VA Outsourcing And What Entrepreneurs Must Know! with Charissa Bacus

Episode Summary

Charissa Bacus takes us into the world of being a Virtual Assistant. Get the behind-the-scenes details right from the source. She’s clear, concise, and informative.

Learn:
-the biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make when hiring a virtual assistant
-the most important thing to do when training your virtual assistant
-how to provide your virtual assistant with a map for success

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Masterclass:  Working Hard Sucks And It’s Costing You Money!
https://winthehourwintheday.com/working-hard-sucks-and-its-costing-you-money-masterclass

Win The Hour Win The Day 
https://winthehourwintheday.com

Check out the Outsourcing Playbook For Busy Entrepreneurs here: https://winthehourwintheday.com/outsourcing-playbook

Charissa Podcast

[00:06:52]Kris Ward:  Hello, Chrissa.

[00:06:54]Charissa Bacus:  Hello?

[00:06:57]Kris Ward: Did I say that better?

 [00:06:58]Charissa Bacus:  Karesa yes, that is correct. Thank you, Kris. 

[00:07:00]Kris Ward:  I’m working. Okay.

[00:07:04] Okay. Here we go. This is awesome. All right. So first what we’re going to do, we are going to do exactly what we did the other day. Dustin, my Lindsey. Oops, sorry. Now I moved it. Why would I do that? Okay. We’re just going to do another live, but now we’re going to do it on my page instead of in the group. So pretty much the same thing.

[00:07:25] All right. And then we’ll stop that. Take a little break and then I’ll prep you for the podcast. All right, fantastic. So you did amazing yesterday with Karen. The only thing, the poor thing with you is. She lives in a very well, I was going to say remote area. She doesn’t live in the Philippines, but she was having wifi trouble yesterday.

[00:07:44] So there were times where you thought she wasn’t talking back, but it was a delay, so, okay. I’ll say something else. Yeah. I kind of feel bad because I already ended the call in the, uh, I think she’s saying something like goodbye. Thank you. And after the call, I said, oh my God, I just ended the call. And she’s just saying something.

[00:08:07] So that, that’s why now I know

[00:08:18] Kris?.

[00:08:32] Hello.

[00:08:36] Kris, are you there? 

[00:08:38]Kris Ward:  You know what I did? I’m such a ding dong, I reached to move my computer. I grabbed the one spot on the back. There’s this huge screen I have, the one spot has a button and I kind of have shut off my computer, but it came back. Oh my heavens. So, no, you did great. You did great. Even though at times it was kind of awkward because you’re like, oh, is she not talking back?

[00:08:59] Or is it the Wi-Fi? I thought considering it was a very difficult situation. You did exceptional. So. Yeah.

[00:09:06]Charissa Bacus: Thank you so much. There was a message that her bandwidth is low, so that kind of gives me, some kind of hint that there was a low connection in her end, so that’s actually fine. 

[00:09:21]Kris Ward: Okay. You did awesome.

[00:09:22] So now when we do this again, it’s kind of awkward, cause my back is to you. But again, try not to look at me, try to look right into your camera because then on the live you’re looking this way and I’m looking that way. 

[00:09:38]Charissa Bacus: Okay. Okay. So looking at my camera. 

00:09:39]Kris Ward:Yeah. Or, you know what? Try looking here. Can you see that?

[00:09:43]Charissa Bacus: Yeah, that would be perfect. It looks like at the phone.

[00:09:47]Kris Ward: Yeah. So look up here where the phone is. That way you don’t look like I’m facing you. You’re looking at me. So look at that black spot.  Make this more annoying, I don’t think so. All right. All right. Hold on one sec. This is awesome. Even my team was impressed.

[00:10:05] When somebody on my team, she was setting up the, making notes on Facebook, on the video and she goes, she’s really articulate. I said, I know I got to show this is crazy.

[00:10:18]Charissa Bacus:  I actually prepared beforehand. So just to make sure that.

[00:10:25]Kris Ward: Okay, here we go.

[00:10:29] So ready, make everybody’s hair. Okay.

[00:10:38]Kris Ward:  Hey guys, we have a very special treat for you today. Today. I want you to meet Charissa. 

[00:10:46]Charissa Bacus: Hi everyone.

[00:10:47]Kris Ward: Hold on. I want to start that. Teresa, Charissa. Oh, I did it again. I got your name wrong. Wait, spell. It keeps saying Charissa.

[00:10:59] Charissa, Charissa, Charissa.

