5 Tips To Become The Cool “Boss” Virtual Assistants Will Love To Work For

Greater physical distance is the ultimate challenge when managing virtual assistants. But distance should not hinder the efficiency and quality of work, nor your effectivity as a boss or manager. But, it is hard to build loyalty and a good working relationship if all you are to them is a manager who assigns work and deadlines. To keep your virtual assistants motivated and convinced that they are working for a good company, maybe you have to start becoming a “cooler” boss. Here are some tips that will make you “cool”:

Highly Ineffective Leaders

1. Have fun in the virtual workplace!

Who won’t be motivated by the idea of fun? Make it part of your work culture! You can plan fun and creative activities that will refresh your workers from tedious work. For example, you can have a contest for the best Skype account picture or mood message. It is very important that you’ll get to know them as real people and not just as workers.

2. Send them messages – personally!

People have life outside of workplace, so don’t just communicate with your workers on the entire basis of work. Send greetings. Exchange few e-mails about their hobbies and favorite food. Ask how they are after a day’s heavy workload. It will be better if the notes are personally written to each of them and not just a general, group message. Through private one-to-one messages, you can include what you love about their work and some things they need to improve. Doing so assures them that you care for their well-being and not just instruct them to work.

3. Don’t be a boss, be a coach!

Instead of micromanaging everything, mentor them on how to get the job well-done. Don’t leave them where they are right now. Feed them with relevant knowledge that will help them. Send them helpful tools that they can explore and use in the work. Give them goals to achieve for them to grow. People work differently so you might study for some time how you can help them grow.

4. Honor your word.

The first thing that makes you trust-worthy is your words. Do your part of the agreement, even as simple as sending payments on time. When your employees see that you are trust-worthy, they are motivated to do their part as well.

5. Hooray for celebrations!

Celebrate an achievement whether it is attaining a goal or beating the deadline. Set an online party by creating hashtags for your team. For example, a tweet to you virtual assistants about job well-done may include these hashtags: #thebestteamever, #nicedayatwork, #proudofmyteam.

Harness the power of emoticons: Send a message of congratulations with a handshake emoticon. Or include a happy face to show your appreciation.

You can also make conversations lively – not the monotonous, strictly formal bossy voice. Adding a little “Haha” laugh to casual chats ease the awkwardness they feel, and even your distance (literally and figuratively) with each other. It’s the idea that you value your workers. It shows that you are with them in accomplishments and challenges. When workers see that they are not merely being treated as means to an end, they are motivated to do what needs to be done and accomplish the goals for the team or company.