Communication is the backbone of all forms of remote work. If there are cracks in communication, you will likely experience problematic results, regardless of the strength of your tools or the experience of your virtual assistant. In fact, in many cases, the effectiveness of a VA’s performance can be tied to the quality of communication within the work process.
In an office environment, communication is easy. Beyond words, colleagues share a lot of context, enjoy the benefits of body language and gestures, and work during the same hours. Working with a VA is a different experience, as work hours may not align and can even be as distant as 12 hours. Most communication occurs over text or audio calls, and without constant video calls, body gestures are lost to the receiver. Plus, cultural differences in global VA teams mean that the same message can be interpreted in various ways.
All these misalignments in communication cost you by delaying tasks and outcomes, making you pay for unproductive hours, and draining your mental energy. Here, we’ll be looking at a few common communication problems with VAs and what to do about them.
Pitfall #1: Assuming Tasks Are Understood Without Clarification
Just because your virtual assistant’s response to a task you gave them is “yes” or “got it” doesn’t mean they actually understood it. It’s not even about them being deceptive. They may genuinely believe they understand it, but their interpretation of the task is different from yours. Let’s look at it this way.
You ask your VA to schedule a meeting for Friday by 1:00 PM, and they agree. Since you expect them to send invites, confirm availability with other parties, prepare a meeting link, and prepare your meeting notes, you leave every aspect to them. However, what the VA understands the task to be is simply sending invitations and preparing a link. Then, on Friday, the meeting time arrives, and you find out that no other party was confirmed, and there is no agenda.
To you, the VA failed at the task, but to the VA, they did it correctly. You feel frustrated. The VA, on the other hand, thinks the details are aspects that should have been mentioned separately. Besides the wasted time, it may lead to an uncoordinated meeting and a last-minute rush.
How To Avoid
SOPs are useful for avoiding VA communication issues like this. When there are standard procedures for them to follow in carrying out tasks, such as the example case of scheduling meetings, they can adhere to them. You can even include a checklist in your SOPs, so they can double-check that every aspect of the task has been completed.
Besides SOPs, you can also ask the VAs to confirm what they understand the task to mean to be sure that both of you are on the same page. You may be surprised to hear their interpretation, but it will help you align your interpretations of the same tasks.
Encouraging VAs to ask questions about tasks, especially those that are unique from the majority of tasks they perform daily, also goes a long way. When they see asking questions as the norm, they’ll do it more, and this will help them confirm the nuances of a task before they begin.
Pitfall #2: Time Zone Delays That Kill Momentum
Can you imagine a scenario where your VA lives half the world away? Maybe you’re in the US, and they’re in the Philippines. Your working hours clash with their least active hours and vice versa. When you send them a message, you may have to wait a whole day to receive a response, so if a message isn’t clear, a whole day may be wasted.
You may say, “Please send out the client update tomorrow morning,” but there are a couple of details that can be unclear here. Your VA may wonder which client you’re referring to or what format to use for sending it. They may also question whether charts, links, or reports should be included. If you are in New York with clients in London and your VA is in Manila, they may even doubt which morning you’re referring to. Seeking clarifications from you means waiting for you to respond during your working or available hours, which may be hours away.
How To Avoid
A way to avoid this pitfall is to work with VAs who are willing to adjust their work hours to fit yours. Many VAs across the world adjust their schedules to meet the needs of the businesses they work with, so you won’t be asking for too much if that’s what you seek. When work hours overlap, messages are received promptly, and clarifications can be addressed within 30 minutes.
Async tools like Loom and Notion help, too. You may not be available to answer their questions, but you don’t have to be when you already have recorded video walkthroughs or documented processes for them to follow. These tools help you store videos and text, which can direct the VA on what to do in your absence.
You can also use batch communication. Instead of sending updates one by one, you can provide all details in a single, comprehensive message that addresses potential questions and confusion that may arise. It may look like this: “Tomorrow (Tuesday), please send the Q3 client update email at 9 AM EST to our London client (client name). Use the email draft in Google Docs (link here), and attach the updated sales report (file attached).”
Pitfall #3: Under-Communicating Progress
While a VA may not want to bombard the client with countless messages in a day, prolonged silence doesn’t always leave the best impression. Some clients may question whether any work is being done during the period of silence, as they expect more frequent updates from the VA.
VAs don’t always know how to define “enough communication,” as it varies from client to client. One may want to be updated every 2 hours, while the other is fine getting updates twice daily. So, when it isn’t defined for them, their effort to give you some breathing room may result in under-communication.
How To Avoid
Let your VA know how you want to receive updates. Do you want them daily or weekly? When a structure has been set for communication times, your VA can know what you want and follow it. You are basically laying the groundwork for a steady flow of communication by doing so.
Besides that, you can also initiate check-ins with them during work hours if your schedules overlap or if you need to know the progress of a particular task or project. Here, you’re not necessarily looking for a detailed update. Just something to keep you informed about the current state of things.