[00:11:04] There you go. So sorry. Okay.

LIVE STARTS…

[00:11:15]Kris Ward:  Hey guys today, we have a super special treat for you. We have Charissa in the house. Now, we just hired her for one of our private coaching clients. And I just thought it’d be great for you guys to meet her, but also she’s going to give us the scoop behind the scenes. Cause she’s already gone through our 12 point hiring process so she can see it’s a different game here and how we operate.

[00:11:38] So I thought I would ask her what, as an experienced, you know, admin, virtual assistant type person, what are some of the common mistakes that people make when they’re hiring an outsourcer? Because that’s the thing people, it’s really about the hiring, training, onboarding, and that is what causes all the stress, or it makes it more work or why you start thinking of spending more and more money.

[00:12:01] That’s not the case. So Charisa, thank you so much for hopping on here with us. Could you tell us what couple of the mistakes that people make when they’re hiring outsourcers? 

[00:12:13]Charissa Bacus: Yeah, thank you so much for having me, Kris. I really appreciate this and to all the listeners, to all in the group. Hi everyone.

[00:12:22] So my name is Charissa and I’m from the Philippines. This is a great question, Kris, and very important also because right now a lot of companies are hiring virtual assistants, right? So it is important to take note, what are the mistakes in order to avoid them? So for me, the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is lack of communication.

[00:12:45] So when you just hire a VA, just like me, we wouldn’t really know exactly what our task will be like or how you would like it done. So that is why effective communication is a must. So it is a key for this relationship to work. So before you hand off a task, or before you hand off me to my client, it is

[00:13:08] always necessary to provide a clear instruction and also all the details such as login information, the schedule, because in this way it would be easier for the transition and easier for us to complete our task and also to avoid any misunderstanding or confusion on both parts. So the exam. 

[00:13:31] Kris Ward: Hold on. Well, I want to jump in there cause you just said really wise things that I want to unpack it a little bit.

[00:13:38] Okay. So the first one you talked about is communication and you know, everyone says, oh yes, communication is so important that we get that. But what I, you know, talk about is what we help with our coaching clients when we’re teaching them how to build their ‘WIN Team’ and also in our masterclass or our, you know, check it out.

[00:13:56] We’ve got a free masterclass coming up, the working hard sucks, and it’s costing you money. We’re going to be addressing some of this. So check out the link below, but when we talk about effective communication, it all sounds good. Oh yes, you should have effective communication. But I think let’s just stop there for a minute.

[00:14:12] I think what you’re talking about is somebody who will throw a bunch of tasks at you, if they do this, do that, and then you’re missing passwords, or you don’t know this has done on Tuesday, not Wednesday. And they’re just sort of giving you general clumps of information, but they’re not breaking it down. Correct?

[00:14:26]Charissa Bacus: Yeah, that is correct. Exactly.

[00:14:28]Kris Ward:  Okay. Now the other thing is for you guys, then you can say, oh, that sounds like a lot of work. It’s easier to do it myself, but no, that could be addressed with a really simple loom. There’s ways to put that in place. So that when you’re training somebody, they can set up the systems. But as long as you know, you’re building that with them, like, okay, this is something new, or I’m going to give you, we normally do this on Tuesdays.

[00:14:50] I’m going to shoot a loom and walk you through what I do. And then you do your best and come back with me with the information on missing. So it doesn’t have to be a lot of work. But when somebody throws a bunch of work at you, uh, Kris and it’s new, and then you’re all stressed out. You’re like, oh, I didn’t get to finish it.

[00:15:06] Cause they missed information. And then you’re kind of put in a bad spot because you have to point that out to your new employer, that you didn’t do your job. Well, you didn’t give me everything I needed because that’s kind of awkward. Right? 

[00:15:17]Charissa Bacus: Yeah, that is correct. Right. If they don’t tell you what you need, we are left guessing and I will be worried if I’m going to be in trouble since I’m new at the job.

[00:15:28] If they don’t give me my password, then there’s going to be confusion there. So it’s very, I would understand if they’re kind of hesitant to give their password. Because that is critical information, right? Like to give them.

[00:15:49]Kris Ward: Yeah, but that’s, hold on the password you can deal with that. I just don’t want to open a new can of worms because you can deal with ‘last pass’.

[00:15:49] That’s no problem. But then the other thing too, that you mentioned too, is, you know, being clear, what are the hours that we’re going to work and all this other stuff. And that’s something that we talk about all the time with our team is,  we teach people when they’re logging off to send email emails saying, okay, I’m signing off.

