Ghosting is the practice of ending a relationship (usually an intimate one) by abruptly ending all contact with no explanation. Sadly, this is also becoming an issue in employment, where clients experience having a virtual assistant suddenly cut off contact and stop reporting to work.

If a remote worker ghosts you, you’ll have no choice but to repeat the costly process of recruiting and training another, so there’ll be someone to take over their responsibilities. Tasks are put on hold and customers are often left waiting, and this negatively impacts your reputation.

The situation is especially frustrating when the role is difficult to fill or involves managing a team of offshore virtual assistant services. The ghosting VA takes their extensive knowledge with them, and their subordinates are left without direct supervision.

Initial Steps

Should this happen to you, there are ways to respond in a professional and less stressful manner.

Think about their situation

Ask yourself if you know of any mental health problems, physical ailments or out-of-work concerns that could explain the uncommunicative VA’s behaviour. Check the news about their location too, as there might have been a typhoon, earthquake or nationwide rally.

For all you know, perhaps there was an emergency situation that kept your virtual assistant from showing up and informing you.

Try calling them

After doing a brief background check, try to contact your VA through the phone. If you can’t reach them, send an email or voice message to check on them. Be sure to remind your virtual assistants in the Philippines about company guidelines on absences without leave to keep them from feigning ignorance, and tell them that you’ll take further action if there’s no reply.

Schedule a disciplinary meeting

In a remote work setting, this will be a video call with the human resource manager, if you have one. You can send an invite through Google Calendar or some other tool so it’ll automatically set a reminder on their calendar. Remember that they are still subject to normal disciplinary procedure, even if they are ghosting you.

Proceed with an official dismissal

Have they failed to show up for the disciplinary meeting as well? If you’ve informed your VA that failing to attend could result in their dismissal, you can follow through the termination process. You can do the same for a part-time virtual assistant in the Philippines who has yet to complete their training. The important thing is that you’ve made it clear all throughout that this is the end result.

Book another video conference

A remote virtual assistant who has been with you for years can be given another chance to explain themselves. Providing there are no mitigating circumstances, such as a serious illness or personal problem, they may get off with a warning and/or salary deduction. Failing to appear to the meeting again can be enough for dismissal.

Next Steps

Now that you’ve properly handled that particular case of ghosting, you should take the necessary steps to prevent or deal with future occurrences.

Develop your emotional intelligence

This means you should learn how to better understand how another person feels, especially when they have a different perspective. Having people skills also resolves conflicts more smoothly and prevents future workplace spats. Remote assistants are more likely to stay loyal to someone who shows them genuine empathy as well.

Keep communication lines open

Be transparent with the people you work with. Avoid making promises unless you’re sure you can keep them. Also, always be clear about the consequences of any misconduct and follow through. It’s fine to feel sorry for an online worker but they shouldn’t be exempt from disciplinary action unless the situation is out of anyone’s control.

Evaluate your onboarding process

Ghosting is more likely to happen within the first month of a new hire. To reduce the chances of this occurring, make new members of your team feel welcome by introducing yourself and all the people they’ll be working with on the first day.

Have an onboarding process that lasts for at least 6 months, during which they’ll receive proper training and feedback. This will also present them with opportunities to ask colleagues about how things work in your organisation.

Maintain a talent pool

This is standard for recruitment these days, but it pays to be reminded of the benefits. By keeping a list of candidates, you can quickly and easily contact companies that hire virtual assistants to fill in the recently vacated position. If you’re lucky, the second-best candidate for the job still hasn’t been hired by another employer yet so you won’t have to perform a round of interviews again.

Learn to count your blessings

Even the best clients can have an employee ghost them. So, simply move on and find a better remote virtual assistant this time. Don’t waste your time slandering the person on social media or industry forums. Maybe they weren’t the right fit for the role or business. Perhaps they could have caused bigger issues if they stayed. Be thankful you dodged that.

Conclusion

It’s never nice to have a VA leave you without advance notice or any explanation. You may not be able to control their actions, but you can take a less stressful path of handling the situation. You can be better prepared for it next time too.

Here at Remote Workmate, our offshore staffing agency endorses candidates who have been carefully screened to ensure you are at low risk of getting ghosted. We choose people who we believe would only be beneficial to your business or project.