Virtual assistants can either be a godsend or awful to work with. Let’s hope that in this case, you did hire a good VA and the next step is to keep them ‘turned on’ and engaged.
Engaged VAs are more motivated to work for the success of your business. They’re not just there to take orders so they can earn money. They see their work as a valuable contribution to your company.
It can be easy to become disengaged from your VA since you’re only dealing with them online.
However, there are some ways that you can fix that. We share with you the best practices to keep your VA engaged at work.
1. Have Voice or Video Calls
When you’re just starting out, you want your VA to get familiar with you and your business. Both of you will have unique nuances in personality that can only be caught in video or voice calls. Try to avoid only emailing or chatting with each other during the first few weeks. It feels impersonal and makes the onboarding process take much longer. With a voice or video call, you can relay instructions quickly and answer questions that your VA may have.
2. Keep Your Tasks List Filled
Make sure that your assistant always has work to do. Leaving them idle for too long is a waste of your money, and they may not take your business seriously when they see there’s not much going on. You want to have at least two days worth of work in their task list. More if you’ll be away for a couple of days. This ensures that their schedule is always filled. This is also great if they work faster than you had expected.
3. Provide Some Variety
Aside from ensuring that they always have work, you also want to give them some variety. No one likes doing one thing over and over again. Giving them new projects keeps them motivated to work even harder. Everyone loves a challenge; the right virtual assistant will see the value in this and see that it benefits them to stay with your company.
4. Ensure Payments On Time
When it comes to non-face transactions, there’s always the risk that the other person will bail out on you. This can happen to the employer when the virtual assistant just disappears or to the virtual assistant when they don’t get their salary and the employer just vanishes.
You want to keep your assistant’s trust by ensuring that their salary arrives at their bank account on time. Despite the advances in technology, we still face technical issues that can delay certain transactions. A way to avoid this is to keep direct deposits easier with money transfers. It ensures your VA is paid on time. People are motivated to work for employers who respect their time and money.
5. Maintain Communication
It can be easy to get comfortable once you’ve already had a steady workflow and your VA doesn’t need as much hand-holding anymore. However, it’s even more critical that you maintain communication during this time.
The one thing that virtual assistants fear the most is not hearing from their employer. So keep your communications open. If possible, set up a weekly or monthly meeting. This is so you are both on the loop of what’s happening at work, and it also strengthens the trust you have for one another.
6. Provide Incentives
Incentives can come in the form of a cash bonus, flexible time, paid time off, or gift cards. You can get creative with this one. It doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary. The goal is to let your assistant know that they’re doing a great job. This, in turn, makes them feel appreciated for their efforts.
We hope these tips helped. What are your own methods for keeping your virtual assistants happy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments (1)
this is a great incentive to ponder about.