[00:16:08] And the reason we do that is because we want you Charissa to know that, okay. When I send other emails to you after you’ve logged off, it’s just because I’m getting stuff off my desk. That’s all. When you come back, that’s when you can start working, because what happens to too many outsources, you can tell me if you can relate to this Charissa.

[00:16:27] Is that you’re like, oh, I got an email. Oh, I’m new at this job. Oh, I better answer it. And so then you’re starting to think. I have to be on 24/7 and then the employer gets used to that. And so then it just sets up these horrible dynamics where we’re really clear when you log in, when you log out so that you’re not carrying the stress of that job.

[00:16:46] Have you ever experienced that kind of stress? Yes, I did, Kris. That is why it’s a very good point though. It is very important that you’re coordinated with this schedule and your time, because you have other life besides, you know, your work. So it’s important that you are aware of what time you should log in or log out because in that way, you both know when you’re going to expect this person to message you or to answer your emails.

[00:17:17] And you’re working in different time zones. I’m from the Philippines and you’re from the other parts of the country. So that’s why it’s very important that you talk to each other at what time you’re going to log in. So that’s it. 

[00:17:30]Kris Ward: Well, and I also too, when you’re stressed out and worried, you’re going to get in trouble.

[00:17:33] That’s not when you do your best thinking, but not only that you burn yourself out. So people were not interested in burning them out because it’s just a bad business plan. Then they’re not, you know, a Supreme sort of asset to us. Cause they’re just, you know, oh, stressed out. So anyhow, I was wanting to hop on here.

[00:17:49] You get to meet the amazing type of people that we continuously hire and help train onboard and do all that for our coaching clients. And again, guys, don’t forget the masterclass, we’re doing some amazing, really insightful stuff to show you this and give me some really big takeaways and change how you think about outsourcing and really share stuff with you that no one else is sharing and sort of, you know how to make it something that, you know, you really do stop working hard.

[00:18:16] Because working hard sucks and it’s costing you money. That’s the thing it’s costing you money. You don’t understand that. And it’s that working hard is not actually working for you. That’s just burning me out. You must know that by now. So check out the link below. We’ll talk soon. 

LIVE ENDS…

[00:18:32]Kris Ward:  Okay. Awesome. 

[00:18:34]Charissa Bacus: Thank you, Kris. That was great.

[00:18:37]Kris Ward:  Hold on. Close that. Now I just have to get Kasel because she’s going to come up with the keywords. So now in the interview for the podcast, we’re going to, we’re gonna do a little shorter back and forth because I’m going to have to interrupt you more because it has to be more conversational. So give me a little bit shorter answers and then I’ll hop in and we’ll go back and forth.

[00:18:57] That’s going to be all kinds of fun. Hold up. I’m just gonna. Yes. You sent me an email, Kris. I think I lost you. Yes, you did lose me because hold on, I just gotta..

[00:19:09] Start there. 

[00:19:18] Video posted pop R and B, can two Keywords.

[00:19:30] Okay. So I’m just, ’cause we posted the video. Kasel is going to give me the keywords cause we look up the keywords first and then we’ll proceed with our interview and have all kinds of fun. Are you looking forward to working with Karen? 

[00:19:45]Charissa Bacus: I’m sorry?

[00:19:46]Kris Ward:  Are you looking forward to working with Karen? 

[00:19:48]Charissa Bacus: Yeah. Looking forward to it. Really. So I’ll start on Monday. 

[00:19:54]Kris Ward: So actually I’ll meet with her on Tuesday. So you might start like Wednesday or something just because I want her to be all set up. My job is to make her easy for her and easy for you.

[00:20:04]Charissa Bacus: Okay. That’s great. 

[00:20:05]Kris Ward: So don’t worry. Get that sorted out.

[00:20:10] Why does my wifi, oh, I know. Hold on. Okay.

[00:20:19]Kasel: Hello?

[00:20:20]Kris Ward:  Hello. Kasel, okay. It’s on, I’m sharing my screen. It’s on my profile page.

[00:20:28]Kasel:  Okay, let me just listen to it.

[00:21:12]Kris Ward:  Okay.

[00:21:21] Now in the interview, Charissa. Charissa. What I try to do is put up my finger when I want to jump in. So you’ll slow down, but I don’t always get to do that. But I will definitely promise to interrupt you. These are all entrepreneurs that have been in business about five years and some of them have VA some of them don’t.

