Building a High Performing Virtual Assistant Team

In this episode, we discuss how trade business owners can build a strong virtual assistant team. This helps improve efficiency, cut down on admin work, and create more room for growth. Josh talks with Nadja Bevanovic. They discuss what is needed to add virtual assistants to a trade business. This includes systems, leadership, and processes. This episode shares practical tips on how VAs can enhance your business. It covers recruitment, onboarding, communication, and accountability. Learn how VAs can be more than just a resource—they can be a valuable part of your team.

Building a High Performing Virtual Assistant Team to whole topic, we cover:

• Start With Your ‘Don’t Do’ List Identify tasks you shouldn’t do anymore. This helps define the right role and lays a clear foundation for hiring a VA.

• Why Culture Matters More Than Cost Good virtual assistant relationships need clear communication. They need training and support too. A strong cultural fit is also important. It’s not just about the lowest price.

• Creating Structure, Accountability & Ownership Josh and Nadja say onboarding helps new team members. Clear expectations are key. Regular check-ins make remote teams strong.

• How VAs Help Businesses Scale Virtual assistants take care of admin work. They also manage accounting and recruitment tasks. They also help with sales and customer service. This lets business owners focus on what’s really important.

Want to build a more profitable and organised trade business? This episode is full of practical tips you can use right away. If you feel overwhelmed by admin tasks, these lessons can help. They will boost your productivity. If you’re thinking about hiring your first virtual assistant, they can guide you too. Use these tips to build a stronger, more scalable business.

Learn how to recruit, manage, and develop a strong virtual assistant team. This team will help your business grow.

#TradeBusinessGrowth #ConstructionBusiness #VirtualAssistants #BusinessSystems #Leadership #TradeEntrepreneur

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Just because they're not getting paid a high hourly rate doesn't mean they're not highly skilled.

SPEAKER_01 0:04

You shouldn't look at it as how much they're worth they're worth gold, I believe. I've never looked at it as a dollar value or anything like that.

SPEAKER_00 0:12

There's been a shift in that since COVID because we work less in the offices now, so it is more normal to not be see each other every day. But it's not just letting them drift off over there and be forgotten about. Like how do you bring them in?

SPEAKER_01 0:23

You need to have your don't want-to-do list. So within your role, you have to have that to be able to establish and find a great VA.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Finding great talent can actually be a really difficult thing. But when you're able to expand out your business to be able to go and find and recruit exceptional VAs or an international team can be a really good support network to grow and scale your business. And that's something you've done over the years, haven't you, Naja?

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Yeah, yeah. We've done it with 365 for quite some time now. We've had some great VAs. Um we've also had some not so great VAs. Uh we've also learned along the way how to, I guess, how to look for the qualities in a great VA as well. Yeah. Um, we've obviously had support in that area too. Uh and then also when the VAs are no longer serving the purpose within your business as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Yep. Um, what are some of the things when you first started building the V virtual assistant team 4365? What were some of the processes you went through with, you know, with Alan, who's one of our trusted partners, to really make sure you found the right fit for the role and the right personality for the business?

SPEAKER_01 1:41

So one of the great things that I uh learned from Alan uh is you need to have your don't want-to-do list. So within your role, uh you have to have that to be able to establish and find a great VA and have a baseline for them to work with.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

So there's some of the things you want to delegate out and no longer deal with.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

That's right. Yeah. That's exactly right. But the one key aspect to that is to make sure that you know how to do those things that you are handing off to them as well. Yes. You can't just give them something you don't want to do, right? And then not know how to do them because then you can't lead or monitor in the background.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah. And how do you find like the cultural differences when you're bringing on VAs into your business? Maybe you've never had a VA before. What's the the major things to think about? Because it is a big of a bit of a cultural shock for some people to go, well, this is how they operate over in the Philippines, or whoever you you know you associate them with.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Uh, I think the best way to go about that area is to understand what drives them.

SPEAKER_00 2:47

So I think it's still humans, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:49

That's right, yeah. And you interact with them just like you would with anyone else. You don't.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Do you think there's a common misconception? Like people think like, oh, your VA is not the same as having someone locally.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

No, I think uh there is a misconception about that. And a lot of businesses and people here in Australia also leave them, leave them on their own. You know, they're they they're just expected to know what's going on.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

They have to crucify them, right? Don't manage, don't train, don't onboard, and then wonder why you're not getting performance out of them.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Yeah, that's exactly right. So I think the biggest thing is to take ownership of them, you know, guide them, train them and develop them in a certain way, bring them into your culture, whatever that might be for you. Um, every business is different in that aspect. So I think it's just about them seeing they will do the work regardless. But they also need to, you know, be guided along the way and encouraged. But you need to figure out what that is for them. And each individual is different.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

Yeah, sweet. So, what's some of the roles you've covered off in 365 that get covered off by your international team?

