As a property management executive—time is everything.
From adding more doors to your business to following up on late rent payments, managing the portfolio, and everything in between, if there's one word that sums up the life of a property management executive, it's this: deadlines!
Therefore, finding a property management virtual assistant who can manage your schedule can be a great solution to meeting deadlines and staying on schedule (as long as your VA learns how you work and your systems).
This blog looks at the key traits to help you locate the perfect calendar management VA, some training strategies to develop your assistant, and some insider tips to make the process as efficient and smooth as possible.
Key Traits of a Quality Calendar Management Virtual Assistant
A calendar management virtual assistant functions as a remote executive assistant specializing in administration and time management. Some duties may involve scheduling appointments, booking travel, managing the email inbox, and more.
Use the qualities below as a starting place to create a pool of high-quality potential VAs and follow the tips to assist in the hiring process.
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General Organizational Capabilities: Securing a virtual contractor with high-level organization skills will reduce training time. Set a short standardized assessment for your potential pool of VAs, and ask the VA candidates to self-assess their organizational skills in the application.
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Time management: A VA that can set deadlines, prioritize and self-organize will put you on the trajectory for success. At the opposite end of the spectrum, poor time management can lead to disrupted workflows and lower quality work. Be sure to vet virtual assistants by undertaking thorough reference checks.
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Technology capabilities: VAs are usually upfront about the technologies they're familiar with. Naturally, time management involves several different time management platforms. Therefore, you can set a small task as part of the hiring or onboarding process or measure effectiveness through data.
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Accuracy: Accuracy can be the difference between a successful meeting with a new client vs. an apology phone call and rescheduling. When measuring accuracy, don't forget to consider reliability, i.e., how long does the VA take to get back to me? Are dates confirmed immediately once organized?
Working with a trusted company like VPM Solutions to help secure the perfect fit for your business can help save a lot of time through expert matching.
Training Your Property Management Virtual Assistant
While a property management virtual assistant may be a highly skilled time management specialist, understanding your unique business needs and systems still takes time and training.
Take a look at some strategies below to onboard your new VA effectively.
Teach Them Your Systems and Basic Operating Procedures
Dive straight into it and provide your VA with an overview of your business. To do this, focus on some of the markers below, including:
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What are your standard operating procedures?
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What is your business model?
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How does it offer value?
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What are the company's short and long-term goals?
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What do you value as a real estate company?
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What is the hierarchical structure of the business?
You can also send an overview file plus a document on how you best like tasks to be completed. Finally, ensure you align on key time terms such as urgent, deadline, high-priority, and low priority by assigning a time value to eliminate misunderstandings.
Share Your Calendar
One of the easiest ways to skill up your VA in your calendar management is to share your calendar and sync all devices with your VA to give a complete overview of your schedule.
Highlight all ongoing appointments and daily tasks and give your remote assistant the greenlight to add tasks to the calendar as they see fit.
Provide Practical on the Job Training
While calendar management is time and date-focused, it's also incredibly intuitive. Because of this, set aside a week in which the VA can 'shadow' you to learn your daily routines and structures.
Set Time Aside To Meet
We're all humans and sometimes forgetful and prone to errors. Set aside time to meet with your VA to discuss any roadblocks and to review performance. Be open to questions and provide ample feedback to improve communication.
Insider Strategies to Level-Up Your VA's Performance
Ready to help your VA take time management to the next level? A few additional tips can help you help them keep you organized.
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Create meeting blocks: Advise your VA to group your meetings to create uninterrupted time for deep work. Create a 'guide' for meeting lengths based on the average duration of your appointments with different individuals or departments.
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Set aside time for administration: Similarly, create blocks where your VA can perform deep work on administrative tasks such as email inbox management.
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Create a shortlist of candidates: Before you can apply any of the strategies we've mentioned to help your virtual assistant succeed in their role, create a list of potential applicants that seem ideal for the role.
Property managers and real estate business owners can also start with a trusted and experienced VA matching company (just like VPM Solutions) to find the perfect candidate for your business needs.
The Right Property Management Virtual Assistant Can Level Up Your Business
Finding a suitable virtual contractor for your property management business can feel as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders! When the right VA helps you manage your calendar and appointments, you have more time to focus on the tasks that help your business grow.
If you'd like to discover just how liberating finding a calendar management VA can be for your business, reach out to the team at VPM Solutions today!