[00:21:40] But I’ll keep you on track. See this timer, checking everything. It’s gonna be great. Okay. I’m so excited.

[00:22:05] She’s almost done.

[00:22:13]Kasel: Do you want to use the one? I think it’s the same topic as the group that we did. 

[00:22:19]Kris Ward: Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s true. 

[00:22:21]Kasel: You also want to use this? ‘Outsourcing benefits and risks’. 

[00:22:24]Kris Ward:Yeah, I do the whole, You’re so much smarter than me Kasel, so I don’t know why. I didn’t think that, just do that. And I’ll proceed with my interview here with Charissa.

[00:22:34] So you don’t need me at all, duh. All right. Thanks. Bye.

[00:22:42] Silly chicken, right.

[00:22:53] Okay. All righty. Okay, here we go. All righty. Yeah.

[00:23:03] First thing we do.

[00:23:12] Nope.

[00:23:22] Okay. Now the first one we do is this. Second, we take a selfie.

[00:23:32] Okay.

[00:23:38] Okay. Perfect. Take a selfie. Now we put the back here. Speaker gallery. Okay. Perfect. Okay. Reset. Reset to selfie to record, it’s recording. Want to make sure it’s recording. Stop recording. Use ‘timer’, gallery view, full screen. Check my mic. Checking my mic.

[00:24:10] Same as ‘speaker microphone’. Great. Okay. Okay.

[00:24:26] Oh, now I’ve got a new challenge. Charissa, what’s your last name?

[00:24:36]Charissa Bacus: Bacus.

[00:24:37]Kris Ward:  Okay. All right.

[00:24:51]Okay. All right. Now this is a little bit more.

[00:25:05] Okay. Charissa Bacus. 

[00:25:10]Charissa Bacus: Yes. Perfect. 

[00:24:14]Kris Ward:  All right, we’re going to start. Are you ready? 

[00:25:17]Charissa Bacus: Yes, I am ready.

[00:25:22]Kris Ward:  Oh, give me, what did it say? Five things you’re going to talk about what outsources do wrong. Just so I have an idea.

[00:25:29]Charissa Bacus: Yes. I actually have an outline here, so just, I know what I’m going to talk about. Okay. So the first one is lack of communication. It’s always just like earlier, providing incomplete instructions. Okay. Not providing feedback. 

[00:25:43]Kris Ward: Oh, that’s good. 

[00:25:45]Charissa Bacus: Yeah. Not setting. So yeah. Feedback is very important. 

[00:25:51]Kris Ward: And that’s setting goals.

[00:25:53]Charissa Bacus: Yeah. Not setting proper expectations or goals for your VA. 

[00:25:58]Kris Ward: Okay, perfect. Okay. So I’m going to jump in lots. It’s going to go back and forth. It’s going to be good. It’s going to be about 20 minutes, so don’t worry.

[00:26:07]Charissa Bacus:  Okay.

PODCAST STARTS…

[00:26:14]Kris Ward:  Hey, everyone. Welcome to a super special episode of ‘Win The Hour, Win The Day Podcast. I am your host, Kris Ward, and boy, am I excited today? All right. For those of you that are not as familiar with me as I like you to be. What we primarily do is we help entrepreneurs stop working so hard.

[00:26:34] That is my passion. Your business should support your life, not consume it. And we do that in a number of ways with creating what we call your W.I.N Team. So you can get to what is next, your ‘what next team’. And we really lean into what we also call’ our super toolkits’. We can talk about that more later.

[00:26:50] And our whole premise is that most entrepreneurs are crawling out of the web of admin, about 80. You know, 80-90% of the time they’re in the web of admin, where we believe in the creation WIN Formula that you should be in creation mode, creating and, you know, building the stuff that’s going to bring in more money, 60% of the time, and only in admin, 40% of the time.

[00:27:12] So we talk about all that. I’m throwing a lot at you, but when we have, you know, in our coaching, you know, our coaching, private coaching clients or in our masterclass, all kinds of amazing things we have, we always help hire train and onboard outsourcers, you know, for our clients. So today we have someone that we have just hired for another one of our clients, Charissa.

[00:27:35] Charissa Bacus. And she’s going to give us the behind the scenes and tell us the biggest mistakes that most outsourcers make, which I know them, but I want you to hear them from her. And the reason I know them is because I talk to people all the time. I’m like, oh Kris, I tried that it didn’t work and this didn’t work.

[00:27:52] And it’s like, okay, but you know what? It’s really about the ‘hiring, training, onboarding’. So let’s just dive in. Charissa, welcome to the show. 

