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QUALITY CONTROL IN BAD TIMES

Some business managers are hesitant about using a virtual assistant because they don’t know how they’ll extricate themselves from the relationship if things go bad. But know this: you can protect yourself if a virtual assistant disappoints. In Chapter 4, we talked about setting up a VA contract. But there are other systems you can put in place to prevent human disaster and remove yourself from a soured business relationship.

HIRING MISTAKES

In your effort to begin outsourcing, you may be so overwhelmed and ready to delegate that you skip steps or gloss over important details during the hiring phase. It’s a lot easier to do things right from the get-go than it is to go back and fix them later. Take your time.

She’s Really Nice

One tempting mistake is to hire someone because you like him or her. Of course it’s important to like your VA, but that isn’t the reason you hire. Hire the most qualified person for the job, and build from there. Hiring someone for any other reason only sets you up for disappointment and sets up the employee to fail.

Dump and Run

This can happen to anyone. You’re so anxious to get things off your plate, you just hand off a task without fully explaining it. You’re busy, you don’t have time. Then when the task is done wrong, you’re upset. The person you’ve outsourced to might be skilled, but he won’t have the chance to show you because he’s not sure how to perform the task to your liking due to a lack of information.

Type A personalities are notorious for this unfair practice. They’re stressed to the max to begin with, so when they get overwhelmed, they dump and run. Their providers are left in a quandary.

Expectations

Working with VAs can be such a great experience that you come to depend on them. One thing to keep top of mind when working with VAs: you’re not the center of their universe. It’s easy to forget they have other clients, unless, of course, you hire them full-time. Spontaneous tasks may be doable, but in some cases, they won’t be. In order to be successful, VAs maintain a tight schedule with preestablished deadlines. Your VA might be in the middle of a project for another client when your “emergency” comes up, and she may not be able to drop everything and handle your crisis. Grant the same courtesy to other businesspeople as you would want them to grant you. Respect your VA’s boundaries, and try not to get your feelings hurt if you can’t get what you want exactly when you want it.

It’s important to make sure expectations are understood by everyone on the project team. Be sure the people you delegate to understand what’s expected, and that includes when the work is to be delivered. Such criteria should be set before the project begins, not halfway through.

Whether or not expectations are met, it’s important to give feedback, especially as you and those you outsource to learn to work together. Just as more negative reviews are given for restaurant experiences than positive reviews, it’s easy to fall into the trap of focusing on what’s not working with your VA rather than what is. It’s not always intentional. Positive experiences are oftentimes taken for granted, while feedback on shortcomings is handed out by the bucketful.

Avoid misunderstandings by making sure expectations are clear at the beginning of your relationship or at the onset of a project. When giving feedback, be sure to include what you liked along with details about things you’d like changed. This gives people a better understanding of what is expected so they can work toward doing things to your liking. As they learn to give you what you want the way you like it, it’ll also save time on future projects.

Your Backup Plan

Even when expectations are clear, until you’ve outsourced a task or project, you won’t know how a new person will work out. It’s better to leave yourself an out. What’s the worst that could happen? Plan ahead. The last thing you want to do is expect project completion on the same day the project is due to your client. You shouldn’t even expect this from yourself. Life happens. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

When outsourcing a task, allow a cushion in case the work needs to be redone. You can decide whether to give the person you’ve outsourced to another chance or to look for someone else. Either way, build extra time into the schedule and refer to your backup plan. In some cases, that may be you.

Performance Reviews and Deadlines

Scheduling performance reviews and deadlines before the start of a project sets up the entire team for success. People perform better when they understand parameters, and as far as the deadline goes, it offers perspective. Even when directions are given and expectations made clear, people think differently, and it’s good to know if you and the person(s) you outsource a project to are on the same page.

You may find the person you’ve outsourced a task to is moving in a slightly different direction than you’d planned. It’s a good idea to check in during specific stages and request any necessary revisions as the project progresses. Projects can fail if there is a lack of communication between you and those you outsource to. You can avoid this in most cases by setting up checkpoints as you go along. Setting up these checkpoints before the project gets under way will allow both you and the person you outsource to peace of mind, knowing that resolution is possible during the process instead of upon completion. Revisions are much easier to make during the project, including revisions to completion dates and budgets.

In a worst case scenario, scheduled performance reviews will allow you to cancel a project if you feel that the service provider is not working out. Make sure you discuss this before you begin so there’s no confusion.

Timelines

When you outsource a project, unless it’s an ongoing service, most of the time you’ll have a time frame and completion date in mind. Discuss this in advance with your VA in order to avoid mistakes and setbacks. Not only will a timeline be beneficial to you, but your service provider needs direction in setting aside the appropriate amount of time to complete the project. These details along with scheduled reviews should also be in writing.

Before you even decide to hire a VA, understand this: as you learn to work together, mistakes are going to be made, and disagreements may surface. Anticipate that these things will sometimes happen and you’ll find it easier to deal with them as they come up. Expect perfection the first time, and you may be disappointed. Remain professional, and expect the same from your VA. Interview properly, test and focus on training, and you’ll learn to love letting go.

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