How to delegate tasks to a virtual assistant
Delegation is the process of assigning specific tasks, jobs or duties to another person.
In this article, we discuss how to delegate work to a virtual assistant. Sending your virtual assistant your list of tasks using a delegation sheet gives your VA all the information they need to complete your tasks successfully.
You can download a delegation sheet here
Throughout their careers, entrepreneurs usually gain multiple skills. This is because they usually do so much by themselves, especially during the startup phase. Most entrepreneurs and small business owners gain experience and new skills over time.
It is not uncommon for startup entrepreneurs to do their own marketing, administration, and content creation. A lot of entrepreneurs even build their own websites and learn web design skills. Out of all of these skills, the most beneficial skill an entrepreneur can have is the ability to effectively delegate tasks.
Virtual assistants provide admin support remotely, they can also provide advanced technical services. Marketing, administration and content creation are the most popular tasks that entrepreneurs and small business owners outsource to virtual assistants.
Delegating to a virtual assistant will help you achieve your business goals and scale your business.
To learn more about how a virtual assistant can help your business click here
Benefits of outsourcing to a virtual assistant
Some of the many benefits of delegating work to a virtual assistant include:
- More time to focus on higher-level tasks.
- Increased productivity and efficiency
- Better time management
It’s important as an entrepreneur to know that there are consequences if you’ve identified the need to outsource, but fail to delegate effectively even though your business calls for it.
Entrepreneurs who fail to delegate limit their own potential. They end up not having enough time to devote to their primary responsibilities.
One of the difficulties you need to consider is that delegating a task means your giving up your responsibility as an entrepreneur to achieve your desired outcome. However, as the business owner, you are still ultimately accountable for the success or failure.
This is why it’s important to know how to delegate, and that you have delegated to the right person that will get you the results you want.
How to delegate tasks to a virtual assistant
- Identify work to delegate
It may be obvious to you what tasks immediately need delegating.
If you’re not sure what tasks to assign to a virtual assistant you’ll first need to identify what work can be delegated. Not everything can be delegated. The type of work that can are tasks that can be completed online if outsourced. Bear in mind that some offline tasks can still be completed online by a virtual assistant.
Example
You want some help uploading data from a file to your CRM.
You use an offline CRM.
You can still delegate this task. A virtual assistant has the ability to access your database remotely and update your CRM.
Now you need to identify what work should be delegated. Just like how not everything can be delegated, not everything should be.
Just because you have the ability to outsource doesn’t always mean you should.
Avoid delegating tasks that:
- Require your personal expertise or leadership
- Are highly sensitive or personal in nature
- Have legal restrictions
- Require a lot of decision-making and risk to the point that it becomes unfair to your VA
The most popular tasks virtual assistants are outsourced for include
- General administration duties
- Social media marketing
- Digital marketing
- Writing e-books / blog content
- Editing
- Email marketing
You should be able to identify some tasks that you can outsource now.
Make sure when choosing your tasks that you don’t forget to think about why you initially thought that you should outsource in the first place.
This will help you make sure you’re picking the right tasks for the right reasons.
Below are some of the reasons my clients delegate work to me. And what to ask yourself if any of these reasons match your circumstances.
Too much work – What tasks take you too long to complete?
They find the task boring – What tasks do you lack interest in?
Don’t know how to do a particular task – What tasks need completing but you don’t know how?
Emergency cover – Which tasks are essential to keep your business running?
- Work out how often you need each task done
A virtual assistant can handle recurring and one-off tasks that are too much for you to handle on your own.
Create a task schedule for each service. Enter the information on your delegation sheet.
How often do you want the task completed?
Include any specific dates, days of the week, or time the tasks are to be completed.
If you want your virtual assistant to dedicate a specific amount of time to each task include durations if applicable.
Thinking about how long it takes you to complete the task can give you a good indication of how long it will take your virtual assistant.
A virtual assistant who already has experience in the type of task may be able to complete the jobs even faster.
