Thought I should share this video on the blog.

A few days ago, I got an email asking for some advice regarding outsourcing and working with Virtual Assistants.

Rather than, just responding to the email… I thought I would throw together a quick video covering my Top 5 Implementable Tips + Techniques for getting the most from your virtual assistant team and outsourcing.

Email Template

In the video I talk about a daily email I require all my VA’s to send… Given the response this has gotten when I’ve mentioned it in the past.. I’ve put it here for you to cut-n-paste.

[[ Please Take The Last 5mins Of EVERY Day To Complete The Following 5 Questions & Email Them To Me Before Your 'Sign Off' ]]i. What was the plan for today?
What was on the to-do list at the beginning of the day + how long do you estimate the task to take

ii. What was achieved today?
What tasks from i. were actually completed today + how long did they actually take to complete.

iii. What wasn’t achieved today, and why?
It’s OK if you don’t always complete the objectives for the day – some tasks take longer than a day, some times things are out of your control etc etc.
But, if you don’t complete a planned task, I would like to know why AND what you did about it…
i.e. Couldn’t login in to X site, and send a support ticket | Waiting on X for a response; but left 2 messages etc

iv. What do you need from me [Pete], and BY WHEN?
If you need answers, input, feedback, other stuff from me to continue working on a project; please note ALL the details in this section. So I can get them too you.
Please order these in ‘due date’ – so the stuff you need first from me, should appear at the top of the list
Also, please leave the ‘tasks’ on this list until they are completed by me.
[It's only fair that I am accountable to you as well]

v. What’s the plan for tomorrow?
This is simply an overview, of what you have planned for tomorrow + an estimate of how long each task will take.
This will obviously, become the list for point i. the next day.

That’s it, 5 questions.. 5 minutes – 1 email.

Hope this helps you grow your business…

Pete

P.S. 3 other blog posts from the inter-webs on outsourcing worth reading are:
http://lifehacker.com/5488130/fiverr-outsources-your-small-jobs-for-5
http://imsimple.com/12-tips-on-outsourcing/
http://thelifedesignproject.com/outsourcefreelance/