How to get the best out of your Task Officer (Virtual Assistant)

“We acknowledge the payment sent by you. Your services will start within the next 48 hours. Thank You for your business”

That’s the final email you receive from the Billing Department at Task Papa. And this last email from billing becomes the first email for Operations Department’s execution. As per our work process, we get your assigned Task Officer ready along with the Team Manager who will be your first-party contact in case of feedback and suggestions. Client ready, VA ready – execution begins, services served with 100% of commitment towards GUARANTEED RESULTS.

Now a small twist – What if you don’t find our client ready with his tasks list?

OK. We understand that they want few days to design the task and that is surely acceptable however the case here is completely different.

At times, the client forgets to get the best out of VA. They forget to utilize the VA at best and the outcomes, though positive, could have been much better.

We decided to blog this out and share the best VA management tips from our experienced and tenured clients.

Remember – Be it a VA or not but getting the best out of the product/service for what you pay is the best and complete utilization of money. Your hard-earned money.

1. Prepare a Task List in advance:

This is and will always be on the priority list. Removing few minutes from your busy schedule weekly will keep your assistant busy throughout the week. You don’t have to write details about each and everything you note down. Just keep it simple and in bullet points. You can share the details with your assistant on chat or call when you want them to work on the assignment. The option to write everything in detail is only preferred when you know that you won’t be able to communicate with your assistant during your working hours. Prepare a list to remember everything that you want your assistant to do. Be it – cleaning your email, online shopping list, fixing appointments with the dentist, calling clients for schedules or simply taking care of your schedule – write down everything.

2. Communicate once a day with your assistant:

Communicate daily – at least once a day through email/chat. This doesn’t have to be a lengthy email. Keep it small and to the point asking for DAR – Daily Activity Report. This will help you to categorize the schedule for the next day. You know what has been accomplished so far and what needs to be done the next day. Next day – Be clear on what you want and be precise. No use in wasting time explaining the same thing again and again. Communication will bring your assistant on autopilot mode when it is related to your assignment. They will know what you want and will be proactive during your absence to get the work done in the right manner.

3. Ask your assistant to send the hours tracker:

This is something that Task Papa follows religiously. Keeping a track of tasks done on an hourly basis and sending the same to the clients every Friday is mandatory. Ask for the hourly report from your assistants. Keeping your assistant occupied will give them great mental exercise along with a challenge to accomplish a goal on time. The main benefits of doing this are – (a) You will know what task will take how much amount of time to be accomplished. This in return will help you to design and maintain the hours for your VA in an organized way. (b) This will keep your VA’s on toes :-p. Remember you are paying for every hour.

We suggest to our clients to follow the mentioned points to get the best out of your assistant. It’s important to utilize the investment that you have made in the right way.

[Some of the inputs in this blog are from our current and tenured clients – Jeffery, Mike, Josh, Sushil, and Trevor. We are using their name and strategies with permission.]