Tag: effective virtual assistance

Seamless Reporting: Possible Reasons Why Some Virtual Assistants Fail at It

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Freelancing or working remotely has become the foundation of a convenient job. There is no denying that one of the biggest reasons why people switch to gigs online due to their freedom to earn money without necessarily having to leave home. Even if you are in your pajamas, this is not an issue to your employer. All you have to do is ensure you submit the deliverables needed at the right time.

However, there are cases that some virtual assistants tend to let comfort take over them. As a result, they take advantage of skipping work whenever they want to. Simply imagine having the freedom to ask your client for leaves without the apprehension of seeing a displeased reaction. Even if your client says no, the intensity of pressure on you would not be as high when you are facing the person himself or herself. This should not be practiced as a virtual assistant.

Note that sick leaves are exceptions. You do not choose when to get ill and no one would ever want to suffer from health failure.

One possible factor that leads to some virtual assistants to leave for work without taking into consideration their clients’ businesses or pending tasks, to be specific, is having the thought that you, as an employee, is different from the ones in the office. This is totally wrong. You must remind yourself that your location is the only discrepancy. Act as someone that may require validation from your superiors. Do not simply work but challenge yourself to become a better member of the organization, as well.

Moreover, some VAs may often be not present at work if they stick to the idea that they will be able to find replacement work right away. Again, this is not right. There are more people becoming interested in online freelancing. In other words, the competition is getting tough. You do not want to get caught in this, do you? If you do not, treat your job as if it is the last you could find.

However, a virtual assistant’s absence may also stem out from the client’s side. There are VAs, who tend to lose interest with their job for they are being treated unfairly. For instance, they are often asked to carry out too many tasks in a very limited time. On the other hand, they may not find any enthusiasm to work for they are not being guided accordingly. Yes, this happens, such as when the client does not provide good training or offer a helping hand when the specifics of a task or project require clarifications.

From the given facts above, one thing is certain — virtual assistance is a two-way relationship. A virtual assistant should offer efficient service to a client (which should cover being present at all times, as much as possible, to cater to his or her routine and ad hoc tasks) and the latter should also nurture the employee.

Virtual Assistants Should Never Steer Away From Admitting Mistakes

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It is somehow embarrassing or should you say, unprofessional, when you make mistakes at work. This is nothing but natural, especially if you want to make the best out of your day. However, you should know that there is no person, who does not err. This is the same way with you being at work. There will be instances that suddenly, you will forget to e-mail a prospect or maybe, you may miss a deadline due to your negligence in taking notes of your projects.

Still, this is typical, and the most important thing is, you should not blame yourself. Aside from accepting what had happened, you should not be afraid of admitting mistakes. Did you know that clients prefer employees, who do not feel apprehension when it comes to stating the thing they have done incorrectly? For them, a person with such character is hinting his or her desire to learn. Apparently, mistakes are lessons.

Indeed, it is easier said than done, but why you should not try doing it going forward? You would soon see how your client will appreciate more of your honesty. This is due to the fact that at times, when you cover up your errors, a bigger problem will arise.

There is a good example for this. If you are assigned with a time-restricted project and due to your rushing, you did not read the requirements carefully that you forgot a certain document to deliver during the submission date. It is anticipated that your client may even voice out that you are indeed careless in this situation, but believe it or not, if you will admit your mistake and guarantee that this will not happen again, the tension will be reduced. Your client will see that you are not someone, who protects much of his or her professional image to the point of deceiving people around him or her.

Moreover, when you open up your mishaps with your employer, you would also give him or her indication that you can afford criticisms regarding your actions. From these criticisms, you could move forward with a better mindset in the said situation.

Additionally, if you will tell the truth rather than weasel your way out of the predicament, you and your colleagues or employer will find it easier to determine a solution. Remember, if there is a touch of falsehood with your statement, the analysis of the situation could go astray.

Did you know that you could also teach others with the mistakes you made? Yes, you could, especially now that they could also learn how to cope with it the way you did. Your transparency could also be contagious, that your colleagues will not be too prideful.

Remember, it is never a flaw to make a mistake, more so admitting it. You can never be a perfect employee unless you stumble once in a while.

Tardiness Is Never a Trait to Keep as a Virtual Assistant

Tardiness Is Never a Trait to Keep as a Virtual Assistant

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If you think flexibility is dominating the online or home-based work industry, then you should think again. Since then, clients have never considered remote workers different from office-based ones in terms of performance at work. In truth, there are even cases that they will expect more from you. Why? This is due to the fact that they are aware you are already conferred with convenience to work at home and near your family. Hence, an upraised commitment to your job is anticipated.

One of most important things to keep in mind as a virtual assistant is to practice abiding by the schedule your client has set. Indeed, there will be cases that your tasks are not provided yet, but this is not a reason for you to report late.

Your client or employer is observing you, no matter how silent he or she can be in terms of those aspects. Show your professionalism even if you are at home and working. In such way, your client will consider your ethics praiseworthy, which could end in a stable work for you. Who would not want to work with someone who does not neglect following even the simplest instruction as arriving on time?

According to others, they have this sickness that keeps them from arriving early or reporting on time. You should know that there is no such thing as that. In contrary, what you are experiencing is a result of voluntarily letting yourself get used to the unprofessional habit.

If you are aiming to make a change, then you should start resetting your work-related habits. One good way is to avoid setting appointments near your scheduled reporting time; as much as possible, clear an hour or so prior to your work.