Pitfall #4: Over-Communicating Without Structure
Just because undercommunicating can be a problem doesn’t mean overcommunicating is the solution. When not structured, communication can cause distractions instead of driving productivity. Yes, you want a VA to provide updates regarding tasks assigned, but you don’t want to deal with constant messages dropping on your chat app every few minutes.
Let’s say you have a VA who assists you in handling your social media, and you get a ping every few minutes with messages like, “first post has been made,” “so far, we’ve received 40 likes,” and “the video about (insert topic) is ready.” These updates are good to know, but the endless pings can be annoying and unnecessary.
How To Avoid
Preventing this pitfall is as easy as setting up rules for which channels specific updates are routed through. You may use a task board for progress updates on each task with statuses like “Not Started” and “Working On It,” so you can monitor each task or find updates when needed without needing to ask.
Other options to add to this setup include a sheet for reporting daily completed tasks and those still pending, as well as an email setup for formal periodic reports. For urgent messages that require your attention, they can be sent directly to your preferred regular chat app for a prompt response.
Pitfall #5: Cultural & Language Gaps
In some cultures, direct communication is the preferred approach. If an email is badly written, the VA gets straightforward feedback. “The email is too long and confusing, and the subject line doesn’t grab attention. Shorten the email and change the subject line.” This kind of message spots the problem and mentions what should be done to fix it.
However, some cultures prefer a milder and indirect style, which can be misunderstood. Saying “some readers may find this email a little too heavy and the subject line works but could be better” is a different approach, but the VA may take fixing these issues as a suggestion when implementing changes.
This misinterpretation of tone or feedback can lead to more back-and-forth than you want to handle, frustrating both of you.
How To Avoid
Using simple language for communication and feedback is one of the best ways to avoid VA communication issues like this. No matter one’s culture or communication style, it’s easier to understand a message when it’s kept as simple as possible. Strip away heavy figures of speech or cultural contexts, and your VA will understand you better.
You can also set norms or templates for feedback, so the VA knows what to do with every one they receive. You may start by clarifying that feedback will always be direct and constructive, so a VA won’t misinterpret a short, punchy message as an angry outburst. Another helpful norm can be a template for the flow of feedback. For example, what worked, followed by what needs to change, and then suggestions they can try.
Documentation also helps, and standard operating procedures come in handy here. With an SOP or checklist, it’s easy to refer your VA to the specific correction you want made or the checklist requirement they didn’t meet. Having such materials for clarity greatly reduces the likelihood of misunderstanding.
Pitfall #6: Lack Of A Communication SOP
Without a communication SOP, communication won’t go smoothly. You may have VAs responding hours later to a message that requires a quick response, failing to update you on tasks regularly, sending messages through the wrong channel, or not updating other concerned team members on matters that require their attention.
The result isn’t just inconvenience — it’s costly. Missed updates can cause duplicate work, tasks slipping through the cracks, or decisions made on outdated information. Over time, these small breakdowns compound into missed deadlines, frustrated people, and reduced team efficiency.
How To Avoid
One of the best practices for VA communication is creating a VA communication playbook. A detailed one will contain info about your communication channels, response times, reporting format, etc.
This SOP will help the VA determine which email to send directly to you and which to document on a page for your review later. It will inform them of how regularly you’ll have face-to-face meetings and which kind of questions or details should be saved for then. Here, they’ll also find out which updates can be shared with other team members and which ones are for your eyes only.
These and other details, when included in your SOP and provided to your VA, will help them communicate effectively and do so independently.
How Managed VA Services Eliminate These Pitfalls
When it comes to escaping the countless communication pitfalls VAs face in remote work, managed VA services provide a more dependable solution that offers business convenience. These services already have a structure and a team of VAs handling multiple aspects of business processes, so businesses that stick with them find an all-in-one solution.
With these services, you also get rid of the burden of training and management. When managed VA services hire VAs, they train them by providing them with the SOPs and workflows that make up their daily operations. VAs working with such service providers already understand the communication expectations, so clients can rely on an established communication system.
These services typically have a project or assigned manager who is trained to communicate proactively with clients and businesses. Many of these assigned managers have built experience working with other clients and can even anticipate your expectations regarding communication before you mention them.
For clarity, this service differs from those of agencies. Agencies assign VAs but leave businesses to manage them directly, while managed services keep everything in-house — clients communicate only with the project manager, not individual VAs.
Conclusion
At this point, you will agree that poor communication isn’t always a VA problem but can also stem from the client, especially if they lack a system that provides clear direction for VAs. Clients must set the system for VAs to follow, not the other way round.
Also, you should not wait to notice communication issues before addressing them. Actively practice the tips you’ve learned above, such as keeping communication in simple language, utilizing asynchronous tools and batch communication, and encouraging VAs to ask clarifying questions.
Finally, you must build a communication system for your VAs. If you don’t have one, now is a good time to start. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but a simple document that spells out how you prefer updates, which tools to use, expected response times, and how to flag urgent issues. Start from there and refine until you have something more reliable.
AI tools like ChatGPT can help you create an SOP. If you want to build one using it, here’s a step-by-step roadmap for you.