[00:28:03]Charissa Bacus: Yes. Thank you so much for having me on your show, Kris and hello to all the listeners out there. And yeah, this is actually a great topic to talk about right now, Kris, since a lot of companies are hiring VAs, so companies have different ways of hiring new employees, right?

[00:28:21] And I know that the hiring process is not easy on both sides.

[00:28:26]Kris Ward:  Hold on, I’m going to pick on you and you can jump in. I think it is easy. It’s easy for us. Now, what I would see though, is you did notice, we put you, we actually, you, maybe you didn’t notice, we put you through 12 different steps. Did you notice some of them?

[00:28:41]Charissa Bacus: Yes, yes. 

[00:28:41]Kris Ward:  Yeah. Some of them are sneaky, some of them are sneaky. So give me, before I dive in, I’m just going to tell you even one little thing that maybe you did notice. And when we posted and we narrowed it down and we interviewed you and you did well, and there was a whole bunch of steps you went through. And when I was looking initially at your application, and then I told you, here’s just a silly little thing I do, but it’s really important.

[00:29:05] I say, ‘okay, if you’re going to be attending the interview, please respond to me at this email’. And what I’m doing is I’m seeing you follow instructions. And I’m also seeing how you respond when you respond, what you say. So there’s all these little things I do that sort of weed it out before the interview and they’re all part of our steps and really just help us clarify who we’re getting.

[00:29:25] So, I do relate to what you’re saying for most people. It is really hard for us. I love it. And I find it really easy. So I digress. I’m sorry. I jumped in there and wanted just to make that note. So yes, it can be a taxing process for most, but tell me what your experience has been. 

[00:29:45]Charissa Bacus: Yeah, the hiring process was very seamless.

[00:29:48] I truly appreciate that. The easiest application I’ve ever made so far. Yeah. To be honest with you, it was very seamless and you answered all my questions right away and it starts with the application. And right after that, we had our zoom interview, just to get to know each other. And if I have the skillset that you’re looking for and after that is testing. So, you provided me with questions and asked me. 

[00:30:22]Kris Ward: Okay. So, ours is very different. So now what let’s dive into, what would be, let’s say a number of the mistakes that people make when you, the onboarding process, when you start working with them, what’s some of the experiences you had that certainly made your job more challenging because, oh, you’re in a bad spot.

[00:30:38] You, somebody hired you and if they’re not set up or onboarding you correctly, it puts a lot of stress and burden on you because you can’t tell them that. They’re your new employees. You can’t point out all their flaws. So give us some of the most common mistakes people make. And what is like for you when you’re having to deal with that.

[00:30:56]Charissa Bacus: Yeah, very well said, Kris. Number one for me is providing incomplete instructions. So providing a clear and detailed instruction or a job description would really help us VAs understand what your expectations on the task are. And it would also give us a chance to clarify the instructions and also ask questions before we begin working.

[00:31:22] So Filipinos are not as outspoken as what clients would probably expect. And this becomes an issue where sometimes the VA would be afraid to ask questions. So as an online worker, as myself, we don’t physically see you and English is not our native language. 

[00:31:44]Kris Ward: Okay, hold on. Hold on. I’m going to pick on you a little bit, because I think people listening to this show, I don’t know, like your English might be better than mine.

[00:31:51] So that is also that misnomer. People always think that, oh, with English as their second language, I’m like, well, if it is, I don’t know what their first language is like. Cause a lot of people overseas have spectacular, you know, English because ours get sloppy from slangs and stuff. So here’s the thing, I think there is that.

[00:32:11] And then I know that. I mean I’m from Canada. So they joke all the time and Canadians are very polite, but we’ve got nothing on the Filipinos, but taking that aside, to be fair, anyone, because I want to remove these myths. So it’s not just about dealing with a different culture. There are nuances in different cultures, but there’s also different cultures when I work in an office and the person beside me is from a different culture.

[00:32:33] They’re first-generation Italian or whatever, right? Yeah. But not only that, it doesn’t matter where you are when you’re new to a job and somebody gives you incomplete instructions. I, English is really my only language and I’ve had jobs where I was really uncomfortable going, oh my gosh, this is like, they’re not, I’m not clear what they want me to do.

[00:32:52] And you can’t point that out to your new employer. Cause you look like you’re a problem or you’re a pain, or then they get annoyed that you point that out to them. Like, it’s really like a child pointing out to an adult that you’re doing some bad parenting. Right. So, I think the points you made are valid, but also I think it’s bigger than just outsourcing in the Philippines.