On the other hand, you should also try setting alarms or reminders, particularly on your mobile phone (which you often hold) to keep tabs of your reporting time. This is helpful if you have more than one gig or freelance work.

If you are a night owl and your work schedule makes you snooze involuntarily prior to your reporting time, you should then find sufficient time to slumber during the day. In such way, your body will be able to control its urges to take a rest in the evening. It may be difficult for the first few days, but your system will get a hang of your new sleeping pattern.

Lastly, you should have a psychological motivation – keeping your client or employer satisfied with your performance and eventually, maintaining your professional standing. Be reminded that your reputation as a virtual assistant is also at stake here. Do not ruin it by a habit that can be corrected easily if you only decide to.

It is not too late to make a shift. Remember, it is your choice when it comes to your overall work performance. You choose to be late, to be a not-so-dependable virtual assistant, and to be someone who cannot follow a simple instruction. Yet, you can choose to be the contrary of everything that was mentioned.

Patience Is a Key to Establishing Good Client Relationship

Patience Is a Key to Establishing Good Client Relationship

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As a virtual assistant, it is understood that you will come across various types of clients during your home-based career. There will be ones, who you can describe as the best people to work with. However, there will be cases that you would describe your client as exacting or someone that gives you much pressure with regards to work.

Moreover, there will be ones that are very new to virtual assistance. As a result, they commit mistakes that will test your patience expectedly. Indeed, even virtual assistants have to cope with a client’s shortcoming.

One good example is when a client is not aware that he or she cannot simply call or reach out to you whenever he or she pleases. Lots of virtual assistants could attest that this somehow happened to them one way or the other. Nonetheless, you should remember that it is all about speaking up. There is no disrespect if you want to put a boundary between your personal and professional space. If there is an established schedule for you, then you do not have to worry at all, given you can simply state to your client that you are only available during those times.

Another good instance is when a client thinks he or she does not have to elaborate things for the tasks to be done. There will be ones, who would expect a lot relative to your output without even considering the need to explain what they really need. This is common in graphic design projects. Still, as a virtual assistant, patience is a virtue in this situation.

Once again, it is all about voicing out your concern. Prior to starting your work, you should complete your requirements. Otherwise, it will be your peril provided that you are at risk of repeating your work or making mistakes. If you are paid by the hour, you would never want this to transpire.

Speak up by explicating that your viewpoint will not meet his or hers if some parts of the project are explained vaguely. It will also be a problem for your client if repetitive work will arise; to be specific, missing deadline is highly probable to happen.

If you will analyze the aforementioned situations, you could practice patience by working your way to establishing a good communication ground between you and your client. As noted, you should not lose faith in settling things out. It is your loss if you will simply leave your job or project, more so your client, due to such instances. Everyone makes mistakes and there will be misunderstandings if one is new to something.

Start making forbearance a part of you, and you will definitely sustain harmonious relationships with your clients or employers.

never miss a deadline anymore with these simple tips

Never Miss a Deadline Anymore With These Simple Tips

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Deadlines are always present. Sometimes, it can be daunting if a big project is concerned, while at times, it could be disregarded easily. Why? This is due to the fact you do not even notice that you are facing a deadline since the task concerned is small. An e-mail that has to be sent within the day is already subjected to a deadline.

There are many reasons why you could have missed a deadline. As a virtual assistant, you tend to take care of a handful of tasks simultaneously. This results to you making poor decisions on which activity to prioritize. Another reason could be incomplete instructions, leading to incorrect output. Thus, you have to repeat the work.

Of course, the ever common reason for missing a deadline is lacking reminders. Virtual assistants may be known to be organized and well-versed in calendar management, but they are not resistant to mistakes. Thus, they could also be overwhelmed with work on hand, giving them the reason to plan things out poorly for themselves.

If you are a virtual assistant, there are so many ways (which are totally simple), that could keep you from missing a deadline aside from the conventional planning of your daily routine. Here are a few that could help:

Use your calendar. This is a pretty simple solution. Your calendar could be anywhere – your PC or laptop, your e-mail server, or even your smartphone. Use any of them or even all of those calendar applications you got to schedule whatever has to be done within a day or for the entire week. Set the notifications not only through pop-ups (which are easy to miss), but activate the e-mail reminders as well.

Task list may not be that friendly for a forgetful person. Yes, there could be task list feature on your calendar applications, but it will not be that useful all along. Scheduling your tasks with date and time is best done if you do not want to miss anything. Task list requires you to check a certain activity that is not done or the contrary every now and then. This will only take much of your time.

Sticky notes are still powerful. “Medieval” as it may seem, but sticky notes could still be helpful for you to keep deadlines met. The sticky notes pertained here are not the ones on your PC, but the papers itself. You can use these to keep yourself posted on what to do next. Put them near your eyesight or on your computer monitor.

Set those alarms. There will be days that you will not know what should be done next due to the influx of things to accomplish. This is when you will likely obliterate that even your calendar reminders would not be noticeable on your end, causing you to overlook them. Alarms are not simply deterrents to missed deadlines but wake-up calls as well, especially if you are on a night shift work. In truth, due to fatigue, one could easily snooze when working.

Keep double-checking a habit. If you do not want to repeat your work, double-check it. You should not rush into submitting an output unless you are certain there are no errors. There may be cases that you would still commit a mistake, but checking your work more than once will make it minimal and easy to rectify.

By following the mentioned tips, you would now have a better reason to become better at work. You do not have to attend a performance training to get the hang of your work without missing a deadline. Most of the time, it is about disciplining yourself using the resources available, such as what has been explained above.