From scheduling meetings to managing social media, there are numerous tasks your virtual assistant can take on to relieve some of your stress. Hiring a VA means you won’t have to waste time on administration and will be able to focus on what’s important – searching for clients and expanding your business.
All you have to do is find the right candidate and hire them. Sounds simple, right?
Well, even if you have an impeccable hiring process (you can find some tips on that right here!), hiring a new worker means that they will have to go through onboarding and training before they actually become a productive part of your team.
In fact, studies have shown that it takes around 8 months for a new employee to reach full productivity. That’s why onboarding a new virtual assistant is very important – and we’ve gathered some tips to help you improve your process. Read on.
Introduce Them To The Company
During the hiring process, every candidate learns some general info about the company they’re interviewing for.
Once you hire a person, it’s important to teach them more. Onboarding a new virtual assistant means that you need to introduce them to your company culture, policies and values, and make sure they understand what your goals are. This will motivate them and build their loyalty towards your company.
The more they know about the company, the more they’ll feel passionate about their new role.
You should also introduce your new worker to the rest of your team as soon as possible.
It’s best to organize a video chat where your employees can meet face-to-face and get to know each other. There’s nothing better than planning some virtual water cooler activities to help your team get to know their new co-worker – and with the holidays coming up, you may even consider throwing a virtual holiday party!
Give Them Access
Since virtual assistants work 100% remotely, it’s important to give them access to all the tools and platforms right away.
Think of the following things:
- Communication with the rest of the team
- Project management tool
- Company e-mail (if you have one)
- Password-sharing software like LastPass
- Any other tools they’ll need to do their tasks (now or in the future)
The last thing you would want is for your assistant to waste time on their first day because they don’t have access to an important document or don’t know how to contact a team member.
If you provide access to all these tools right away, you’ll avoid delays that may hold back the entire team, especially if they work from different time zones!
Provide Instructions
Onboarding a new virtual assistant requires some time and effort. They are among the most versatile workers since their responsibilities vary depending on the tasks you want to delegate.
If they’re not that experienced, or if they had previously worked in a different industry, they may not be familiar with the specific standards of your field.
That’s why you need to take time to instruct them on how your business operates.
For general things that every new worker needs to know, it’s best to create an SOP that you can keep and use in the future.
This way, you’ll make sure all your workers have the same info and you won’t have to go through the process of writing long messages on Slack every time you hire a new employee.
You can also create video tutorials in which you’ll do the tasks yourself and explain what you’re doing as you go along.
Your VA may not need step-by-step instructions, but it’s always better to give more instructions than not enough. This way, they’ll be able to see the entire process and look back if they have any questions.
Give Feedback
Feedback is extremely important during the onboarding process.
Have regular calls with your virtual assistant to make sure everything is going smoothly and give them a chance to ask questions.
Don’t be afraid of giving them tips – if you avoid providing constructive criticism, your new employee will simply assume they’re doing everything right.
That’s why it’s important to set clear expectations and correct every mistake early on.
However, don’t focus on the negative sides. Always acknowledge their hard work and make sure your new worker feels appreciated. This will give them a huge boost in morale and motivation!
These tips will help you get off to a good start and build a successful working relationship with your virtual assistant. A good onboarding process will also help you improve your retention and create a happy and productive team.
In case you need to hire a Virtual Assistant, or you need a Developer, a Designer, a Project Manager, or any other remote employee, we have thousands of highly talented remote workers right here at JobRack. Click here to find out more.