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Um, so I have so I have Kimberly, who's amazing. Um, she does all uh account side of things um with Simpro and Zero. Uh and then she also dabbles into recruitment as well. She actually has a few hats on at any one time, depending on where I need her. And that's a great skill to have to be able to put on that um that as it's needed. Um I've also had just admin. So the I guess that the the work that my previous VAs have done is data entry and basic, very b basic things that are time consuming for myself, but not necessarily for for them, I guess. And then they know how to do it best. So they yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:34

So do you how do you how do you actually uh delegate the work and communicate with them?

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Uh so I delegate the work. We have uh I guess well it's it again, it depends how they work. I found that uh giving them we have a fortnightly catch-up now and they get a list of things that I need assistance with. So you everything's outlined in that one email, and then at the end of the month they come back to me with all the things that have been completed and given to them throughout the month.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

They still come along to your daily huddles and weekly meetings, right? Is that is that is that the normal way that you bring them into 365 so they feel a part of the team?

SPEAKER_01 5:09

100%. And they have they very much have an input into how we deal with our trades, um, how we incorporate our day-to-day running of the business. And it's not just like you don't have to give them just a list of things to do daily. They can build that out. Every great VA will build that out for themselves in the background. How best to, you know, run day by day and week by week.

unknown 5:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

And how do you find like the incentive structure? What when they do a great job, how do you reward, you know, you might reward someone locally by giving them a gift or you know, taking them out or doing something like that. But if they're over there, how do you actually keep them engaged and and feeling valued for what they're doing?

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Yeah, so for Kimberly, we've um and my previous videos as well, we've done an annual gift uh to just to thank them for the work that they've done.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

Also uh just saying thank you and acknowledging that the work that's gone into every week. You know, it doesn't need to be, I guess my team knows that I appreciate them because I tell them that on a regular basis. Be but it's not uh it's not an everyday thing. Every week I'll say thank you, I'll check in. If they need me, I'm always available to them. So just acknowledging them is enough for them at times. Um, there are obviously um incentive structures along the way, um, whether it be a you know pay rise or a gift at the end of the year or quarterly or whatever the case might be.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Yeah, and you've got three VAs I think that you oversee. Is there a bit of like an all chart or hierarchical structure that they sort of report to each other or do they all come to you?

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Uh no, so yeah, there is a all chart. So uh Kimberly's my main VA, and then uh the two that I have uh report to Kimberly, and then Kimberly reports to me. Yep. Because then there isn't a loss of you know, uh miscommunication, or I said this, he said that type thing.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

So do you find that having like a a leading VA or a a managing VA helps like the flow of communication through the cultures and like filter it to them in a way that other Filipinos understand?

SPEAKER_01 7:11

I believe so, but I also believe it um creates consistency too. So if you have one main VA that trains them, that onboards the other VAs, that um uh carries them through their training and development, helps the consistency across the VAs. Depending on what week I'm on, depending on what you know month we're in of the year, it all depends how I would train someone that we're bringing on. But they're very much structured, um, they have their way of uh staying consistent, I guess. So it's a very good idea to have one VA train the others.

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Yeah, I agree. It leverages you, right? So you bring UVAs, which you guys are about to go through the process of expanding your team. So run us through that. You've got the don't do list, bringing them on board through Kimberly, run people through a bit of a process that if they've never had a VA before or are gonna add another VA to their team, run us through a bit of the N10 process of that.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

So, first and foremost, I would create my don't do list. I would reach out to Alan and let him know what I'm looking for. Yeah, it would very much be a casual conversation with Alan, uh just establishing what it is, you know, and he would have questions too, depending on what area of the business you're looking to cover.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

It's not recruiting any role in your business, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Correct, yeah. Yeah. So um he has his own criteria that he looks for and questions that he asks. So I would reach out to him and then what happens from then on, I get a few uh applicants through and I would look through them and see, listen to their voice recordings, things like that, and see which one has the qualities that I'm looking for. The biggest thing that I look for in a VA, and especially because I can only speak having a VA team, is someone that will adapt to myself and Kimberly and the other VAs.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

The personality fit too, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

That's a that's a huge um that's a huge aspect because you know, you can't have a team that clashes because then that makes your life tricky and hard to navigate. So you have to have to look for the areas that yeah, benefit.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

So you choose the VA, they come on board. Is it it's like is it a typical onboarding process because they aren't able to come into the office and grab the uniform and sit beside them? So how do you actually get high performance out of a VA straight away?

