Once you’ve mastered time management, you’re ready for the next step: delegating chores you no longer need to do yourself. Let’s start out by defining delegation. This is how Dictionary.com defines delegation: (powers, functions, etc.) to another as an agent or deputy. In other words, delegation is the act of designating another person to accept responsibility for a task. In the context of civics, delegation refers to the act of sending a delegate to vote on your behalf. It’s quite similar in the business context: you’re letting someone take over what you previously managed.

What Are Some Ways to Determine What I Should Delegate?

If you’re already persuaded that delegation is a terrific way to save time and expand your company, the issue is straightforward: what do you delegate? Here are some recommendations that could be useful:

• Delegate to a virtual assistant, according to the VA’s skills. Working with VA FLIX, you will have access to a virtual assistant’s talents and expertise. That is essential. You did employ them for a purpose, after all: if they are adept at bookkeeping, assign them to your accounting software and have them manage your monthly spending reports.
• Give yourself a daily to-do list. Attempt to order this to-do list with the most essential items appearing first. Then impose a time restriction on yourself. Try outsourcing any unfinished tasks to a VA and observe their performance.
• Get in sync. Use a program like TripIt to synchronize your trip plans with a VA. This will assist you in delegating your book while keeping you completely informed. You may also add them as a user to your calendar and scheduling software so that you can assign these tasks immediately.

What Are the Signs of Effective Delegation and What’s My Target Outcome?

How can you determine whether it is functioning properly? For starters, you’ll notice results. A virtual assistant who accepts a new job and completes the assigned tasks with no fuss demonstrates their ability to manage the increased obligation. But let’s examine some other indicators of good delegation:

• Better results from assisted activities. You hired a virtual assistant to help you write an essay as a freelancer. If the quality of your articles improves due to their research, you are successfully delegating.
• More free time. Suppose you have been used to working until 5:00 p.m. daily to keep up with costs, bookkeeping, accounting, and basic data entry. When you outsource it, even for as little as two hours per day, you should have more flexibility with your schedule. If, at 4:30 p.m., you realize you have nothing to do, this is a sign of achievement, not sloth.
• Increased ROI. Some individuals outsource marketing activities, such as customer outreach and sales funnel management. Or they may outsource their email marketing efforts. If you measure the ROI of these expenditures, see what happens when you contract this task to a virtual assistant. Do you receive more conversions through email? Extra prospects in the pipeline? If so, it becomes difficult to justify not delegating.

What Are My Options for Delegating?

There are a variety of delegation styles accessible to you. Here are some approaches to starting your own delegating strategy:

• Continuing your business as-is. Need to get VAs to run your business so you’re more “hands-off”? You can outsource some of the tasks you already do so that you’re no longer a cog in your own machine.
• Introducing a VA to your team. Already have a marketing team responsible for CRM? This team may be easily assisted or even managed by an experienced VA.
• Growing. As you expand your company, you may not have enough time to engage with consumers, but you realize that your email is piling up. Utilize a virtual assistant to assume these responsibilities and improve the capacity of your organization.

That leaves just one question: what are the specific activities you can delegate?

Why Hire a Virtual Assistant? 

If you have read our article Why Hire a Virtual Assistant, you are aware of some of the most pertinent reasons to delegate: saving time and money, expanding your company, and decreasing stress.

However, these are just three of the primary causes. You may discover that your firm has special requirements that must be met. A virtual assistant increases your capacity for more, whether that means growing your company without raising office expenditures or making new investments in the development of a specific area of your organization (such as social media or marketing). More expansion, more daytime hours, and more eyes on the ball.

What Should I Delegate to a VA?

What is the virtual assistant experience like? No single solution exists. It might mean one thing to someone involved in marketing and social media. Someone who needs an executive assistant for general office and scheduling duties has a different understanding of the term. Why should you outsource certain tasks to a VA, and for what reasons?

In this resource, we’ll examine the particular questions and answers listed above. We’ll go deeply into what your individual requirements are, what a virtual assistant may provide, and eventually compile a list of the most reasonable demands you can make of a VA.

