You’re worried that you don’t have the time or ability to train a Filipino VA?
I had the same concern when I hired my first, second, and third Filipino virtual assistants. As I hired more people, I realized that I worried over nothing.
Am I better at training my VAs now? Definitely.
Do I have the time to train them myself now? Yes.
However, back then, I didn’t know how to train my virtual assistants either. I’m a computer programmer, not a teacher. I also didn’t have the time working 40-50 hour weeks, trying to get my business off the ground.
Somehow, I managed to do it because training a Filipino virtual assistant is easy, especially if they’re young and hungry. Over the years, I refined my process to make training easier and more efficient.
If training is the only thing that’s holding you back from hiring someone, here’s my beginner’s guide to training a Filipino VA, perfected through years of experience.
1. Start with something you’re already doing and know how to do.
Starting with something you’re already doing helps get stuff off your plate right away. This gives you the time you need to do more.
If it’s a task you know how to do, it’s also easier to teach it. If you can talk about your process and explain the task, you can teach it. You can teach your VA live through a video call, but it would be better and so much easier if you just do a screen recording.
Speaking of…
2. Use screen recording
I know writing down stuff looks more professional and corporate, but it can be hard to do, especially if you’re not used to writing. Recording what you’re doing to show how the task is done and talking through your process is much easier.
Your virtual assistant will also learn faster because videos allow them to follow along as you’re doing that task. They can slow the video down if the training is too fast. They can speed up portions they already know how to do. The videos provide more detail, and your VA can refer back to the recording as often as needed.
I use Snagit.
iPhone has screen recording built in.
You might use Loom or screencast-o-matic or tinytake or… (there are 1000 options)
** This is the #1 thing my team says they like about the way I run things…I make them screen recording trainings. **
3. Encourage them to ask questions
You want your VAs to be asking you questions. No questions usually means either:
– They’re too afraid to ask, or
– They really don’t understand your instructions, and they don’t know where to start.
When your VA asks questions, it shows that they’re thinking and paying attention. Their questions can tell you where your instructions might be unclear or confusing. Knowing where they’re struggling gives you an idea of what to focus on when giving feedback.
Sometimes, the right questions can even show you better ways to do their task, like when your VA asks you if they can try to do things differently because they read about it in an industry forum, or they just learned how to use a new tool for that job.
4. When something goes wrong, assume it’s your fault.
** This is the #2 most important piece of this email **
When something goes wrong, it’s easy to blame the VA. They’re stupid, they’re not paying attention, they’re lazy, they don’t want the job… etc.
But most communication experts will tell you that most communication mistakes begin with the person writing the message. So if your VA doesn’t understand your instructions, assume it’s your fault.
I saw this a lot when I started training. I thought my instructions were clear. Then, when my VAs would make a mistake, I’d get frustrated.
But, when I look back at my instructions, I can see now why they made mistakes. I couldn’t understand what I wrote. It wasn’t very clear at all.
This is why I use screenshots, screen and voice recording more than writing stuff down. Pictures and videos show so much more and will be better understood, even without words.
If something isn’t being done right, it’s probably your fault. Redo your training and correct their mistakes.
5. Use the sandwich method when giving feedback
** I know…the sandwich method is incorrect…but try it anyway. **
I think it goes without saying that you have to give feedback when training your Filipino VA.
They need to know what they’re doing right so they can keep doing that.
They need to know what they’re doing wrong so they can improve and do better.
But you want that feedback to be effective. You don’t want to give so much negative feedback that they become discouraged, give up, and disappear. You also don’t want them to think that there’s no room for improvement.
The best way I’ve found to give feedback is the sandwich method. You sandwich the clear constructive criticism between two specific and positive comments. For example:
“I really like the colors you chose for this logo, but I don’t like the font you chose for this. It looks too similar to Comic Sans for me. I’d like a font that looks cleaner and more professional. I really like the layout, though, let’s keep that.”
How much time does it take me to do all this?
Most days, it would take me less than an hour to do so…and I have 50 people on my team. The very first time I trained Joven (my first Filipino VA who’s still with me), day 1 of training took 30 minutes.
I reuse my screen recordings for training other people.
Most of the time I dedicate to training is spent answering questions and providing feedback, which is primarily done through email and screen recordings. This takes me 5 to 15 minutes per day.
I don’t need to spend a lot of time on training, but I still get great results because I don’t expect perfection, but I do expect continuous improvement.
I give feedback every day, which means they have to improve every day.
They don’t have to get everything right the first time, but they need to be better with each attempt.
Once your VA has perfected that first task, we get to the most important step.
6. Go back to #1, this time with a new task.
With this new task, training your VA will be easier and faster. You’ll also have more free time because now your VA is handling two tasks.
When you train them to do task #3, it’ll be even faster and easier. With more stuff off your plate, you get more time.
Just keep doing this, and before you know it, you’ll have more free time and your VA will be handling all the work.
#7 DON’T CORRECT THEIR WORK FOR THEM
I know it’s easier.
I know it’s faster.
But “it’s easier to just do it myself” will reinforce the work that they did.
Fixing their work teaches them:
– it’s ok to be mediocre
– it’s ok to not proof read
– it’s ok to make mistakes
DO NOT FIX THEIR WORK.
You can point out what they did wrong, but make them fix it.
Questions? Comments?
John