The success formula for engaging Virtual Workers—just 5 steps

Working with virtual workers is something that a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs find very very difficult. However, there are a number of simple guidelines that ensure you get a great relationship and wonderful productivity from your virtual workers.

Always reach out to the workers you’d like to hire, and NEVER post an ad and just see what comes. Remember this is a transparent marketplace, and it’s up to you to ensure you get the best outcome.

Select on attitude first and skill second. The biggest blunder that I see a lot of business owners do when hiring is to just hire skills. The reality is that almost all skills you want to outsource are basic skills or you couldn’t outsource them. Data entry, social media postings, research are not tasks that require a double degree.

Instead what you need to do is look for the attitude. If you’re looking for data entry, attention to detail and zero defect is probably more important than anything else. So make sure your worker has demonstrated these qualities in their past work history. If not, skip to the next one.

Always interview your virtual workers. While you may see that as a waste of time, it sends a clear signal to your worker: You’re serious. So if they have competing priorities (which they very often have)… who will they favour? The person they have spoken to, even know what is looking like, or the person they have no connection with…. Not a hard question to answer really….

Be specific. You must tell your virtual workers exactly what you want done. This takes three parts. You need to tell them what (the outcome), how (the method/process) and when (the timeline). I see people put ads for virtual workers along the line of “I need somebody to look after my social media”. How is the contractor supposed to know what success means in that job description?

Method or process: This is where it completely falls apart. Big way. And why? Because most business owners shiver and run when you say ‘systems and processes’ to them. But it’s really important to document how you want things done. But just in this area there is material for a whole course as to how to do this the best way, so it doesn’t end up taking all day to do it.

Be rewarding and fun and build a long term relationship. Instead of burning every new contractor after 10 hours, make sure you stick with the same person for each type of job you outsource. Don’t ask your web designer to be your admin assistant. Sure they might be able to do it, but will they put their heart and soul into it? And don’t forget to reward a job well done. When you only pay $3.50 per hour you probably CAN afford to give a tip or a bonus.

So, in summary, working with virtual workers can be both rewarding and very successful for both parties when you follow these 5 success strategies.