[00:33:12] I think it’s just a bad setup when somebody hires someone and then you’re supposed to like, how are you supposed to be steering the ship when you’re the new, you’re their employee and you’re new, right. That’s a problem. That’s a bad setup from the get-go. All right. So, right. So lack of communication. Continue.

[00:33:30]Charissa Bacus: Right. Providing incomplete instructions. So the next, yup. So the next one for me is lack of communication. So as always, communication is the key to develop a great working relationship with your VA. So if our client does not communicate well enough to us, it will leave us feeling confused and lost.

[00:33:53] Right. Since we can’t predict your thought process,

[00:34:07]Kris Ward:  That was very gently said, oh, you made that sound so articulate. Well, we can’t predict your thought process. Everybody else would say since I can’t freaking read your mind, I don’t know, but you’re saying, oh, excuse me. Since we can’t predict your thought process, we don’t know what you want. Okay. All right.

[00:34:25] That is super important. So gently said, oh my heavens Charissa. You’re so funny. You’re so funny. I think one of the things we talked about you and I too, is one of my pet peeves, and I think it’s so unfair is one of the big deals too, is sometimes people are not clear what your working hours are when you sign in, sign out and

[00:34:45] I know that when we’re working with anyone on our team or when I’m coaching any of my clients in my private or semi-private or masterclass, we always tell them like, look, not only do you need to set the hours. Okay. Everyone thinks they know that, but something we say, when, when you’re done, you log out and say, here, send the email, I’ve logged out.

[00:35:05] Right. Now why we do that is we actually have to train enthusiastic people like you, because what will happen is you go off, you’re done and then I’m working. I’m sending you emails just because I’m still working. You’ve gone off to bed, I’m still working and I’m just getting stuff off my desk, but then you’re new.

[00:35:25] So I’ve gotten emails back from people that, oh, I saw this as just going to bed and I answered it. And so I have to train them to say, listen, once you log out, you’re off, I’m sending these emails. You are not supposed to then be going, oh, okay. I better get this last one before I go to bed because you’re so.

[00:35:43] Trained. Well, it’s coming to me, you know, even though I logged out, maybe they’re kind of, it will show that I have initiative or show that I’m committed or show that I care. And so then you get in this bad situation early on, you start burning yourself out and then the person who hired you, they don’t even mean to do that.

[00:36:01] But we train our clients. You have to be really clear and you have to keep telling that new person, look, I’m just getting stuff off my desk. You’ll get it overnight. I’ll get it done in the morning. I’ll be excited. We’re good. So that’s part of it is creating a culture where expectations are super clear because sometimes people say something, but then they do something else.

[00:36:21] So I may say, oh, it’s great for you to log in. Let me log you, log out. But then. Oh, I’m sending you all these emails, asked you questions. Oh, one more thing. Oh, do you have this right away? I’m stuck. Oh. Oh. And so I said you logged out, but I’m acting different. So that’s probably something you’ve experienced as well.

[00:36:39]Charissa Bacus: Yes. That is something that I’ve experienced as of you BA so that is actually the next common mistake that I have here, Kris. So not setting proper expectations through your VA. So it is very, very important that you’re coordinated with a schedule, just like what you’ve mentioned. Really. A very good point.

[00:36:57] So setting expectations is very important to us because it avoids misunderstandings, confusion, and it also ensures that us, VA’s and you are on the same page. So, if you did not coordinate what you really want regarding the schedule of the time, then we wouldn’t be able to provide you with the quality work you expected.

[00:37:21] So we need to set boundaries there. Okay, well, let’s start with this time. We’ll log out at this time. I’ll reply to you at this time. So you won’t expect anything from me yet if it’s already at the end of my shift.

[00:37:36]Kris Ward:  Right. Yeah. And to be fair, you know what, there’s been a lot of conversation, even in, when some, with just everybody having access to email on their phone.

[00:37:42] So I’ve seen a lot of conversations online where even if you worked with somebody all day and then, you know, they check their phone late at night and now they’re answering emails off their phone. And it’s, you know, email fatigue, burnout that, yes, I worked with you all day. I’m in the same culture as you, we’ve worked together for 10 years and now I’m starting to.

[00:38:00] It is a bad habit. Sloppy, start checking emails. I better get this before. Oh, then I want to do it in the morning. And then everybody is in this big, long, crazy day. So again, these are things that in a way are not specific to outsourcing, but they’re sloppy habits that get really amplified with outsourcing.