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Um, it's communicating with them every day, morning, afternoon, being open to them to reach out to you when they're needed. Like I know there'll be a little bit of disturbance in our rituals day-to-date for the first week or two, but to be honest with you, it it's very easy for them to settle into a role because they're given a specific direction of where their role is and w which lane they stay in. So if you're clear with that from the beginning, that very much gives them a clear direction and it makes your life a whole lot easier. If you just bring them on and you don't give them anything, you don't give them a direction, you don't give them an area of the business.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

It's like anyone.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

I think what I want to rehighlight the fact with you that I I know when I first hired my first VA many, many years ago, I had this misconception that I treated them different to any other recruitment. I didn't think about what I wanted from them, how I was going to bring them on board, how I was gonna make them feel communicated and brought them into, where's the accountability and KPIs? We I know that Christina and Alyssa and Mary and all the other VAs at Resvita get treated like anyone else in in um an organization, whether they're local or remote. And I think there's been a shift in that since COVID because we work less in the offices now, so it is more normal to not be see each other every day. But it's not just letting them drift off over there and be forgotten about. It's like how do you bring them in? And I know something we spoke to Jimmy uh today as well, it's like you guys have the summits, 365 summits. And I know in the past you've sort of zoomed them into those calls and I've spent the day. Um, there is in in whatever capacity they could. Even some of our members have actually looking at flying their VAs over for a week to actually get them to have first hand experience of what it's like to quote what the customers are like, and I think it's a small investment to bring people into your world.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

It is, and I think uh we also live in this virtual world as well. Everything is a virtual nowadays, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 11:17

Like that Kumo space, whatever it's called, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Correct, yeah. Like you can do virtual offices, you can do you can take it next level with virtual world, but you do want to bring them into your world, whatever that looks like for you. So if for um your business you can have the luxury to bring them, you know, along because experience is everything, and we as much as we love the virtual world, we also want the human connection as well. Yeah, it will open their eyes to a whole lot different aspects to life, essentially. So bring them in will yeah, m help them develop and grow for your business. Yeah. And it will be benefited.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Such a great support, like there's all this thing around AI and automations, and that's people got different beliefs on the value of that. But when I had my biggest, when my business was scaling, it was around 50 to 55 employees. At least eight of them were VAs. So I have uh a phenomenal local person, like a project manager, sales manager, account manager, you know, paying them multiple six figures and then giving them a phenomenal virtual assistant, right? And there's a I think you still gotta people don't understand that just because they're not getting paid a high hourly rate doesn't mean they're not highly skilled. What makes it a uh great value exchange is the currency exchange. So what you pay for that VA is generally a fair and decent wage for where they are, and because of where we are for currency exchange, it becomes highly um commercially viable for a business. But it's like if you can get 10 or 20% more out of your people, why would you not give them a VA to help them? Like uh Tim, right, with his sales inside of 365, giving him Chris to be able to support him to be able to help with his sales reports, prepare himself for meetings, book in the quotes, like it's really unlimited what they're able to do and support a business.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

It is, and I don't think you should to a certain extent, you shouldn't look at it as a uh uh how much they're they're worth. They're worth gold, I believe. I've never looked at it as a dollar value or anything like that. Yeah. Um, when I look at Kimberly or Chris, regardless. I see them as such a huge benefit to you know me being able to step into a higher role within the business and not be bogged down in the detail with Chris. Um he's helping Tim be out on the road more and connect in a human way with his clients rather than sitting behind the computer or a screen every day or behind his phone. So it gives Tim the ability to get out on the road, meet people in real life, and Chris does the you know, admin behind the scenes work. And he's still so Chris still calls our clients. The Kimberly, you know, is very much in the background, but following up invoices and everything.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

Exactly. Yeah. I think like well, I love the part you said, and it's a really good close for us. It's like look at AI, look at virtual assistants in a way that you can get more out of your teams to do more for your customer. It's not about reducing everything to zero, it's about how do I add in a bit more to then add more value to my customers and support my team to do a better job. Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Handle It Podcast. Head over to resvita.com.au to join the handle it with resvita community, like hundreds of people, just like you have done, and gain access to grab free resources, tools, templates, and the blueprints you need to scale. Now you know it's your move. See you inside.