The first step is to make sure you onboard them correctly on their first day. Like most workers, you wouldn’t throw them into the deep end on their first day without giving them some background on the company, details about their role, etc. In your onboarding, you should complete the following:

Welcome them to your company

Give them background information on the company

Show them how things work

Tell them about your life outside of work

Get to know them personally

Introduce them to key team members they’ll work with

Show them why their work is important to the company as a whole

The goal is to fully integrate your worker into their new role. To encourage buy-in and build rapport, you have to get to know them personally and develop a genuine relationship. This is the same as someone you’d work with in-person - however, instead of taking them out to lunch, a simple 30-minute conversation over a video call can suffice! We highly recommend you take the time to do this with every worker you onboard. The more time you invest in onboarding and the more context you can provide, the better your worker will perform.

Every company is different and their internal processes reflect this difference. The tasks a virtual assistant completes at an oil and gas company may differ wildly from the tasks they would complete at an eCommerce business. Even if they have prior experience working in the same industry, the internal processes of every company differ.

To effectively manage your virtual assistant, you must set clear expectations from the beginning. This includes:

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Communication

Tell your virtual assistant the hours you’re usually at the computer and more available, and which days and times you’re usually busy. For most of the working world, we’ve noticed that Mondays and Tuesdays are usually the busiest days for everybody.

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Regular Meetings

Find some time to meet at least every two weeks - we highly recommend meeting once a week. This lets everyone discuss progress, share feedback, and ask questions. You cannot expect any worker, let alone a remote virtual assistant, to succeed without scheduling regular meetings.

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Emergencies

You should lay out a plan in case your virtual assistant is unavailable due to electricity or Internet outages. Discuss what you expect them to do during these situations and how to minimize effects on workflows.

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Make a Work Schedule

Be sure to communicate with your VA the specific times and days of the week that you would like them to be online and working on your tasks. That way you and your VA are both on the same page and are able to get a hold of each other without having any issues.

Give each VA a maximum set of hours per week that you want them to work. This will help you stay within your budget and keep you from overpaying in the long run.

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Set Goals

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In order for any worker to stay motivated and thrive within a company they need to have a set of realistic goals. For example, if the worker is doing data entry then you should set a daily number of rows that you would like to be entered by your VA.  Not only does this keep your VA motivated but it will also make sure that work is getting done efficiently.

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When it comes to inspiring your workers, it helps when they are made aware of how important their role is to the company’s success. This also holds them accountable, and motivates them to not let their teammates down.

It can be challenging to keep workers motivated who are on the other side of the world, so it is especially important to make them feel included and valued.

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Let your VA know what you expect them to achieve within a given time frame and why it is important to the company's success that they meet these goals.

Make sure that these goals are aligned to help you achieve your company’s 6 months and 1 year goals. Discuss the gameplan with your VAs and get their opinions as well, this will help you get some new ideas and make sure that everyone agrees on the expectations.

Choose a specific time and date that you would like to speak with your VA each week. These meetings give you the chance to provide feedback, let the VA ask questions and update you on their progress.

It wouldn’t be a good idea to let your VA work unsupervised for multiple weeks on end. Imagine checking in on your VA after 1 month only to find that they have been doing the task wrong the whole time.

Most importantly, these meetings will keep you on pace to reach your goals.

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In our own experience, we have found it useful to require VAs to check in, check out, and provide updates on a daily basis.

For example:

At the beginning of each shift, please send me a message on slack that says “checking in” and when you leave, please send “checking out” along with a brief summary of the tasks you completed that day.

By establishing this, you will always know when your VA is working and what they are accomplishing.

Provide your VAs opportunities to grow within your company and take on new roles.  This can be done by providing regular feedback, setting new goals, and giving them the chance to complete new tasks.

This is also another way to keep your VA motivated and excited to come to work everyday. Most virtual assistants are eager to learn and want to grow their skills as much as possible, so if you are able to put them in a position to do so it would benefit both you and your VA.