Series: Client resource – Empowering you to succeed Part 3
Part 3: Getting back on track and staying there
Member Blog Feature by Corne of Virtually Centred Solutions
As we are heading towards the middle of the 3rd quarter of 2018 tension in the workplace and stress is taking its toll. It’s not only business owners, high-level managers and employees feeling the burden of stress wearing them down. Even VA’s fall into that trap! You don’t have to take my word for it. A little research on your part on social media platforms will provide you with more than enough evidence. There are millions of people worldwide nearing burnout or plummeting into its clutches at this very moment.
In this last edition of my 3 Part blog-series: Empowering you to succeed, I am going to help you get back on track with your goals for 2018 (and stay there).
We all know that there are more often than not times when our resources are limited and our days have way less hours than we need to get all the work done. There are times when not even having the outstanding support of a VA could make a dent in everything that needs to be finalised in your office.
What do you do when your business hits a growth curve or you and your current VA realise you’re not getting through all the work? Sometimes we have to realise and acknowledge that no amount of planning, preparation or perseverance is going to make the cut. If your to-do list was neglected for too long and you find yourself knee deep in a SARS audit to boot, there’s only one logical thing to do…
Call in the reinforcements!!
“If the plan doesn’t work change the plan – never the goal! – Unknown”
The telltale signs it’s time to call in reinforcements
You are frustrated because your to-do list is not shrinking, even with a full-day VA on your team. So now you’re wondering if your VA is even doing what you pay her for. If you are realistic and give it some thought though and you look at the detailed time reports and feedback you receive from her on her tasks and projects, you know her outstanding support is worth every cent of the investment you made.
It just reached a point where one VA is not enough. To be honest, it’s not fair of you, in any case, to expect your VA to suddenly handle a lot of tasks that she might not be comfortable doing. Discuss it first so you can reach a mutual agreement regarding changes to the scope of work she does for you. Just because she’s offering you her support on a full-day retainer package doesn’t mean anything and everything goes. Remember she’s not an employee – so don’t treat her like one!
Concluding what we’ve learned over the past few weeks
Over the past few weeks, we started by establishing procedures & processes. We learned that communication and setting clear standards is paramount to success. You learned of four things you could do to prepare for working with a VA to save you time and frustration when starting out. One of the most important things we discussed, however, was managing expectations and learning to compromise.
Virtual assistance is a big learning curve for a lot of people out there in the ‘real’ world. We all start out as a virtual-newbie at one time or another, whether your the client or the VA. Here’s the thing, we’ve got absolutely no excuse to stay ill-informed or struggling. There are so many wonderful resources, apps, software & blogs out there – we just have to be open-minded and use it for our benefit!
I hope you enjoyed sharing this journey with me, I sure loved sharing it with you!
Need advise? Contact me I’d love to help!
For more on Corne and how her business Virtually Centred Solutions can assist you, please do visit our members page.