Mistakes to Avoid

Treating Virtual Team Like Machines - there are employees who are so stern when it comes to their Virtual Assistants, that they neglect to establish a good relationship with their employees. This aspect should not be taken for granted because this is the key factor that makes employees productive and stay in their job longer. The relationship you build with them will shortly translate into loyalty and motivation.

Not Having Enough Tasks for Outsourcing - some people, so eager to join the outsourcing bandwagon, sign contracts and send out payment without really having prepared tasks to be outsourced. In businesses, there is no room for wasting time, so before forming your virtual team, make sure that you have their tasks laid out 2-3 months before their official start date.

Disorganized Schedule - with this item, we mean your schedule. Of course, your virtual employees already have their fixed working schedule, but it should also be clear for them at what time of the day they can reach you, or how often you will check on their output. This will not only comprise the consistency and accuracy of your employees' output, but will also create clutter in your E-mail, Skype, Gtalk, and even Phone. Moreover, because of this clutter, there is also a greater possibility for you not to properly address all their concerns.

Procrastinating - well, in almost any project, this is a big mistake. It becomes even more important to avoid this when you are outsourcing. There are times when you trust the output submitted to you too much, just because you get too lazy to validate them. Leaving mistakes unnoticed or uncorrected can gradually impede your business operations and image.