Hiring an offshore Virtual Assistant can often create a lot of doubts for those who are only beginners in the field of outsourcing. Well, such doubts are actually valid, especially because venturing into outsourcing for the first time could mean a drastic change in some portion of the business set-up. From the surface, it would seem impossible to conduct business with someone who is continents away from where your business is located.
However, looking at it rationally, outsourcing exists because technology existed. With that, communicating with Virtual Assistants is possible because of the many available technological tools that are already available. The best thing is most of these tools are free. The basic requirement in order to efficiently communicate with a Virtual Assistant is a high-speed internet connection to assist all the functions to be done by the tools used. Here are some of the most useful tools that our company has also personally been using for the past years, and have proven their efficiency as collaboration tools throughout the years.
Skype – It offers free Skype to Skype calls, with the highest quality. Since in most instances, you would not only be communicating with one person, Skype is also the perfect tool to use for conference calls, as it still provides clear connections despite the geographic differences of the participants. And of course, Skype can be used for regular chatting.
Google Apps – This is the business version of Gmail. There are countless reasons why a business should opt to use Google Apps rather than Gmail. First, Google Apps allows the business to use its company name as their domain. Second, you can set-up your assistants’ e-mail accounts, and have total control of those when the need arises. Outsourcing remains to be a risky investment, so it is only safe to have all the means to retrieve whatever you need to retrieve in case you encounter some unfortunate instances with your VAs. Third, Google Apps is as user friendly as Gmail and still have all the features that are available in Gmail:
* Google Docs – all your business documents can be stored here for retrieval and accessibility purposes.
* Google Calendar – you can organize the daily tasks that you have for your VA through this Google tool.
* Websites – well, you probably have your own established website already, but in case you need another one, Google Apps also offers the easiest way to build up a website.
Project Management System – This is an online application that allows you to post all the details about the task you are giving from the To-do-list, schedules, and deadlines, and messages, or comments. Your virtual assistant can also directly put their output in your PMS. This is also most helpful if you hired a project manager for all the tasks you are delegating.
Screencasting – To keep track of what the VA is actually doing, or if he or she is doing the task right, regular screencasting can be done. However, this should be done sparingly, to not impede the productivity of your staff. Trust is still very important when investing in Virtual Assistants. Screencasting is also very useful in giving instructions since some instructions are just too complicated to be explained through chat or call – some visuals can make the process easier. Our company basically use Jing for screencasting.
