Virtual assistants can be a blessing to your business and boost productivity immensely. They can free you up from tedious tasks such as data entry, bookkeeping or updating contact lists at a cost that won't break the bank. VA's can be hired from numerous sources such as Upwork, specialty firms or even Fiverr. Here are a few tips to help you train your VA and develop a fruitful working relationship.

Provide Clear Direction

Giving clear and concise directions is of the utmost importance if you want the best results from your VA. Processes and workflows should be documented on a spreadsheet that can be easily shared with your workers. Google Drive is excellent for this purpose and free. Having a written process is imperative because it will allow you to easily train a new worker to perform the same tasks if needed.

One of the most effective ways to train your virtual assistant is to record yourself doing the very same task with capturing software like Jing or Screencast for Mac. These will allow you to record verbal instructions to go along with the visual.

For example, if you have a website and want to upload a large number of pages with detailed hosting reviews such as this, you will want to record yourself actually logging into Wordpress, creating a new post and formatting the content step by step. You'll have to include how you like the headings to be set up, how to actually form the CTA buttons, format the key features on the right hand column and how to upload images if applicable. Your VA should be then able to follow the steps when uploading future content.

Fine Tune Your Process

Your workflow should have as few steps and be as refined as possible. Having fewer steps means that your VA will be able to perform the task more efficiently while minimizing the number of errors. Your process may have more steps when you first start delegating tasks but you should be able to make it more efficient after some growing pains. Eliminate any steps that aren't completely necessary as these only add administrative work. Fine tuning your process is also a must if you plan on scaling your business or hiring other VA's such as perhaps a project manager to see everyone. Set up an account at Trello or Basecamp, which will allow you to delegate tasks to specific individuals and view the status of various tasks and projects. 

Set Expectations Clearly

One of the first ways to set your expectations clear is by writing a detailed job description that outlines exactly what your VA will be doing. Be very specific and void generalities; for example "editing content using Divi" is a lot more in-depth than "website help". Do you expect your VA's to work during a specific time zone? How soon do you expect a reply to an e-mail or Skype call? Making your expectations clear in terms of communcations and deadlines will prevent miscommunication problems. If you have certain quotas to meet let your VA know. Ideally, your expectations should be in writing and provided to your worker in order to facilitate a productive working relationship.

Have Empathy

Treat your virtual assistants the same as you would a regular employee and have empathy for their situation. Let's face it, performing a menial task such as copying and pasting or searching for e-mails all day long can be tedious. Keep your VA's motivated by giving them praise and perhaps even bonuses or raises if applicable. The best working relationships with a VA generally take time and effort to build.