Let’s be totally honest here: the whole point of hiring a virtual assistant is to save on costs. Not all of us can afford to hire a local admin support worker. For this reason, most VAs are overseas, where the labour market is a lot more flexible in terms of wages and statutory requirements.
So this means you’ll more often than not be dealing with a virtual assistant in another country, and this represents a range of challenges for how we communicate.
Virtual assistants are often overseas
For example, here at Virtual Helpers, all our VAs currently are based in the Philippines as this offers our clients the best balance of affordability and convenience, given that there is a 2-4 hour time difference between the Philippines and Australia, depending on location.
Even though your VA is in another country, modern technology allows us to communicate with our VAs thanks to tools such as Skype. Skype is a free tool (with the option for paid upgrades) that allows the choice of text chat (typing), voice chat, or video calls. There’s also an option to do stuff like share screens and have group conference calls.
Project management tools make communication easier
The growing number of project management tools also make it easy to see a project through from start to finish with minimal confusion. Some of the most popular project management tools out there, like Trello, Basecamp, and, Asana, provide a virtual workspace that can successfully bridge the gap between you and your overseas VA. Using these platforms, you have the possibility of assigning work tasks, setting milestones, setting deadlines, and creating a clear line of communication with your VA.
As your communication is contained within separate projects, it’s easy to keep track of what needs to be done, and there’s no risk of communication landing in a “spam” folder as with email communication.
All good things take some commitment of time
One of the greatest misconceptions about using a VA is that you don’t need to put the time in to understand your new colleague. This could not be further from the truth. Because your VA doesn’t have the option to tap you on the shoulder every time they have a work related question, it’s imperative that you have a good understanding of each other, of the expectations you have on both sides, and of your work processes.
Allocate time to communicate regularly so that no matter the distance between the two of you, your VA will have a clear understanding of work tasks and you will be on the receiving end of high quality work. As time progresses, you will understand each other just as well as a business person and assistant who share an office space.
Communication works both ways
You’ve mostly likely hired a VA because of certain talents they possess – but even the most talented people can’t deliver the goods if they don’t have a clear brief and a clear line of communication. So, if your VA doesn’t get the job done perfectly first time around, don’t get mad. Consider the possibility that you might not have provided your VA with clear enough direction and the tools that they need to get the job done. Share your expertise and expectations with them so that they can improve their output; and always be open to listening to their queries.
It’s only through this process of education and understanding that you can create great work with the help of your virtual assistant.
Here are the 28 ways a virtual helper can help you free up the time in your day to do what you do best. This one-page diagram will give you dozens of ideas for ways you can take back your precious time with the help of a virtual assistant.
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