In this article, you’ll learn how to train an Admin Virtual Assistant
Knowing how to train an Admin Virtual Assistant is going to help you save time and grow your business. It’s going to change your business massively, meaning you never have to do it again.
There’s also a top tip at the end of this article, so you better check it out at the end.
If you want the video format of this article, watch it here.
Training Framework
I want to introduce to you a framework—a way of working to understand how you want to train an Admin Virtual Assistant. Everyone’s business is unique, so going through this framework is going to help you develop a training plan for your Admin Virtual Assistant.
First things first, before hiring or even starting training your Admin Virtual Assistant, establish first what exactly you want them to do.
Get yourself a Google Sheet Spreadsheet and note down every task in the column. Once you’ve noted down the tasks, break them down into a subtask. For example, do all Seller Central checks on Amazon. And what you should do is add subtasks like check inventory, health check, and customer messages.
After creating the tasks and subtasks, think about how often that action is performed. Give an estimation of how long you think a task should take and input it on the Google Sheet.
They’ll need a little detail and might take slower than you, but normally, it shouldn’t be too much difference. The next question is where should it take place and simply input it into the column.
After that, think about where it should take place. Examples are Seller Central and the Ultimate Sourcing Sheet, which we run to help you manage your business and stock. Other examples of where might be your warehouse, payroll bank accounts, etc…
Finally, once you’ve done where, then you want to think about the training. I put two columns which are like training one and two. In the columns, there are videos that I’ve done in the past that talk about these training guides. Maybe some videos from YouTube videos that I’ve done or someone else have done that touch upon this information that you want them to learn.
Before you train your Admin Virtual Assistant, you can get them to watch all content. This should give them the knowledge before going on the job so they’re not going in blind.
Now, let’s go through what I did for my Admin Virtual Assistant when I hired them. These are top tips that I’ve learned the hard way and will say here that way you never have to.
If you want the exact Sheet I used for my Admin VA
How to train an Admin Virtual Assistant
Simply get the Admin VA Sheet. Using that framework and guides can help plan out exactly what you want. After creating the sheet and the training plan, think about how we make it so that our Admin Virtual Assistant understands what to do.
I gave my Admin Virtual Assistant the Google Sheet to prepare her and train her at the same time. You also have to take into consideration, most of the time, you have different time zones.
With this, they have the time before we come into the training. Knowing that they have at least a foundation level of knowledge, I can just build upon that. Rather than meeting or telling them everything on the get-go, get them through all Amazon Seller Central University training.
This is free training in Amazon Seller Central, which gives you great awareness that will have a real impact. Always make sure that your Amazon Virtual Assistant knows what they’re doing.
Then what?
The next thing you want is to allocate time in your calendar and add two to three hours to train per section. Clearly define what you’re going to be training, how long it will take, and also what you expect from them. These are the things you’re going to be looking for, so define everything for them. It took me three weeks to train my Admin Virtual Assistant, probably doing three hours a day to get things started. Make sure the training is right and to the standard that it needs to be.
Give your Admin Virtual Assistant a week to get things done. After they settle everything, always sit down with them. Load up the training plan and tick everything off once done. This is to see what you’ve taught them and have them put it into action and the most important part is they actually made results to the standard.
What you want them to do is to do the best of their ability to prove that they can do it. By doing this, you'll know that they know what they’re doing and in the long run, your business is going to operate amazingly.
Lastly
The last thing you want to do that is going to be a game changer in your business. Once you have done that week of spot checks and said you signed them off. Give them two more weeks and document the entire training themselves.
They’re going to create a standard operating procedure and a document for one project. Let them create a training video of how to do it, then add it to the training sheet. So, if ever you get a new Admin Virtual Assistant, you already got all the information they need in there. Meaning, you never have to repeat the same process from the beginning.
Time to get your own Admin Virtual Assistant!
If you want to know more about what to do with your Amazon Virtual Assistant, you can also read another we created named Amazon Virtual Assistant: When is the right time to Hire?
You can also watch our video about How to Interview a Virtual Assistant | Live Interviews with VAs for more information on this matter.
Hopefully, this will make a difference for you the same way it did for us. Hiring an Admin Assistant could be what you needed to do to support, grow and scale your business to make it the life that you want.