The Ultimate Guide to Training a Virtual Assistant

Before hiring, it's essential to understand how to train a virtual assistant. You'll need to create and refine this process to suit your company's unique needs and achieve optimal results.

While virtual assistant companies offer training programs for their assistants (we provide 5 and 10-day training sessions), it's crucial to provide your virtual assistant with additional training on your company's systems and procedures.

You might use a specific CRM, have a brand kit and particular design guidelines, or maintain an internal database unique to your company or industry. 

Training and onboarding your virtual assistant requires time but is a worthwhile investment if done correctly. With RedNationMG , since we handle the hiring and most of the training, you can save approximately 80 extra hours! 

In this article, we’ll outline valuable steps to take during your virtual assistant’s training.

The Steps to Training

Once you bring a virtual assistant on board, the first task is to train them. This means educating them on the procedures, tools, and best practices used in your business.

Schedule a First Meeting

This is likely the initial step in training your newly recruited virtual assistant.

It's crucial to arrange a one-on-one meeting to provide a more detailed introduction of yourself and give your virtual assistant the chance to share more about themselves now that the interview process is complete.

This meeting is an excellent opportunity to discuss the upcoming steps for you, your new virtual assistant, and the rest of the team they will collaborate with.

Set Clear Expectations

The subsequent step involves acquainting your new virtual assistant with the company’s values and the specifics of their role.

This will provide them with a clear understanding of upcoming discussions, including their responsibilities, daily routine activities, your processes, and the tools utilized to achieve business objectives.

Clearly outline how the training will be conducted, its duration, and the level of service expected as they complete the training phase.

Having mentioned some of these aspects during the interview stage, now is the opportunity to elaborate on what being part of your team entails. This can be explained in your initial meeting.

Identify Their Role and Responsibilities

An essential aspect of setting expectations for any team member is defining their role and the associated responsibilities.

An organizational chart might assist in discussing this by visually depicting the flow of accountability. This is also the moment to explain the significance of deadlines, the scope of their role, how conflict is managed, and the company protocols with HR and other departments.

The key in this part of the training is ensuring that your new VA comprehends their accountability in the role, aiding them in prioritizing tasks, particularly during busier periods.

Create Checklists of Daily Tasks 

Compile a comprehensive list of their daily, weekly, and monthly responsibilities. Additionally, include any tasks that occur quarterly, bi-monthly, or annually in this stage of the process.

This information will equip your virtual assistant to effectively manage their time for the assigned workload. The list will also serve as a guide for them to develop a daily schedule, which they can then share with you and the rest of the team.

Inform them of how their tasks impact the team and emphasize the importance of their role in handling these responsibilities. Encourage them to ask questions and offer suggestions to help create a schedule they can reliably adhere to.

Give Them the Resources They Need to Get Started

Grant your new virtual assistant access to the necessary resources for their role. Supply them with their work email and account details for the tools they’ll use to perform their duties.

Inform them if any logins require authentication, especially if you use Lastpass or other security protocols. Have them set up accounts for your team's productivity and communication platforms like our RedNationApp, ClickUp, Skype, Slack, and Google Workspace.

If they require access to additional tools such as SEMrush, WordPress, and others, provide these on their first day to help them become familiar with their operation.

Create Video, Audio, and Written Training Resources 

Develop and offer recorded training sessions to save time. This approach allows you to present all the essential information upfront, creating a comprehensive guide that includes all crucial details.

Produce audio and video recordings, along with written guides, that can be accessed at any time, eliminating the need to repeat them during the initial weeks.

At RedNationMG, we utilize an online training platform called RedNation Academy for extensive self-directed training. We provide our virtual assistants with access to this online course academy after their initial training to enable continuous self-improvement!

This method ensures you don’t have to delay many of your routine tasks or invest excessive time in skill-based training with your virtual assistant.

Create a Team Protocol

At RedNationMG, we establish protocols for both our teams and the entire organization. This encompasses job descriptions for each member, providing a reliable reference for their duties and expectations.

These protocols serve as a guide for addressing specific situations and identifying who is responsible within the team. Detailed instructions are crucial to the team protocol.

They provide guidance on handling concerns, generating reports, requesting information, and other processes that require more than just creation and submission to a single team member or department.

This ensures everyone has a clear understanding of the turnaround time for each task, including their own, emphasizing the importance of adhering to the protocol for a smooth team dynamic.

How to Train an Administrative Virtual Assistant

For administrative virtual assistants, it is crucial that they comprehend their role within the processes they are part of.

Inform them about how your team utilizes the CRM. Training for MLS should be included for real estate businesses so they can assist everyone when issues occur.

They should also have access to document templates and a guide on how tasks should be completed to expand their service capabilities.

Most importantly, instruct them on where and how to organize documents, take minutes during meetings, manage the company and executive schedules, and handle external requests and inquiries if they are also managing concierge services.

How to Train a Marketing Virtual Assistant

Virtual marketing assistants offer various services based on your requirements. Social media virtual assistants should be skilled in creating and managing an editorial calendar.

They also need access to your social media accounts and the tools you prefer, such as Canva, Illustrator, Filmora, SEMrush, and others. Ensure your email marketing virtual assistant sends you test copies of each campaign before they are distributed.

Ask your marketing VA to create a tone and voice guide if you don’t have one. You can also work with them on templates and a branding kit.

Importantly, ensure that everything they publish is approved by you or their team leader as part of the process.

How To Train a Prospecting Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants focused on prospecting require a comprehensive guide on utilizing your dialer. Providing them with a script will assist as they begin to represent your business to potential clients.

A crucial aspect of their training involves an in-depth discussion about your company’s values and services, enabling them to address inquiries and concerns on their own.

Offer them a reference of the expected output to help set their expectations. Additionally, it’s vital that they learn about your unique selling point so they can consistently emphasize it.

Ensure they comprehend how you prefer your leads to be organized and managed. Educate them on your lead generation, database management, processing tools, and best practices. 

Bottomline

The effort you dedicate to training your virtual assistant will be evident in the quality of their work throughout their time with you. Organize and gather your resources beforehand to prevent issues during the training process.

Additionally, you can record training sessions and meetings on Zoom to have a reference for what has been discussed so far. Virtual assistants at RedNationMG are already trained in the essential skills expected of them, allowing our clients to reduce the time typically spent training new employees.

If you’re interested in leveraging your business with professional virtual assistant services, fill out this form and one of our Consultants will get in touch with you.