[00:38:21]Charissa Bacus: Exactly. That’s a very good point. Yeah. All right. 

[00:38:23]Kris Ward: So tell us more about what’s another thing that you’ve experienced. 

[00:38:28]Charissa Bacus: Yep. Another thing that I’ve experienced is not providing feedback. So, yeah, feedback is very important as well, because it is a way for us VAs to know if we’re doing our job right.

[00:38:44] Or if not. So if not, we will know where to improve on. And the more feedback our clients give, the more for us to know what their expectations are, and we can use what we’ve learned on future projects that you’ll assign to us. And there are two kinds of feedback, right? The positive and the negative.

[00:39:04] So negative feedback also helps us improve and positive feedback. It encourages us VAs and it also motivates us. So that’s why it is really important because that keeps us on track.

[00:39:20]Kris Ward: Yeah. And you know what I want to pick on you a little bit. Cause I would say I get it. That is positive, negative, but in my mind, there’s positive.

[00:39:27] And then there’s redirection because it’s not even negative, but I would say, luckily I am somebody that I believe in the process and all this other stuff. And the way we have it set up in our business is that look, whenever there’s something missed, we lean towards the super toolkit. The first one we look at is, is that step missing?

[00:39:47] Like how did that person miss it? Because businesses are not run in memory. Right. So we looked and went, oh, that’s how she missed it. Because it was unclear in the process. Let’s correct that. So that’s where we go first. And, but secondly, I can tell you, I would say whenever there’s been a question or concern, I’m always thankful that I ask it nicely and clarify and give redirection because 9 times out of 10, the misunderstanding, I wasn’t clear.

[00:40:13] And I tell people that all the time when you’re working with anyone, but especially outsourcer, I’m telling you most of the time, if you’re open to it, you realize it was your fault. Like. Oh, I can see how you thought that I meant this, but I totally see what you thought over there. Right. That makes sense.

[00:40:28] Okay. I wasn’t clear. So you are so correct. It’s and then also I tell people, which is a really big deal is, I’m constantly encouraging my team. And when I train other teams: is you know, act like you get paid to ask questions because even if you made a mistake, I want to hear how you think. And I would rather you take risks and make two mistakes.

[00:40:52] I’m not looking for someone to be task-oriented, I’m not looking for someone just to do as I tell them, I’m looking for a team that I want to be the dumbest person in the room, and I’m telling you, I am with my team and that’s how my clients feel too. So the feedback and the conversation, really honestly, guys, what it does is it

[00:41:11] teaches you how brilliant the people you are working with because when you give them feedback and then they gently are encouraged to say, oh, well, just so you’re clear, Kris, actually, that’s not what happened. This happened. You’re like, ah, you know, we, right before we got on this call, Charissa and I were doing a live on Facebook and I had somebody on my team doing something with it and she pointed out and not even a mistake.

[00:41:37] She said, Kris, it’s easier if we do it this way, I’m like, oh my gosh, you don’t even need me. Why? Like I, I thought I hopped on to help you, whatever she was editing it and stuff, putting some language in there. And she said, we could use this from the other day. And I’m like, oh, okay. Nevermind. So I was redundant and I’m okay with being redundant.

[00:41:54] So you’re right. Feedback is not just helpful to the outsourcer. I think it really grows the wealth and everything about the company. 

[00:42:06]Charissa Bacus: Yeah. Feedback. It also saves you both time and there will be no disappointment at the end of any projects that you might have because you already provided your feedback before and the VA will take that into consideration on their next project.

[00:42:22]Kris Ward:  Yeah. Awesome. Okay. So. Give us more of the goods you’ve been out there. What’s it like on the other side?

[00:42:31]Charissa Bacus:  Yep. Next is not having a training period.

As a newly hired VA, I will not know everything yet. So it is important for me to know, or to have a training period on the first few days or a few weeks and to start out as a part-time with Grapey helped me for a smooth transition. And before I go full time, this would avoid or lessen any mistakes and ensure that I do the tasks that you give me correctly.

[00:43:08] This training period will also serve as my map. Because without my map, I wouldn’t be able to know where my destination will be. And also this is where any process documents, email templates, recorded videos, audios on how to do the tasks with also, help me and saves us both time.

[00:43:35] So, you can teach your VA and show them how you do it over zoom.

