Remote staffing isn’t exactly new. Companies like AT&T, COX, and other large corporations have been using virtual assistants since the 90’s. With that being said, the majority of business owners have not utilized them before. Due to recent events, employers had to adapt to a new remote working environment.
Seeing Facebook publicly announce that they are going to a more virtual remote setting has encouraged smaller businesses to venture in the same direction. Demand for virtual assistants has increased as a result of this.
If you want to scale your company, there’s no better alternative than to hire remote employees. Not only will that be more cost-effective, but it will also open up opportunities for you and your company.
That said, working virtually has created new hurdles for teams. One of the biggest challenges clients often struggle with is communication. There are too many questions about it – how should I communicate with my virtual assistant? When? Where? What tools can help?
In the realm of Remote Collaboration, clear communication is vital. When it comes to communicating with a virtual assistant, part of the best practices includes having a proactive mindset. As the employer, you need to be able to set the tone and establish your goals with your VA, particularly what you want to accomplish on a daily and weekly basis. This approach is more effective compared to having your VA do something, only to correct it and have them do it again.
Effective Virtual Assistant Management hinges on Clear Communication and Remote Collaboration. As you navigate this new working environment, utilizing proper communication tools and strategies will be pivotal in optimizing the productivity and efficiency of your remote team.
The frequency of how actively you must engage in remote collaboration with your virtual assistant would depend on the importance of the task and its duration. For example, a VA that manages your social media platforms would need to constantly send reports on daily engagements, leads, and messages. On the other hand, an online graphic designer or video editor would only need to send the first draft for feedback, maybe a second one, then finally the finished project. So how often should you meet with your virtual assistant? Depending on the project you’re working on, meetings can be held daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even annually.
Clear communication is essential for effective delegation. Ensure that instructions are detailed and concise, and that your virtual assistant understands the scope and goals of each task. Regular check-ins and updates help keep the communication lines open and the project on track.
Proper virtual assistant management is key to successful delegation. Establish expectations, provide the necessary resources, and offer constructive feedback to facilitate a smooth workflow and achieve optimal results. Remember, an invested and well-managed virtual assistant can significantly contribute to the growth and efficiency of your business.
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There are plenty of platforms that allow communication and remote collaboration with remote employees, two of our favorites are Slack and Zoom. Slack is a messaging and file-sharing tool that allows teams to create department-specific channels to organize communication through messaging. Zoom is a live video conferencing tool that allows you to have meetings with your team when you need to and have fewer distractions when you don’t. The combination of these two platforms allows you to create a working environment that mimics an actual office but with a more efficient workflow. By maintaining clear communication and setting distractions to a minimum, the team will be better optimized for productivity in their own remote workspace.
From our own experience and clients’ testimonies, no other platform has performed better in online work practices than Slack and Zoom. They were designed specifically to provide a team-oriented work culture that boosts productivity and organization, resulting in effective virtual assistant management and a more systemized workflow for a remote team.
When it comes to features, Slack simply outperforms the competition in every category. Flexibility is probably its key selling point, being the only platform to have the most number of compatible applications and websites for integration, which greatly aids in remote collaboration and virtual assistant management. Because of this, teams are able to implement automation in their system so they can focus on more important tasks and achieve clear communication.
File sharing? Not a problem! Slack allows the sharing of files while also guaranteeing security so that no one can take your ideas and strategy away from you. Unlike similar platforms, the storage limit on the free plan is 5GB. That may not seem like much, but that’s a lot of documents for a team working on a FREE subscription plan. Of course, a user is able to upgrade the plan based on the team’s needs featuring a Pro Plan, Business Plan, and Enterprise Grid Plan with 10GB, 20GB, and 1TB of file storage per user, respectively.
Zoom is a free video-conferencing tool for hosting and joining virtual meetings or strategy sessions. It is very easy to set up, and like Slack, you are also able to integrate it with Google Calendar. For an industry that values time and convenience, the goal will always be to identify easier and faster methods that achieve the same tasks. Depending on the priority level, some meetings are just better suited to be dealt with face-to-face, and Zoom is the perfect place for remote collaboration and clear communication.
The combination of hiring a virtual assistant, Slack, and Zoom allows your team to maximize their full potential without sacrificing cost. Virtual assistant management through these tools empowers your business to delegate tasks effectively and streamline operations. At the end of the day, every business owner aspires to scale their business, earn as much as possible, and remove themselves from their business. The best way to do that is through the use of virtual assistants for $4 – $8 an hour and utilizing virtual systems.
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