Working efficiently with a Virtual Assistant requires a little bit of planning. Since you and your VA won’t be sitting side by side, completing a task requires tools to allow you to effectively collaborate and ultimately make things easier for everyone! Below are the top 10 platforms you can use for collaborating with your VA and other team members.

  1. Skype – when it comes to remote work, communication is everything. From daily meetings down to assigning simple tasks, you will need a platform that allows you to easily communicate with your VA, even when you’re miles away from each other – or even in another hemisphere! Skype is one of the most popular online messaging platforms and is used by remote employees worldwide.
  2. Email – aside from Skype, the good old email is also a good communication platform for those who can’t meet within a specified time schedule. You can either use a Google email or your own webmail client.
  3. Project Management Tool – to organise and streamline all the tasks needed to complete a project it’s wise to use a project management tool. This gets all of ‘that stuff’ out of your head and onto a digital platform that will keep track of what has been done and what needs to be done. Now your mind if freed up to focus on other more creative aspects of the project. Some of the more popular tools include Basecamp, Trello, ActiveCollab, and Glip.
  4. Dropbox – this is useful if you need to share large files that can’t be sent through skype or email. Unwritten online etiquette ‘says’ not to send anything over 5MG when emailing… and really with the amount of cloud storage available there’s no excuse for clogging up people’s email Inbox with 20MG files. Dropbox is simple and easy to use. All you have to do is sync or upload a file to Dropbox and share the link of the file to your employee, or invite them to a shared folder where they can download the file.
  5. Google Docs – a great tool if you need to share spreadsheets and presentations that need to be edited in real time.
  6. Google Calendar – some project management tools already come with a built-in calendar, but if you want a standalone calendar that is more specific, Google Calendar is a good choice. You can plot project deadlines and other important dates to ensure that your tasks are being completed when necessary.
  7. SnagIt – It’s always easier to explain things with a visual presentation. SnagIt is one of the most popular screen capture apps that allow you to create screenshots and record screen videos. This is particularly helpful when training your VA (and even in-house staff) to use a particular software or app that you use for your business.
  8. LastPass – a password management program that allows you to easily share all your passwords and login details to your remote team without compromising your security. Throw the sticky-notes out the door and use a password management program instead. LastPass is especially useful if you have more than 20 login credentials that you need to share. And as a side note: never make the mistake of using the same password for all of your different logins. If you are hacked on one platform then you put all of your other member access / accounts in jeopardy!
  9. TimeDoctor – if you’re particular about how your VA maximises their work time, you can use time tracking software such as TimeDoctor. This allows you to gauge how much work your remote team has done in a day.
  10. Pagemodo – if social media is part of your project, you can use social media management tools such as Pagemodo. You can draft FaceBook posts and publish them within your desired schedule. You can even stack your drafts to cover an entire week of postings to ensure that your social media is updated daily with fresh content.