Ask any of our VArmies how many times I’ve asked them to “Spam Me” and they’d probably tell you that I’ve asked them to do that a thousand times. Don’t get me wrong, I get tons of emails, DMs and PMs from my team and our clients and yes, I read them all. You might think, why in the world am I still asking our team to spam me? Communication. What I’ve learned ever since Alla and I started to run our own remote team is that communication is key. We do not see each other every day. I wouldn’t know what’s going on, not unless someone tells me. And while I certainly do not like to micromanage, I want to be aware. It took some time for them to be comfortable with messaging us. So we also asked them why they’re hesitant. Most VAs think we don’t like receiving a lot of messages because they know we receive a lot of messages and think that they’re just adding to the pile. If you’re having trouble with this with your VA, tell them. This is what I tell our VArmy: “Please message me. I may not respond to it but I read it. ALL of it. And I’d rather that I get tons of updates from you than nothing at all. So, spam me.” Explicitly asking our team to do this has made a huge and positive impact on how we go about our day and how we serve our clients.
We are able to check on projects and correct things, if any, early on.
We are able to address roadblocks right away.
We are aware of the progress, issues (personal or otherwise), and roadblocks.
We are aware of the current load that they have on their plates and can re-prioritize things on the spot, if needed.
We are able to spot things that are no longer necessary and remove them, saving both our team and our clients time.
By the way, other than asking them to message you, do your part too and actually read their messages. Being aware of what they’ve been up to will make a huge difference in how you operate.
