VA Guide - Authorify

You should provide virtual assistants with numerous tasks upfront, so if they need to wait for feedback from you on one task, they can work on another filler task in the meantime. With an article writer, you can give him/her a list of articles you need for your blog, then have him/her research (or even write) the articles. Instruct writers that they should work on one of these projects whenever they are waiting for a reply from you about some other project. This also works well with graphic designers. This helps you avoid having your assistants just sitting there on the clock, while they wait for you to give them new instructions. You might have some assistants who would be likely to clock out in that situation and end up not working the full 40-hour week (if those are the hours on which you agreed). Since you’ve agreed to pay them for 40 hours and they’re relying on that money for their families, it’s in everyone’s best interest that you keep them busy with plenty of tasks. I generally use Google Drive to share information with VAs. If you have large videos, or other large documents that you need to share, I recommend Dropbox. However, whenever possible, try Google Drive. It’s simple and convenient — especially if your company uses Gmail. Tracking Hours I use Time Doctor for tracking hours of people who work for me (timedoctor.com). Time Doctor is simple. All the assistant needs to do is log in, then clock in and out at the appropriate times. This software functions like other time monitors, but has the added feature of taking screenshots of the employee’s computer. Time Doctor takes screenshots at random times, between three to seven minutes. Using these screenshots, you can monitor the productivity of your virtual assistant. I don’t use this software for micromanaging people or “spying” on them; I use it to ensure they are clocking in and out regularly and working on the projects they are being paid to do. In my experience, people who resist using the software are people I don’t want to work with anyway. I now have a clear rule that if someone won’t use Time Doctor, I will refuse to work with them. You will want to use several settings in Time Doctor to your advantage. The most important setting is the one that prevents employees from editing their timesheets without your approval. I think the reason is obvious; someone could try to work off-the-clock, then log in 40 hours of edited time with no screenshots provided. This is a way to beat the system, and you shouldn’t allow it.