The scenario:
You hire a great VA. Things are going super well.
Then, it’s 3 weeks in, or 3 months in, and you notice they’re not doing as much work. Productivity is down. And they’re making more mistakes.
You deal with it for a few weeks, then you get frustrated.
You’re correcting their mistakes.
They’re not doing as much work as they were.
They’re being careless.
They’re not submitting daily reports as often as they normally do.
You feel like they’re not putting in the time. Like they’re only giving 50% effort.
My experience:
I’ve had this happen a number of times. Most employers experience it at some point.
You feel like they’re working another job and double dipping (maybe they are).
You feel like they don’t care (probably not the case…although rarely it is).
You don’t want to confront them because you don’t have any evidence. Nothing concrete.
You just have a feeling.
The solutions:
1. Require time tracking. OnlineJobs.ph/timeproof
This was my first reaction.
Did it work?
No.
Why?
Because it creates a situation of distrust between you. It creates an adversarial relationship. It’s you telling them “I don’t trust you, but I’m not going to tell you why, so instead I’m just going to monitor every second of your time.”
I actually did it a couple times, failing to have it make a difference both times.
Probably because I knew I had smart people who were very capable. When their productivity didn’t go up, I didn’t want to fire them. I knew they were good. Something just wasn’t right.
2. Have a frank conversation.
This took some thought on my part.
I was scared to send it.
I had no proof of their productivity decline.
I was frustrated.
Did it solve the problem?
Yes!
Here’s how I’ve had this honest conversation. I actually had this conversation last week with someone on my team.
This is kind-of long so you see my actual approach.
Customize this to your situation.
“Hey, I really like your work. I really like having you on my team.
Lately (well…for a while now), I’ve felt like you’re not putting in the time you should be putting in. Your work quality has declined. You’re not as productive as you were.
I think you know and feel this too.
Your work quality has declined. You make simple mistakes that aren’t because you didn’t know what to do, they were just lazy mistakes.
I don’t know if you have another job and you’re putting your effort there? I don’t know if you’re bored? I don’t know if I’ve done something wrong? I don’t know if you expect me to make the work good?
But…what I know is I’m frustrated and don’t like feeling this way and I want to work this out with you so you have a long term job with us. I really want you to continue working with us, but the way it’s going right now just isn’t working.
So, can you be honest with me?
Are you bored with your work?
Do you dislike your job?
Do you have another job and are putting your effort there?
Do you want to continue working for me?
What do we need to do to get your productivity back on track?
What do we need to do to get the quality up so I’m not frustrated when I get work back from you?”
Things to consider:
1. They want the job! If you’re a good boss (kind, considerate, caring), it’s unlikely that they don’t want the job.
2. They’re working a lot. Most Filipinos (not all…but most) are working 60 hours/week. If they’re working 35 for you, they’re working 25 elsewhere. This is just what they need to do to make ends meet. If you don’t want them to, pay them more. Give them more hours. Talk through finances with them.
3. Poor work is a cultural misunderstanding. In the Philippines, it’s the boss’ job to make sure the work is done right. If you’re concerned with quantity, they’re happy to do more work just to show you they’re doing a lot. But the quality is going to suffer. And it’s culturally ok for them to put the onus on you to make sure the work is right.
You need to flip this switch.
– make them responsible
– give them a title
– emphasize quality over quantity
Once they understand the situation, and they trust you, they’re likely to take off and fly!
4. They must trust you. If a Filipino VA doesn’t trust their boss, they’ll rationalize all kinds of things in their work.
– “she doesn’t care anyway”
– “they’re rich so it doesn’t matter”
– “he’s probably going to fire me anyway”
– “they’re going to yell at me no matter what I do…so I’ll do as little as possible”
None of these need to be the case, but you have to get them to trust you.
– be reasonable
– don’t yell
– show them you care
– provide training
– ask about their family
– take responsibility
If you take the approach of “I must have done something wrong, what did I do?” rather than “This person is lazy and doesn’t want to work.” you’re much more likely to turn your smart VA into a rock star.
They don’t want to work for a bad boss. It’s just not worth it.
5. They’re scared. They don’t want to have a conversation with you. Or, they don’t know how to. Or they think it’s inappropriate. Or they’re worried that if they open up about their productivity issues, it means they’re admitting to failure and asking to be fired.
It’s on you to start the conversation.
Be honest.
Don’t beat around the bush.
Remind them that what’s more important is that they make an effort to do better as much as they can, and you’re not going to fire them over every little mistake
Every time I’ve done this, it has improved the relationship and I’ve gotten better work.
6. They need feedback.
Productivity decline can occur even when nothing bad is happening.
When your VA is stuck on a problem, their productivity could decline.
If there’s a new project or they’re working on a new task they haven’t perfected yet, they might be taking their time to make sure they’re getting it right.
If this is the case, you need to check in on them. Ask them if they’re stuck or need help with anything. They might not be aware of their productivity issue if they’re too fixated on a problem or a new task.
And, fixation…is real.
They get fixated on a single thing, worried they’re going to disappoint you, and they forget about everything else. Then they rush through other tasks just to get them done.
Again…have a frank conversation. Make sure things are ok.
7. An online job is a dream job. Not for everyone. But for most.
Yes, there are some bad apples. Often they’re at the higher end of the pay range. They’re the ones who figured out how to easily get employers to hire them. They know if you don’t like what they’re doing they can just get another job.
But most are just trying to survive.
They just want to do honest work for honest pay.
They want to be proud of what they do.
Don’t over-pay. It leads to a bad situation.
Don’t under-pay. This has ethics issues.
Look at our salary guide.
John
