Outsourcing - Managing Labor (3 of 4)
Once you find a good virtual assistant to work with, you need a way to efficiently manage their tasks. The easier your can communicate processes and delegate specific tasks, the less painful the experience will be for all involved. This post will cover some ideas to consider when setting up an system to manage your virtual employees, as well as some resources to look at when building a virtual workspace.Defined Processes
In order for virtual outsourcing to be efficient, you need to invest the time to document and define you processes. This becomes critically important when using labor that is on the lower end of the pay spectrum. Take for example that you just acquired a website and would like it optimized. You are going to have a difficult time if you just fire up AIM and tell your VA “Go ahead and optimize this website.” First off, what does optimize really mean? Additionally their idea of optimization may be radically different than yours and eight hours later you could find that their “optimization” plan is headed in the wrong direction. This strategy will result in frustration and wasted resources.
The solution is to provide your workers with detailed processes for each task that is delegated to them. The more detailed you make them, the less questions you will get down the road. By doing so, there will be two major advantages. First, following instructions is MUCH easier than reinventing the procedure. You will know exactly what has been done. Secondly, it will give you a way to measure their efficiency. You can require them to track the time taken to complete each task, and can them measure that against your expectations. The “optimize this website” request now becomes a list of 35 detailed tasks with a time expectation of 8 hours to complete. This gives both parties detailed expectations of the work involved and the time required.
Virtual Workspaces
To properly leverage the time invested in documenting your processes, you need a way to administer and track the tasks after they have been delegated. This calls for setting up a virtual workspace for you and your employees to work within. A decent virtual workspace has the ability to track projects, tasks, upload and share files, monitor time, and allow for commenting. There are many applications available; here are some recommendations:
- Basecamp (pay)
- HyperOffice (pay)
- Open For Business (free)
- Opensource Platforms (a list of other free applications)
BaseCamp is a great platform and I would recommend it to anyone interested in exploring virtual environments. There are MANY other platforms available and that is something I will explore in another post in detail. Pay sites tend to more polished and externally hosted, so getting started is very easy. Opensource applications are usually hosted on your own server, which requires some technical know-how to get started, but they are completely free.
One of the major advantages of working with these platforms is you can utilize project templates. If you have commonly reoccurring tasks, you can upload them once into a template. When you need the procedure done, you load the template and assign it to you worker. The long list of tasks will be saved for them to start checking off. Very efficient! These platforms also serve as a common place for project files and questions. Instead of sending files back and forth via email, they reside in the workspace. It is much easier to stay organized and keep files separated according to projects. Some platforms even have versioning controls.
If you have not been exposed to these types of platforms, I highly recommend you take the time to find one that will work for your specific needs. These applications are a large part of my virtual business concept and something I will be exploring more in the future.
Outsourcing: Series Overview (1 of 4)
Outsourcing - Finding Labor (2 of 4)
Outsourcing - Execution (4 of 4)
Income Generation Series: Informational Products
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My advice is to start with simple tasks, issued with precise and clear instructions.
Monitor the performance of the task/s closely, to ensure they are performed to your requirements and standards.
Gradually increase the complexity of the tasks a little each time and continually monitor until your VA knows how you ‘work’. Eventually you will be able to simply issue tasks and know they will be completed your way.
A virtual assistant should be able to perform a wide range of tasks and not all offer the same services, most of the VAs are business owners running their virtual office from their home office and are not “employees” as such.