When we contract a Virtual Assistant, we have certain expectations. We want as much value for our money as we can get. Whether your VA is in Australia or offshore, it makes no difference.

Theoretically, that is 2 hours a day your Virtual Assistant is working for you. They break that time up during the day or work only in the morning or afternoon.

It is unrealistic to dictate to someone you’re contracting for 2 hours a day when they do that work for you. Why? They may have other clients to whom they also need to allocate time, who may contract them for more hours than you do. Either way, your Virtual Assistant is a business owner, not an employee. They decide when they work.

Below are a few reasons you can be your biggest stressor for your Virtual Assistant. These are incredibly impactful if you have contracted your VA for 10 hours a week.

  • You can call them multiple times during the day to defrag – this affects your VAs ability to focus on other work or personal tasks they may be doing.
  • I was sending a text message for every idea or task – same same!
  • Sending multiple messages over multiple channels can confuse determining tasks and changes or updates, resulting in mixed messages.
  • Constantly asking where tasks are up to – this can undermine them, make them feel inadequate or even worse, have them second-guessing everything they do.
  • Not keeping your allocated meeting time with them lets your VA know you do not value them. They are less important to you than any other part of your business.

10 things you can do to make 10 hours a week work for you and your VA

  1. Meet fortnightly to review what is and isn’t working 30 minutes is ample.
  2. Ask your VA for feedback on what can be done differently. Fresh eyes are game changers for small businesses.
  3. Stick to one communication channel, Slack, Whats App; there are so many out there.
  4. Use a workflow management program such as Asana. Instead of messaging your VA for every task, email them to Asana. Your VA will be notified and can prioritise the task and best of all you will be notified when it’s completed.
  5. Create systems for your business, and stop being your own VA.
  6. Ask for your VA to send you a one-pager at the end of each week on where everything is up to. Or you can simply look in Asana.
  7. Don’t micromanage. If you have your guidelines and systems in place, then your VA will know where to go to do what needs doing.
  8. You don’t need to be best friends with your VA, but you do need to be friendly. Over the last 12 years, I’ve found that many VAs are happy to be left alone to do the work you’ve contracted them to do. Being friends can blur boundaries.
  9. Your VA is a people pleaser; that’s why they do the work they do. They want to help. Don’t take advantage of that. Just because they help you out at 6 pm on a Friday once doesn’t mean you should make it a regular occurrence.
  10. Let your VA shine. They bring something to the table that you need. Empower them to make the difference you desperately need.