So you’ve found a virtual assistant that you want to work with. The next part of the process is to make sure that you’re onboarding them in the best way possible so they can get to work with no problems.
As a business owner, you want to make onboarding virtual assistants as smooth as possible. If you’re hiring a VA for the first time, we prepared a checklist that you can copy-paste to give your new team members an awesome first day!
Five Key Areas
Our new virtual assistant onboarding checklist will help you prepare in five key areas:
1. Company Overview
You might have discussed the company in the interview, but take the moment to give your virtual assistant a formal introduction. Talk about your company’s background, its mission, values, and objectives. This is also the time to talk about company policies and SOPs. At the same time, present your organizational structure so they can start familiarizing themselves with their new colleagues.
2. Tools and Software Access
Virtual assistants work 100% remote, so it’s crucial to have their tools and software prepared before their first day. These items include:
- Company email
- Password sharing software – we don’t recommend storing passwords in a document or spreadsheet as they may easily be shared, and you have no way of knowing who has access to your files
- Meeting and chat software
- Project management software
- Time tracking software (if applicable)
Take care of these before your VA’s first day. It will save you a couple of hours and your virtual assistant will thank you for it!
3. Expectation Setting
If you’re able to handle logistics i.e., tools and software firsthand, then the first real interaction that you’ll have with your new VA is through an expectation setting meeting. Projects become successful when there are clear cut expectations between the manager and the employee. So never skip this part of the process.
Here are the key points that you need to discuss during your expectation setting meeting:
- What are the KPIs and how do you measure them?
- What are the expected deliverables in the project?
- Who should they report to?
- Who are they collaborating with?
- Are there required working hours?
- Are there recurring meetings?
At the same time, take the opportunity to ask about their own expectations from the company. This will help you inform of their potential needs and growth opportunities.
Read more: 3 Things You Should Know When Hiring a Virtual Assistant
4. Documentation
Part of onboarding virtual assistants is providing relevant documentation to your new virtual assistant. This gives them the opportunity to study independently, and it also saves you time from hand-holding the VAs as they get their bearings in your company.
Some documentations that you need to prepare are:
- Internal processes and SOPs
- Past recorded trainings
- 3rd party courses
- Old tasks being transitioned
- New projects on the pipeline
- List of priority projects.
If you don’t have any documentation at the moment, then make sure to let your virtual assistant know. They have strong documentation skills and they can help you out in this area. Also, make sure to provide the right point of contact for the documentation so that the VA will know who to reach out to if they need more context.
5. Start of Work
Now the prep work is done and it’s time to get to work! If you’ve taken the time to prepare and onboard your VA, this part would be smooth. And if they’re good, don’t require you to be over their shoulders and can work independently. But at the start of the project, it’s good to watch out for:
- Setting and meeting deadlines (weekly or daily)
- Quality control and assurance
- Updates and check-ins
- Providing consistent feedback
It’s during this time where you really get to see if your new team member is a good fit for your business. If you’re looking for tasks to give, check the High-Impact Tasks To Outsource To A Virtual Assistant infographic!
Successful Projects Starts With an Awesome Onboarding Experience
The onboarding process seems to be a lot of work at first, but when done right, it sets your virtual assistants for success and saves time and money for your organization. Grab the image below and use the checklist for your business!
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<p><strong>Please include attribution to getmagic.com with this graphic.</strong><br /><br /><a href='http://blog.getmagic.com/onboarding-checklist-virtual-assistants/'><img src='http://blog.getmagic.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Virtual-Assistant-Onboarding-Process-Checklist-4.png' alt='onboarding process checklist for virtual assistants' 540px border='0' /></a></p>