Specific tasks you can delegate to a virtual assistant

It’s nice to discuss the capabilities of a virtual assistant, but let’s get more specific. Here are some of the most frequently assigned duties to virtual assistants:

Administrative Duties

• Office management. Ordering fresh supplies and monitoring office activity, among other duties. Even though they are not physically there, a virtual assistant may do a substantial portion of the everyday office administration tasks.
• Project management. Suppose you have a team of remote employees that communicate using an app such as Slack. A virtual assistant with expertise in this area can not only keep your staff informed but also guarantee that they follow up on what’s happening so that you are never in the dark.
• Travel arrangements. Need to schedule travel and accommodations in advance of an essential business conference? Request that your virtual assistant handle the details while you return to your job. You will have reservations and a round-trip flight booked without having to arrange the details yourself.
• Data entry. For many company owners, typical chores requiring data entry, such as filling in contact management software, are redundant. To a virtual assistant, though, this is all in a day’s work.
• Scheduling. Any company owner, entrepreneur, or C-level executive must contend with a hectic schedule: a busy schedule. It is essential to outsource these activities to a virtual assistant (VA) so that you are free to concentrate on other vital responsibilities. However, you may also have your VA manage your calendar so that you are never too busy.
• Transcription. Suppose you have a phone recording with a great deal of information that you need to include in a Word document. Without assistance, it might seem to take an eternity to enter everything into word processing software. However, if you outsource the process to a virtual assistant, it will be completed in no time.
• Meeting minutes. By bringing your virtual assistant to a meeting online, where they can hear every detail, you may be able to make meeting minutes accessible to those who were unable to attend but request them.
• Phone calls. Taking phone calls is a terrific way to disconnect yourself from your phone system, therefore protecting you from distractions. Providing, however, that you outsource these phone conversations to a virtual assistant. Your virtual assistant may even make phone calls on your behalf.

Personal Assisting

• Making appointments. Need to schedule an essential appointment without interrupting your work flow? Have a virtual assistant call ahead to determine the most convenient time for you, book the appointment, and fit it into your work schedule. Since they may already be handling your schedule, this may be the most efficient method for avoiding a crazy workweek.
• Email inbox management. Want to reach “inbox zero”? It is difficult when your email is flooded with urgent demands from clients, customers, and business partners. VAs can assist you in sorting through this chaos and advise you on what requires further action and what may be removed. You may also have a VA assist you with data input so that you don’t lose important information that might otherwise be maintained only in your email.
• Research. Need to determine which office supplies are the cheapest? When planning a holiday, do you need to know where the greatest destination is? Need to learn something? Hand over research responsibilities to your VA and instruct them to provide you with their best results. You’ll still have the ability to make decisions, but you won’t have to spend as much time doing so.

Taxes and Bookkeeping

• Bookkeeping. Bookkeeping may not be your favorite activity on a daily basis, but it is vital for doing business correctly. Delegating the task to a virtual assistant is a terrific way to free up your time so you can concentrate on your company’s business.
• Managing expenses. Are you fed up with looking at your expenses? Are they recorded? Accepting them? Rejecting cost requests? Hire a virtual assistant and educate them to handle spending in the same manner as you have.
• Tax issues. Need someone to handle matters such as paying self-employment taxes and completing quarterly tax returns? Your virtual assistant, particularly one with accounting experience, can do much to ensure that you keep on top of your tax obligations.
• Handling follow-ups. You just had a huge sales meeting, and you want to ensure that you maintain contact with that prospect by contacting them later. A virtual assistant may plan automated follow-up reminders on your behalf. You may also have them manage the follow-up by phone or email.

