How to work with a construction virtual assistant
So, you’re ready to hire a virtual assistant for your construction company and work with a construction virtual assistant.? Virtual employees aren’t just a cost-effective way to get the support you need. — they have immense benefits to your team, your finances, and the organization of your company.
Construction virtual assistants are a key part of the team for many of our clients, helping drive productivity and contributing to the company’s vision and culture.
At Virtual Construction Assistants, we help find, onboard and manage virtual assistants for your construction company. Giving you more time back in your day to work on strategic projects and less time micromanaging your virtual employee.
If you’re interested in working with a construction virtual assistant, here are some things to consider first.
Consider what you need to out source
Before you hire a construction virtual assistant, you should take some time to think through your business. And consider what would be most helpful for a virtual assistant to take off your plate.
Is it administrative tasks like calendar scheduling and organizing your inbox.? Or do you need more specialized help, like an insurance manager or project coordinator?
The title of “virtual assistant” can be purposely vague. But as you prepare your job description, make sure you have a clear role outlined. This will provide clarity for both you and your employee as you begin working together.
Communicate clearly and respectfully
When you work with virtual employees, it’s critical that you and your employee both work to communicate regularly, clearly, and respectfully. Without the benefit of being in person to work through problems or collaborate, it will take extra effort to ensure everyone is clearly aligned on expectation or requirements.
This communication should include daily, weekly, and monthly check-ins to align on goals, tasks, and overall performance. There should be an expectation set early on that establishes when and how communication take place by both parties.
With appropriate guidelines and processes around virtual communication, both you and your construction virtual assistant will be set up for success.
Create a shared record and process documents
Without being in person to ask time-sensitive or important questions. It can be beneficial to create some process documents for your construction virtual assistant.
Whether it’s a Dropbox folder with passwords and logins or a private Slack channel with critical information. These systems can keep you and your virtual assistant working smoothly and efficiently.
You can also request your virtual assistant maintain these types of documents, to prevent them from losing in shuffle. They can track ongoing projects or manage their time card in a shared document that records all their work.
Having this type of infrastructure will keep your virtual assistant accountable and on track.
At Virtual Construction Assistants, our team can also help liaison between all parties. To confirm the virtual assistant is staying on task and performing up to expectations. We can act as additional HR or manager support. Providing feedback and ways to improve the efficiency of your virtual assistant.
We’ll regularly conduct check-ins with our clients – we want to make sure everyone is happy with the partnership!
Build a strong working relationship
Even if you’re not in the same city or geographic area as your virtual construction assistant. It’s important to build a good working relationship with your employee. Things like sending an appreciative message or taking the time to have a quick virtual coffee session can really help build trust and rapport with your employee.
Getting to know each other will also help you understand their communication style and how they prefer to get their work done. Having this insight and personalization can help your construction virtual assistant feel bought into your company’s mission and overall success.
Provide reasonable deadlines
As your construction virtual assistant begins working for you, it’s important to provide clear communication around deadlines. If there are tasks that your virtual assistant is regularly completing, you should make sure they’re equipped with the proper tools and information to complete those tasks.
If you want them to work on a longer-term project, it can be helpful to set check-in points, so everyone is on the same page when it comes to deadlines and work being done.
Ultimately, if your virtual assistant is not meeting deadlines or struggling to submit work on time, it might be worth having a deeper conversation to understand what prevents on-time work from being delivered.
At Virtual Construction Assistants, we offer regular check-ins and performance support for our clients, giving them a partner in the management process.
Have the right tools
Since great communication and collaboration is the foundation of a successful virtual construction assistant, you should have the right tools to accomplish this. There are dozens of digital collaboration tools that allow employees from all over the world to work succinctly no matter where they are. If you’re not sure where to start.
We recommend simple, industry-leading platforms like Slack, Zoom, Dropbox, or Google Drive to begin with.
Generally, the simpler, more streamlined the better when it comes to digital tools. Incorporating too many can cost you unnecessary money and overcomplicate things for your business.
Make sure your virtual assistant is comfortable with the tools you have in place, and provide opportunities for feedback if something isn’t meeting their business needs.
Whether you’re running a fully virtual company or looking to work with your first construction virtual assistant. It’s crucial to understand how to work with your remote employees. It’s admittedly different than managing an in-person team!
If you’re not sure where to start or need help to outsource your administrative work. Contact our team at Virtual Construction Assistants. We’ll sit down with you during our consultation to fully understand the type of support you need and what your budget is.
From there, we’ll source the best candidates and present you with multiple options to review.