Efficient Outsourcing: How Hiring the Right Virtual Assistant Eliminates the Need for Delegation

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An unspoken problem with delegation is the lack of ownership by the VA. You can’t hire the right VA whom you want to own their work and also delegate at the same time. The constant shifting of authority that takes place in the delegation process will always bounce the ball back into your court.?

Efficient Outsourcing: How Hiring the Right Virtual Assistant Eliminates the Need for Delegation

Not all outsourcing is created equal. If you struggle with delegation even if you hire a virtual assistant, you haven't solved your efficiency problem. Worse, you might have just created an inefficiency problem.

One of the most common questions I hear from clients is, “I’m not sure what to delegate.” Clients and VAs alike are surprised when I share that I don’t believe in delegating for two reasons.

1. Delegating creates more work for the client and drains their energy which is their real source of productivity.
2. A true assistant, whether human or AI, should have the ability to anticipate your needs. A true VA does not create more work for you by sitting around waiting to be told what to do, creating an inefficiency problem. Within the VA industry, we refer to those types of individuals as task-takers.?

Hiring the right VA means hiring a VA who is efficient in their processes and systems, as well as their ability to protect your time and energy at all costs.

Clients don’t have to learn how to delegate or create to-do lists for the right VA. A client creating a to-do list for their VA is the tail wagging the dog. It's completely inefficient and a waste of your time and energy.

Instead of wasting your time and energy inefficiently by delegating, communicate your expectations. Expectations are more impactful than to-do lists because they include more than just the task. Expectations provide context that a to-do list is not capable of. Furthermore, it makes the to-do list outcome-orientated. A to-do list is not inherently outcome-orientated. It is a done is better than perfect list without expectations of what the outcome should be.

When you write the correct job description - one that attracts the right VA and deters the wrong VA - you'll have listed the duties you plan to assign to the VA. It will not and cannot be an all-encompassing list. As your business evolves and grows so will the VA's duties. All the more reason to hire the right VA. You don't know what the future duties will be, but when you hire the right VA they will have the ability to anticipate your needs and make the necessary adjustments to stay efficient in the future.

The right VA is incentivized by their own core values to keep you as a satisfied client. The right VA takes pride in their work and ability to efficiently anticipate your needs now and in the future.

An unspoken problem with delegation is the lack of ownership by the VA. You can’t hire the right VA whom you want to own their work and also delegate at the same time. The constant shifting of authority that takes place in the delegation process will always bounce the ball back into your court.?

The added benefit of hiring the right VA and eliminating delegation is hiring a VA who owns their work which creates a more efficient working relationship by design. A VA who owns their work stands by it and ensures that nothing is falling through the cracks.

If you want to run an efficient business then you must hire the right VA.

Being An Efficient VA

You can't be an efficient VA unless you're anticipating the client’s needs.

The first step in the process of working with a client is to get past the delegation phase. If the client speaks with you and doesn’t feel like you can anticipate their needs, there comes a lack of desire to work with you simply because you are creating more work for them. Work that could be done by them with less energy than delegating to you.

It doesn’t matter how great you are or that you’ve been doing this for years. You must put yourself in the client's shoes and show you can anticipate their needs.?

Bonus Tip: Anticipating the client’s needs does not mean you need to finish the client’s sentences. The fastest way to lose a potential client is by putting words in their mouths.?

When sharing your services, emphasize the details of the work that show you anticipate your client's needs. Share how you achieve the desired expectation. Potential clients should be able to imagine how much easier their lives would be if they hired you and didn't have to delegate the details.

For instance, if your clients need someone who can prepare and support board meetings you might describe your services strategically like this;

Board Meeting Execution?

• Board meetings are seamlessly scheduled through coordinated effort and meticulous follow-through
• Agendas prepared well in advance and sent to all necessary parties
• Professional and polished presentation (PPT/Google Slides) creation
• Detailed communication with participants confirming attendance, materials received, and correct links/telephone numbers provided
• Record minutes, capture action items, communicate feedback and follow-up questions to appropriate personnel, and manage action plans of assigned board members
• Prepare and send weekly, monthly, and quarterly updates to board members including visual graphics to provide an eagle-eye status review

As opposed to this:

Board Meeting Duties

• Create board meetings
• Schedule board meetings
• Prepare board agendas
• Take meeting minutes
• Prepare and send updates

If you were a client would you want to hire a VA who simply says they know how to support board meetings? Or do you believe the more efficient strategy would be to hire the right VA who has already anticipated your board meeting needs and shared what you are trying to hire for so they don’t have to delegate the duties to you?

Be the right VA who is efficient, anticipates, and thoughtfully expresses the client’s needs.

Whether you're seeking to hire the right VA or want to be the right VA, I'm here to assist. Book a consultation to get started. ===>>>https://go.oncehub.com/thepva

Melissa Smith is the Founder of The PVA , a firm that matches clients with the right virtual assistants. She is also the best-selling author of two books, Hire the Right Virtual Assistant and Become a Successful Virtual Assistant .

Melissa has been featured by ABC, NBC, CBS, Entrepreneur, Forbes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. News & World Report. Most recently Melissa was named Top Virtual Assistant Consultant of the Year, a Top 10 Most Inspiring Woman in Business 2022, one of the top 100 Dynamic Leaders, and a trailblazing female entrepreneur to watch in 2021.