The difference between a virtual assistant who transforms your operations and one who struggles usually comes down to preparation. A little structure up front. And a few good habits along the way. Sets your VA up to win from day one. Here’s the checklist we share with every new client, plus the ongoing tips that keep the partnership running smoothly.
VA Go-Live Checklist. Items to Prepare Before Your VA Starts
- Department point people. We need each department point person that your VAs will be reporting to for the tasks they’ll be doing. For example, if they are doing reception, we need a clear person that the VAs can go to for questions. Please provide this contact info.
- A primary point person. This is who TKO leadership will reach out to for billing and any issues that come up.
- Phone numbers. If you are going to create phone numbers for our VAs, we need those created before we start so we can be off and running. If we are going to supply phone lines, we need to know this prior to the go-live date.
- A shared VA email. Your team should create a VA email for the entire VA team. We recommend VA@yourfirm.com, or something similar. Depending on the tasks being accomplished, you will need at minimum one email created.
- System access. If the VAs will be using your systems, we need proper access to any logins necessary for the tasks at hand.
- A dedicated “your process” training. For go-live, we will need a dedicated training with the VAs on your specific process. Every organization is different. In order for the VAs to do the job right, they need training on YOUR organization’s patterns, practices, and procedures. Their success depends on doing things the way you like them done. This training is critical.
Ongoing Tips for VA Success
- Answer questions when asked. This may sound simple, but if you do not answer VA questions, they will struggle. They want to satisfy your needs but can only do so if they know what those needs are. If your team doesn’t answer their questions and expects the VAs to “figure it out,” they will fail.
- Master one task at a time. If you throw four or five tasks at one VA all at once, they will underperform across all of them. They need to master one process at a time; if they are overwhelmed, they will fail in the long run.
- Give clear directions. Meet with the staff, show them how to do something, do it once with them watching, let them record the session, then ask if they have questions. That’s a recipe for success. If you say “go do this thing” without showing them how, they won’t do it right and you’ll be disappointed.
- Own training for brand-new tasks. If you are teaching a task TKO has not done before, the training will come from your side. VAs succeed at new tasks when the time is dedicated up front by the organization. Until our team fully masters the needs of a new task, we won’t be able to oversee its success.
- Raise issues with us ASAP. If a VA is not following directions, doesn’t show up to work, or is a bad apple, let us know with detail. We try hard to weed these people out during recruitment, but it does happen. We’ll raise the issues with the VA and tell you whether we think they can be fixed. If you’ve simply had enough, you can let the VA go and we’ll replace them ASAP.
- Don’t overload one VA. We suggest an assembly-line approach. One VA on as few tasks as possible is the best recipe for success. If you want more tasks accomplished, consider adding VAs for the additional work so the existing tasks don’t suffer.
Ready to get started?
We’d love to connect with you to discuss your virtual assistant needs and build a go-live plan that fits your business.