Thank you for signing up with LongerDays!
We will use the questionnaire you just completed to match you with a Team Lead here at LongerDays. Your Team Lead will be in contact with you very soon!
Over the years, we’ve learned a thing or two about delegation – and how to effectively work with a virtual assistant. Please take a few minutes now to read through the “best practices” below to help you succeed with your new virtual assistant team. We know you’re busy, so we will try to keep it short and to the point.
Ongoing Tasks
The most cost effective way to utilize our service – the single greatest way for us to free up your time – is for you to identify and delegate ongoing work. If there is a secret to successfully working with a virtual assistant, this is it!
Many of our clients sign up for our service with the intention of sending us a wide variety of one-time tasks. The trouble is that this forces the client to constantly take time out of their busy day to “feed” us work.
When you delegate ongoing work, you only have to train us once, and the task is taken off your plate for good! Our most successful, long-term clients use us for ongoing tasks.
Proper Delegation
Please keep in mind that when we receive a poorly delegated task, we either have to guess how to do the work, or take up your time by contacting you for clarification.
Getting the results you are looking for requires proper delegation, which is something they just don’t teach in school! In order to help us do the best job we can:
- Be clear and specific about what you would like us to do. A phone call can speed up communication and reduce miscommunications, so don’t be afraid to call us at 800-507-1622.
- Provide all the information we will need to carry out the task: login credentials, attachments, etc.
- Tell us how long you would like us to spend working on the task. For example: spend 1 hour researching private space flight.
- Specify the format you would like to receive the results of the task in. For example: Word document, Excel file, PDF, email, etc.
- Set a date and time for when you need the task back. Example: tomorrow by the end of the day.
Example of a poorly delegated task:
Please research hotels in Chicago during Christmas time.
Example of a well delegated task:
Spend 1 hour researching hotels on, or within a few blocks of, the Magnificent Mile in Chicago from 12/23 – 12/27. Price range: $150 – $300 per night. Compile your findings in a Word document.
Communication
Clear and open communication is vital. We STRONGLY suggest a weekly scheduled phone call. The last thing you need is another appointment on your calendar, but we’ve found that a weekly phone call with your Team Lead goes a long ways toward keeping everyone on the same page. This “check-in” call is an opportunity to give feedback, get the status of your current tasks, and quickly assign new tasks. The phone call does not need to be long. In fact, we like to keep them to under 10 minutes.
Feedback
We need you to give us consistent, frequent, and direct feedback. Each client we work with is different, and expects things to be done a different way. We need you to let us know how you like things done!
That’s It!
We hope you are still reading, and that you’re as excited to start working with us as we are with you! Your Team Lead will be in touch shortly. If you need anything in the meantime, feel free to give us a call at 800-507-1622 or send an email to management@longerdays.com.