3. Download a delegation sheet
When it comes to actually delivering your virtual assistant your instructions the most effective way is to use a delegation sheet.
The VA delegation worksheet is a 1 page document made to clearly explaining your requirements and expectations, it communicates everything that your VA needs to know about your task. Having your instructions written on the delegation sheet avoids your VA having to ask questions later. It enables them to get on with the tasks from the moment of delegation because you have already equipped them with all the information they need.
Information on the delegation sheet includes
- Task description for specific instructions
- Due date for project or task
- Space to add attachments/ files / supporting documents
If you haven’t already you can download a virtual assistant delegation sheet here
Tips for using your delegation sheet
- Explain what results you expect, and in what form the results should be presented
- Delegate tasks early to avoid unnecessary pressure and to allow your virtual assistant to plan your tasks better
- Always include instructions for each task if there is a specific process you want your virtual assistant to follow.
- If you need to, prepare any tutorials in advance and attach them to the email with the delegation sheet.
- Categorise tasks by priority
- Provide context and guidance and refer to useful resources if it will help the success of your task
- Focus on results
4. Decide how much you want to spend
Virtual assistants offer various rates based on their skills and experience
If you’re looking for a local virtual assistant that has advanced technical skills you can expect to pay more than you would for an admin virtual assistant overseas.
To get an idea of how much virtual assistants charge click here
5. Find the best virtual assistant for the job within your budget
It’s time to find the best VA for the jobs you want to be completed.
You can find virtual assistants easily on sites like People per Hour or Upwork or you can use a professional virtual assistant company.
Prime P.A. is a virtual assistant / training and recruitment company based In London, we serve entrepreneurs and small businesses on an international level.
We are multi-skilled virtual assistants, that have the experience and skills to complete any online task that you send us.
To hire a VA on a flexible basis book a discovery call.
We also have options if you want to hire a VA as an employee. We have a database of virtual assistants with a range of skills that we can match to your needs.
We operate a 6-step recruitment process. You can find out more here
- Email your delegation sheet.
Email your virtual assistant a copy of your delegation sheet.
If you choose Prime P.A. for your virtual assistant needs, the perfect virtual assistant will be selected based on your specific requirements from the delegation sheet.
The V.A. will call you at your chosen time to discuss your tasks.
- Enjoy the benefits of outsourcing your work to a virtual assistant
Making the decision to entrust work to another person is not easy, however, sometimes it must be done to scale your business to the next level.
Join the growing list of other entrepreneurs who enjoy the benefits of using a virtual assistant to reduce their workload and grow their business.
Here are a few tips that will help you once you’ve already started delegating work to a virtual assistant.
- Practice letting go
This can be hard for some people their business is like their baby and they don’t want to give their baby to anyone else to look after who doesn’t care about them as much as they do. This is understandable.
This is yet another reason to consider using a professional virtual assistant company for your outsourcing needs. We care about our customers.
When a professional virtual assistant works with you, the success of your business is the success of theirs.
- Make yourself available to answer questions
No matter how clear the instructions you give, there may be a time when your virtual assistant needs to contact you to ask a question that’s important to the overall success of the task.
A professional virtual assistant will already be aware of your preferred contact method and availability at this stage.
- Don’t wait for a deadline to see how it’s going
Don’t wait till the last minute to check on progress. If you wait till the task is due and you are not satisfied with your V.A.’s work there won’t be sufficient time before the due date for your virtual assistant to make edits.
A professional virtual assistant will send progress reports to keep you updated.
- Provide communication and feedback
Don’t be afraid to give feedback whether it’s positive or negative. It’s your virtual assistant’s job to make sure you are satisfied. Letting your virtual assistant know sooner rather than later helps them acknowledge what you like and what you don’t like.
A professional virtual assistant asks for feedback
If you want to know more about what life would be like to have a virtual assistant working for you then join us for our monthly VA Introduction + LIVE Q&A where you can meet virtual assistants, get your questions answered, and get a real idea of what your life could be like with a virtual assistant. Register here to join
