Virtual Assistants, often referred to as VAs, dominate the freelancing and part-time market. This trend is largely attributed to the cost-effectiveness of their services when compared to hiring full-time staff.
When you combine the expertise of an exceptional virtual assistant with a skilled leader who understands the art of delegation, the outcome is like setting off fireworks of productivity and achieving positive results.
But before looking for your future VA, who’ll be your fantastic partner-in-crime, do you already know what to delegate to your Virtual Assistant?
So, why don’t you take a sit back first? Breathe in, breathe out. Don’t rush into hiring yet. Together, let’s plan out what tasks you can delegate so you don’t throw random tasks at them without any direction.
Why Do Businesses Need Virtual Assistants?
Businesses need virtual assistants to help reduce training and wage costs, boost internal efficiency, access expert services, and quickly increase growth. When you bring a virtual assistant on board, you gain the flexibility to delegate specific tasks and responsibilities, allowing you to reclaim valuable time for your other priorities.
One factor driving demand for virtual assistants is increasing social media usage. Businesses use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to build brand awareness and increase sales.
In addition, it is easier to end contracts with virtual assistants than to hire full-time employees if the services are no longer needed.
VAs are usually contact-based or output-based, so they know businesses only hire them for a limited period. Discover how much companies save by outsourcing instead of hiring full-time personnel here.
6 Tasks to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant
Deciding what tasks to delegate to your virtual assistant is essential. You don’t want to delegate tasks that don’t fit their skills and expertise, as this can lead to failed work results.
Here are some of the tasks to delegate to a virtual assistant:
1. Social Media and Digital Marketing Tasks
In today’s era of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and many more social media platforms, businesses must maintain their social media presence to succeed and stay relevant.
Given the multitude of tasks required to maintain a strong social media presence, there’s no doubt that the role of a social media and digital specialist can be too time-consuming. Attempting to do it on your own can eat your time and drain your energy, leaving you with limited resources to manage other parts of your business. Pfftt!!!
Gladly, VAs exist! And delegating social media management to them will help decrease the number of tasks you need to do every day. Your virtual assistant can assist you in handling responses to comments and messages, crafting content, and even formulating strategies for future posts.
Aside from social media, other platforms may help engage with potential customers. You can delegate Youtube management, email marketing, blog commenting, and other forms of digital marketing to your Virtual Assistant.
2. Personal Tasks
Some personal tasks take up a lot of time. Thankfully, you can delegate them to your virtual assistant.
These tasks may include running errands for you or keeping track of your calendar. VAs may also help you prepare for parties and several other occasions for your loved ones.
When you have a virtual assistant taking care of your tasks, you can achieve some balance in your life. They can keep you up-to-date on upcoming family events and help you prepare for them while you’re busy running your business.
3. Administrative and Financial Tasks
Let’s face it: both administrative and financial-related tasks take up a lot of time, especially if they are done manually. You’ll need a knowledgeable team to do this if you have a big company. But if you own a small business, you can easily assign these tasks to a virtual assistant.
Administrative tasks include bookings, scheduling meetings, document management, onboarding, and managing emails. Financial duties include bookkeeping, such as payroll, invoicing, and managing company expenses.
Did you know that you can delegate access in Gmail so your VA can manage your emails?
4. Research Tasks
To understand how to delegate better when hiring a VA, you should know the right tasks to delegate to your virtual assistant. One of these tasks is research-related assignments. You can delegate content curation, market research, vendor research, and travel itinerary research, among other things, to your VA. They can also handle specialized research if your business needs it.
A virtual assistant can help you collect data on various niches, saving you a considerable amount of time. For example, if you need new suppliers or partners for your business, your virtual assistant can provide you with data so you can decide. Let your VA share the information through document sharing or audio-video calls.
5. Data Analysis
Virtual assistants can analyze data after data gathering. You can assign them tasks related to data management, such as data entry, data presentation, and more. If you also have information in a spreadsheet that needs organization, your virtual assistant will know exactly what to do; just give them your expected results.
Your virtual assistant can also identify which analysis method best fits the data you give them. Thanks to your VA, imagine the amount of time you’ll save!
6. Project Management
Virtual assistants can also be delegated project management tasks. They can help a client oversee a project from start to finish. You can decide whether to assign your virtual assistant a whole project or just specific tasks on that project.
Your VA can also make sure that the team members involved in the project accomplish their tasks. This way, you won’t have to worry whether they’re doing their jobs or not.
Don’t have a VA yet? Find out how much a Filipino virtual assistant costs.
8 Things to Do Before Hiring a Virtual Assistant
If you need help with administrative tasks that take up a lot of your time, a virtual assistant could be the answer. However, it is worth noting that hiring a VA requires some preparations.
