Whether you have an established VA or are looking to hire one; you must always be thinking forward; what type of work you will assign, how you will communicate the tasks and how the work will be done. You want a VA you can easily communicate with. A VA who can follow directions accurately, written, oral or through an instant message system, is vital to a successful VA-client relationship.
With the speed of business today, one can be left behind with the simple click of a mouse. If you’re not on top of your game, your competition will be. How do you get the jump on the competition? The secret is to hire a VA on the other side of the planet – or the country, or simply in another time zone.
Why does time zone matter?
Being on a different time schedule than your VA can actually benefit some businesses. A local VA will likely work the same type of hours as you do. Workflow takes a few days, as shown here:
- Day 1: Assign the work to VA
- Day 2: VA does the work
- Day 3: Completed work returned and ready to use
If, however, your VA is hours away, it can take a day out of this scenario. While you sleep overnight on Day 1, the work is being done and will be on your desk ready to use on Day 2. This gives you a full day’s jump on your competition; if they use local talent.
Don’t misunderstand, I’m not suggesting you send work and expect it done immediately. A VA isn’t on call 24/7! You must have a prearranged working agreement with your VA that they will do the assigned work in a set time frame. “On demand” work assignments can wreak havoc on a successful VA-Client relationship.
The time difference is very beneficial when your VA does work via remote log in to your computer. Suppose you have a VA updating your contacts twice weekly. You fax copies of the business cards, the VA logs in to your computer and enters the information directly into your Contact Management System. If you have a VA who lives in a time zone with a 5 hour difference; remote log in and updating can be done while you are sleeping – freeing up your computer for your workday. Or have your VA doing bookkeeping or checking your email for spam 3 hours before you wake up in the morning.
Get a jumpstart on your competition and get your work done earlier!
VAnetworking has the largest database of Virtual Assistant websites worldwide – you can find a VA anywhere in the world; from Australia to Nova Scotia, or Texas to the United Kingdom. Time zones can aid immensely in helping you and your VA work together and efficiently, while being far apart!
Check out the Virtual Assistant Search Engine to find one in any locale!
