work discrepancies and errors, never resort to blaming. This will not only lower your VA’s morale but can create a negative impact on their output, not to mention, they will have lower confidence in what they do.
Support your virtual personal assistant in every possible way you can.
Provide them with learning resources they can use to further improve in their role in your company. If possible, you may discuss the materials with them and obtain their insights. When you do this, you get to train and retrain them – even update their skill set in some cases. In the long run, as you supply them with more knowledge in their respective field, you also boost their confidence.
However, make sure you know where to draw the line when supporting them. Ensure that you avoid spoon-feeding to further encourage their sense of independence. By doing so, you do not only mold them to be more productive professionally but help them grow as a person.
Provide incentives when they deserve it.
The incentive can be monetary or otherwise, depending on the current budget of your company. If possible, discuss the incentive system in your company, if there is any. This will give your VA an additional goal to keep in mind. It isn’t actually about the reward itself but about having an additional healthy challenge to take on. Just make sure that the prerequisites to get the incentive are not outrageously difficult or downright impossible. If you do this, you discourage productivity. Why would anyone shoot for something they know is impossible to attain.
There are times that your VA will not feel like working. To be fair, we all have those days. If you treat them well and sincerely from the get-go, they will still choose to log in their hours without feeling as though they are dragging themselves into work. The main difference lies in how you see them and how you make them feel as your virtual assistant. As the saying goes, take care of your employees, and they will surely take care of you and your business. This is possible if they are productive because of high motivation and morale in the workplace.