Every business person who have tried hiring a virtual assistant would agree to one thing – communication plays a vital role in the success of any VA engagement. Without it, even the best remote assistant will not be able to deliver top-notch performance. So how can you improve on communication? How can you maximise it with the distance factor? Here are some pointers that might help you out.

Go for visual communication

The good thing about visual communication is that you get to see the whole person and get better cues than just relying on voice or reading through the words in a chat. It is easy to misunderstand what you hear over voice calls and it’s easier to miss meaning from written text. With video calls, you see facial expression and body language. You have a better grasp of the conversation and you can easily volunteer additional information if there is visually-perceived confusion.

Communicate as often as you need to

As a client, you really cannot over communicate to your VA. If you feel there is a need to get in touch, do it. If you feel there is a need to clarify instructions, do as often as you see fit. While you can set a routine and settle with contacting your VA 3 times a day, you are still free to break routine and be as involved with the tasks as you need to.

Still, there is a need to strike a balance. For communication to really work, it must be intentional and should provide for clarity of information.

Ask the right questions all the time

If you have an ongoing project with multiple tasks, you can ask four simple questions to your VA that should cover the most important things you want to know from your assistant:

1. Which tasks are you still completing as we speak?
2. What are the new tasks that you will be starting today?
3. Which of the tasks are you doing right now that is giving you issues?
4. How can I help you in any part of the project?

The questions can be answered briefly and you, being the one who assigned the tasks, can easily make sense of the answers, allowing you to check if the tasks are progressing as fast as you want it done.

Answer questions quickly

never leave your VA hanging with a question. The reason is easy: you cannot be the bottleneck for the very tasks you delegated to your assistant.

If you cannot provide an immediate, proper response, at least chat or drop a line when can you be available to engage him with his questions. If possible, provide initial instructions so that if it is a task, it can progress forward somehow.

Communication can make all the difference in a growing, Internet-driven business. While the dynamics of communication remains the same, there are some unique considerations when dealing with a remote team. Consider the pointers I have shared and make sure the communication line between you and your VA is as clear as they need to be.