Marketing, Customers, and Digital

• Social media management. Tired of individually replying to clients and consumers on social media? Not certain how to create engaging posts that gain interest? A VA with expertise in social media administration should be able to handle these responsibilities, allowing you to go back to work.
• Scheduling social media posts. Your social media demands a separate schedule. If you have dealt with it previously, you are aware of how much time it may take. You are responsible for hashtag research. Considering the content. Creating posts. Developing creative thoughts and concepts. If you’re being truthful, it’s a touch excessive. However, a VA will gladly accept this work as part of their usual responsibilities.
• Customer relationship management. Keeping your clients/customers satisfied is one of the most crucial responsibilities you have in a company. This requires not just contacting them, but also being accessible when they call. If you already have CRM software that helps you understand the unique concerns of each customer and how to follow up with them, it is imperative that you select a virtual assistant who has expertise with this program.
• Customer support. Those clients who will surely contact you through social media have the right to be heard. The difficulty? You should not always be required to respond. A virtual assistant may reply to social media customer care queries, referring users to the right forms and even resolving their difficulties.
• Content management and generation. Suppose you have an active blog on your website but are not always able to maintain it. You may outsource content management to a virtual assistant and have them schedule material. In certain circumstances, they may collaborate with freelance writers or manage the material themselves. They may also function as a blog editor so that your work continues to be published even when you’re not paying attention to it.
• Keyword research. Keyword research merits its own talent, experience, and even a whole blog article. However, there are virtual assistants that are aware of this and may assist you with keyword research for your marketing efforts.
• SEO. If you don’t want to spend time optimizing your website, you can always outsource such responsibilities to an SEO-savvy virtual assistant. They will be able to do activities such as improving your descriptions and headers, as well as run your existing material through Clearscope and alter it to better match your objectives.
• Blog and community updates. If your website has an active community of comments on its blog, which may also extend to your social media accounts, it is beneficial to keep your toes wet. A VA can simply read over and filter these remarks. They may also respond on behalf of your business and promote participation.
• Replying to customer support tickets. Suppose you use a service such as Zendesk to guarantee that your customers are constantly satisfied. How can you address their problems without allowing the most recent customer tickets to impede your team’s productivity? Outsource the assistance for tickets to the VA.

Technical Work and Administration

• File management. File organization is critical. Not only will it help you remain organized, but it will also assist you in assessing your present file management requirements. If you want to keep a fully backed up data management system, have your virtual assistant frequently arrange your files and inform you of any demands your firm must address.
• Cloud software management. What software do you use, and is it effective? As noted above, are you backing up your data correctly? Are your files accessible? If your workplace were to unexpectedly burn down, do you have everything you need preserved digitally so that you can quickly resume operations? If not, ensure that your VA addresses these concerns.
• Backing up files. It should not be necessary to do file backups. If you want to ensure complete file security, instruct your virtual assistant to back up your most essential folders on separate hard drives or cloud-based file storage on a regular basis.
• Business security. Is it simple to obtain the files that you possess? The passphrases? In such a case, a virtual assistant with expertise in enhancing data security will do a great deal to guarantee that you have all you need to keep your company confidential. Invest in password management software, and have your virtual assistant assist with data input if you find this tough to set up yourself.
• Password management. How is your password management, specifically? Your virtual assistant may help you stay current by verifying passwords, processing data input, and generally securing your files.

Limitations When Working With a VA

One review of the aforementioned responsibilities should provide you with a solid foundation upon which to create a connection with your virtual assistant. However, what about the restrictions?

You’d be surprised. A remote worker is no longer constrained by technology in the modern day. They are able to answer the phone as if they were sitting at your desk. Given the technology, they can react to SMS. They may interact with consumers as if they are physically there at your company, even if they are not.

However, there are a few restrictions we should mention:

• Independence. Remember that VAs are autonomous individuals. They are often freelancers or operate on a nearly-freelance basis, so they appreciate time freedom. You’ll need to work closely with your VA to communicate precisely what you need and your time-related expectations. When you deal with a firm like VA FLIX, we can help you manage this connection so that you don’t wind up employing someone with entirely different expectations.
• Physical location. There are no “Star Trek” transporters available to instantly bring your VA to your workplace, despite our best efforts. Therefore, they will be restricted to their actual location. This is not a concern, but it is something you should be aware of when you contemplate employing a VA. In many instances, the majority of the work you would assign to a personal assistant in the real world may also be assigned to a virtual assistant.

What Would You Pay to Delegate to a Virtual Assistant?

If you have already examined our blog article on VA expenses, you are aware that you can expect to spend up to $50 per hour for a VA in the United States.

There are several positives linked with this price. To begin with, the cost is predictable. You do not have to worry about additional, hidden expenditures, such as a new computer or paying for benefits.

However, once you delegate to a virtual assistant, you will have more free time and less worry. Imagine not needing to labor late into the night in order to complete an assignment. Imagine waking up to discover that a virtual assistant has finished a job while you slept. Imagine being phone-free on weekends and throughout your whole vacation.

That is how it is when you can delegate effectively.

Once you know how to delegate, you can determine whether a virtual assistant is ideal for you. We can assist. In our next resource, you’ll discover more. Alternatively, if you are already persuaded, we propose that you join up with VA FLIX to work with a staffing manager who can assist you in finding virtual assistants who meet your individual requirements. By comparing their background to your most frequent business duties, you will have a better understanding of what you can (and should) assign to a virtual assistant (VA).