 [00:43:41]Kris Ward: Yes. Oh yeah. Over zoom. For sure. We call them scrum meetings. You can send them a loom video. You don’t have to write out all the steps, just do something, send a loom video and say, Hey, you write out the steps. We’ll tweak them together.

[00:43:51] It’s always easier to edit than create. And I think what happens is somewhere along the line, there’s this expectation because you could be a VA for 20 years, but that doesn’t mean you’re a VA my business. So you need some adjustment period. It kind of reminds me of when I was in university and I was a server, like a waitress.

[00:44:08] And in one restaurant I worked in. You got your own salad. Like when a customer ordered salad, you got your own salad, but the kitchen gave you the soup. They served it and they handed it to you on a tray. Great. And the next restaurant I went to, I was standing there and, I was waiting for the soup and I was waiting.

[00:44:27] I was waiting. I was like, where’s the soup, what’s going on? They haven’t delivered me the soup. Well, not a restaurant. You know, you got your own soup and they made the salad. So it was backwards. Yeah. Oh, okay. Like sitting here they’re like, so it can be something so simple like that, but you just don’t know like, you know how to do the job, but sometimes they’re, you know, it’s just a different business, a different person and they just, the slightest thing at an order could really mess you up.

[00:44:52] So yes, we’re very thorough with our training. Cause I. That really you are absolutely a hundred percent wiser words have never been said. It really is your map to your destination. And this just throwing work at you at the first week is just a bad setup. And that’s why we work so hard with our clients on that.

[00:45:11] So, man, oh man. You’re just full of pearls of wisdom. All right. So give us one last point before we wrap up something you feel everyone should know, you know, when working with the outsourcer. 

[00:45:23] Charissa Bacus: All right. So this last one is actually in relation to the training period.This is not documenting the process and creating SOPs.

[00:45:31] So when I had my training as a call center agent. We have to read a lot of SOPs in order for us to do our job correctly. 

[00:45:41]Kris Ward: Those are, let me jump in. So those are standard operating procedures. Now, often those are actually written. Not by the end user. So they often lack detail because they’re written and they’re often written to cover liability, but they’re very arduous and they’re very heavy, like a textbook, but they’re not helpful. So, sorry. Continue with the SOP.

[00:46:03]Charissa Bacus: Okay. Yes. Having a process document, SOPs or recorded videos on how to do a task is the easiest and fastest way to teach someone. So I’m a visual learner. So that would be the easiest way for me to learn. And since we live on the other side of the world, we heavily rely on your instructions.

[00:46:25] So the SOPs would really help us. And this would easily cause misunderstanding. If we don’t have something to go back to, or we don’t have something to read in front of us. So, aside from misunderstanding, miscommunication also happens. Because, we are not guided by the SOP that the company should provide to their VAs.

[00:46:47]Kris Ward:  Yeah. So a lot of SO P’s are poorly written. That’s why we have a whole different formula. It’s called a super toolkit and they’re very digestible, really easy. They’re not task oriented. So yeah. So either what you’re saying is a lot of people don’t give you anything. And then the ones that do the SOPs are labor-intensive and kind of clunky, right?

[00:47:06]Charissa Bacus: Yeah, that is right.

[00:47:08]Kris Ward: Fabulous. Okay. All right. You have been a treat. This is just really helpful. I think it’s really also, there’s so many myths, so many myths about outsourcing, and I just thought it’d be wonderful for everyone to get to know you and meet you. Cause you just represent some amazing people that I’ve worked with for years and years with myself, my team and creating ‘what is next teams’ for all my coaching clients.

[00:47:29] So guys, I hope you got something out of this. Please let us know in the reviews I read every single one of them, a hundred percent and check out our free masterclass. The show will, the link will be in the show notes. We’re just doing them. We’re trying to really. We’re delivering them. I would say about every six weeks, we’re doing a free masterclass and it’s really all about ‘stop working so hard’ and we’re showing you really how to change how you think and leverage your time and your business.

[00:47:57] And because you’re really working against yourself. And, I just really want to create a movement where everyone’s business supports their life instead of consuming it. And that they really comfortably live in that ‘WIN Formula’ of being in creation mode, 60% of the time, instead of just drowning in the web of admin.

[00:48:14] So guys, we’ll see you in the next show. And again, Charissa, thank you so very much. You’ve been just a treat. We appreciate you.

[00:48:22]Charissa Bacus: Yeah. Thank you so much for your time, Kris. I truly appreciate this.

PODCAST ENDS..

 Awesome. Thanks. That was spectacular.