I work remotely. I realize it has become to me not just a working condition, but a state of mind.
The balance between work and life is now just perfect. Work and personal life are intertwined, but in the best way possible.
Before being a remote worker I was used to going to the office day after day. While working as Virtual Assistant I’m learning a lot about: life, work, myself. Looking back to the “previous life” I realize I had some false myths and misconceptions about remote work too. Thus, why shouldn’t my new clients have the same misconceptions about an assistant working remotely?
So let’s start with the 4 myths about working with a remote Virtual Assistant.
4 words are essentially connected with these myths:
- Trust
- Availability
- Empathy
- Efficiency
1st Myth: You cannot trust someone, who works also for other clients
If you fear for the confidentiality of the documents you’re going to share with a remote VAyou don’t know that well, no problem! Remember it’s common to let sign NDA (Non Disclosure Agreements) and CA (Confidentiality Agreements). Trust is a crucial word. And trust can be built up by knowing each other. Though, in my opinion and for my experience first impressions are very important and true too. So a short trial period with a VA can say a lot about the characteristics of a person and the way of working. Even if a VA works with several different customers, this doesn’t mean she cannot be passionate enough about your project. Also in this case it’s possible from the beginning to understand the diligence, the loyalty and the responsibility of every single Virtual Assistant. People working within the company and for just one company are not always more loyal than a professional working remotely for many organizations and/or individuals. Loyalty doesn’t depend on the location, but on professionalism!
2d Myth: Maybe I need help from the VA, when she’s not available
If this is your concern, organization is the keyword! I recommend you to plan the tasks, the hours and the commitment you require from the VA. Surely there are sometimes some urgent activities, which demand immediate attention and which are difficult to organize in advance. If this happens, a well organized Virtual Assistant can try to postpone or move some other tasks and reschedule the commitments (probably charging an extra for the urgency). If it’s impossible to do that, the VA may be able to suggest you another assistant, in order to do the best to help you if you are struggling to meet your deadlines.
3d Myth: It’s difficult to feel empathy towards a person, who works remotely
Empathy is a sentiment. And it can be irrational, unexpected, unpredictable. So, like loyalty, is not connected to someone’s location. However communication can definitely help creating empathy. So, it’s advisable to increase meetings on Skype and web conferences, that allows you both to feel closer and like you are in the same room!
4th Myth: A remote worker can be easily distracted, because is not sitting in an office and this leads to lower efficiency
Many distractions are not external: often we are distracted by our internal thoughts. Therefore the point is not to know exactly where your remote assistant sits, while working for you. You can measure the efficiency of a Virtual Assistant by the results and getting the work done!
Not all persons are the same, not all remote workers are identical and so the Virtual Assistants.
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