07 Dec Is your New Year’s Resolution to hire a Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA) – what now?
The New Year is fast approaching and we can begin to put 2021 behind us… a time for reflection, a time for New Year’s Resolutions. Is your New Year’s Resolution to hire a Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA) – what now?
Recognizing you need a VEA is a huge step towards the success of your business and your mental well-being. Once you have brought an VEA on board – then what? In order to have the most productive, successful relationship with your VEA, the one crucial component is TRAINING!
While VEAs may have experience with the specific software platforms you use, you will still need to provide training in your processes and preferences in using these tools. Training is the crucial component to having a successful relationship with your VEA.
Your VEA most likely has many talents and gone through basic levels of training, but each business is unique. It is up to the business owner to take the time necessary to ensure that your VEA is equipped to not only take over the tasks you are delegating to them, but that they will be able to do them as well as you do or perhaps, even better than you can.
WHY IS TRAINING CRUCIAL? Training someone takes a lot of time and effort. If you have or are planning on hiring a VEA, the odds are that you have precious little time already. However, look at it as an investment. By investing your time in ensuring that you have trained your VEA well, you set them up for success, and in turn, your business benefits too. Once you have gone through lengths to ensure that your VEA not only understands how your business works but also their place in it, you will both benefit in the long run.
Training also builds trust by establishing rapport and developing that relationship between you and your VEA. They need to learn:
- How to send meeting invitations and confirmations
- Times of day you like to schedule distinct types of meetings;
- How long meetings should last
- How much buffer time you want between meetings
- Priority contacts for email and phone responses
- Your preferred response times for communications
- All your travel preferences
- Training takes time and patience, but the results you will get if you genuinely take the time to train your VEA will be invaluable.
Training should not only be a priority when they start working with you but should continue, especially as you grow your business.
Always remember, you hired an VEA for a reason. Taking the time to train them will allow you to focus on your revenue-producing activities and grow your business. By giving your VEA the time and guidance they need to fully understand the inner workings of your business, you are empowering them to provide value to you and your business. You are also empowering yourself to be confident that they can do the job well so you can focus on the things you need to do. Visit AnnAlbrechtConsulting.com to learn how we can help you get hours back in your workday.