Here are some things that you need to do before hiring a virtual assistant:
- List the Tasks You’ll Delegate.
Make a list of the tasks you do every day that take up a lot of your time. In that list, choose which ones someone else can do. These are the things you’ll delegate to a virtual assistant if you hire one. - Create Solid Internal Processes.
Do you have internal processes and communication plans to ensure a smooth business operation? If you don’t have this yet, you need to record your processes either through a document or a video. This will help you and your virtual assistant settle the basics before doing tasks. - Decide whether You Need a Short or Long-Term VA.
Analyze your chosen tasks to delegate and decide if you need this for a short period or on an everyday basis. This will help you identify if you need a short or long-term VA. -
Decide if Timezone Is Important.
VAs are located in different parts of the world, so they may or may not work within your time zone. If you want 24/7 communication, you’ll need to hire someone flexible to time or someone in your time zone. If not, you can choose anyone if they meet your deadlines.
- Choose How to Manage Your VA.
You’ll initially have to manage the hired virtual assistant to help them become more efficient in accomplishing tasks. You can either do this yourself or appoint someone else to your business. - Where You’ll Find a VA.
If you have free time, you can search for virtual assistants on various platforms like Upwork and LinkedIn. But if you’re too busy, some agencies delegate VAs for businesses. They help find the perfect person for your business.
Know more about Where to Find a Virtual Assistant.
- Conduct Interviews.
Once you’ve selected a few candidates, you must ask them questions and get to know them better. This will give you an idea of their work ethic and can help you assess if they will fit into your business culture. - Free Trials.
Some virtual assistants offer free trials. With a free trial, you’ll see if they can meet your expectations and if the price you’re paying is worth it.
How to Delegate Work to a Virtual Assistant
Here are the things you need to do to delegate work to a virtual assistant:
- Build a Database of Tasks.
When choosing tasks you want to delegate, separate those you think you do best from those you don’t. - Delegate Expectations.
Instead of tasks, delegate expectations to your VA. When they know what you’re looking for, it’s easier for them to align with your vision. -
Set Clear Deadlines.
Let them know if the deadline is flexible or not. You can also include a timeline so your VA can check if he or she is on the right track. - Choose the Right Delegates.
Evaluate which team members can accomplish certain tasks. Once done, you can assign your VA tasks that aren’t highly dependent on your team. Delegate tasks to someone with ample skills to accomplish them. - Minimize Micromanagement.
Have faith that your VA will accomplish the delegated tasks in a sure-fire way. Avoid following up hourly or daily if the assigned task isn’t that urgent. Let go and be less hands-on in the process.
To know more about how to delegate effectively, check this article.
What Are the Elements of Delegation
These are the elements of delegation:
- Accountability.
The assignee is accountable for the tasks and should update the manager whenever needed. At the same time, managers are also accountable for the expectations and instructions they’ve given the assignee. - Authority.
Managers have the right to assign tasks to team members. With authority, they can give commands and act as a leader among their subordinates. - Responsibility.
Assignees are obligated to accomplish the tasks assigned by the manager or anyone else in a superior position.
To successfully delegate to your team, you should also consider asking yourself if you’re assigning tasks to the right person at the right time. Another thing you can do is to figure out which tasks you’re doing that you can delegate to someone else. Practice your authority and be responsible for overseeing the tasks you assign to others.
Examples of Virtual Assistants
Examples of virtual assistants include:
- Project Manager.
This type of VA focuses on overseeing, planning, researching, and consolidating details about a specific project. - Social Media Manager.
This VA focuses on social media engagement, such as planning content, posting content, replying to queries, and messaging potential clients. They help you gain more exposure on social media platforms. - Creative Writer.
They write content for you, be it long or short-form. You can decide which types of writing tasks to assign. - Administrator.
They manage administrative tasks like organizing employee data or sales. They can also take care of researching information for your business. -
Website Manager.
Websites need regular posts to gain more traffic. This type of VA can help you manage and schedule posts on your website via specific tools.
- Recruitment Agent.
They can help you review portfolios and letters of hundreds of applicants so you’ll only have to look at those who have sufficient experience for the position. - Bookkeeper.
This kind of VA will help you manage finances. These tasks usually involve payroll and taxes. - Customer Support.
They’re usually involved in first-level customer support, answering the most basic questions for you.
Delegate Tasks to Your VA Wisely
Now that you know how to delegate better, you can proceed in assigning tasks to your virtual assistant.
Bear in mind that despite being the authoritative figure, you’re still accountable for which tasks you assign them. So, it’s best if you know the exact tasks to delegate and whom you should assign them to.
Be careful when delegating tasks, as this can do more harm than good if you assign them to the wrong person. Remember, delegating will be efficient if you have what it takes to do it.
