Need a better way to dictate tasks and keep virtual assistants on track? Consider Trello! Here’s what you need to know about the project platform.

How to Leverage Trello to Manage Your Virtual Assistants and Tasks

You’ve recently hired virtual assistants services and you have an abundance of tasks on the horizon. With strict deadlines and fast-moving parts, assigning projects through email is no longer a viable option.

You need a project management system that’s user-friendly and effective for streamlining your pipeline.

In this article, we’ll be discussing Trello and why it’s an ideal fit for keeping your virtual assistants on the path to success. We’ve analyzed its core project management elements that you can start utilizing today.

Build Your Trello Boards

Once you’ve joined Trello, you’ll have the ability to build an unlimited amount of project boards. Assess the categories of your projects and determine which business sectors they align with. After, plan how you want to allocate your virtual assistants, based on their skillsets.

For instance, if your assistant will focus on your marketing department, consider creating a marketing-specific Trello board. Moving forward, your marketing board will be the designated hub for each of your marketing projects.

As a next step, adjust each board’s settings from public to private. Private boards will be viewed on an invitation-only basis. Invite each of your assistants by email so that they can view and access the board at all times.

Create Project Pipeline Columns

A typical Trello board will house three columns. Below are what these standard columns consist of.

A To-Do List

Your To-Do list will be the prime spot to display every upcoming virtual assistant task. You can also set upcoming deadlines in advance to set clear expectations right from the start.

Tasks in Progress

Use this second column to keep track of each task that’s currently underway. Your assistants can use Trello’s drag-and-slide feature to move tasks along the pipeline in chronological order.

Tasks Complete

After every step in a task is finished, move the project over to the third and final column.

As a bonus Trello tip, we also recommend that you add an extra column designated to project roadblocks. This will allow you to address and resolve issues before they become a hindrance.

Craft Project Cards

Create individual project cards to house the details of each task. The project card is where you’ll add the instructions, deliverables, and deadlines. You can also attach Google documents and video instructions as needed.

Afterward, utilize Trello’s tagging feature to assign specific virtual assistants to the tasks on hand. This includes adding them as a team member to the card, tagging them in comments, and providing feedback on the cards.

Consider breaking complex tasks into smaller subtasks for optimal use.

Use Trello to Manage Virtual Assistants

If you’ve recently hired virtual assistants, you need a project management platform to assign, manage, and track tasks from start to finish. Trello is a platform that’s affordable and user-friendly for each and every team member. Build designated boards, create detailed project cards, and progress tasks through the project pipeline.

If you’re still in need of virtual assistant services, contact MyOutDesk for further assistance. We’re an American-owned business and we service a variety of industries to help you and your business succeed. Check out our client reviews and request a consultation with our team of experts.

A recent Gartner survey 82% company leaders plan to let their employees work remotely. With more and more people working from home, the “workplace” is a shrinking target.

That’s why we created MyOutDesk — to accommodate hybrid workers in an era of virtual assistants. We are making traditional desks obsolete by offering an online community of professionals looking to work as remote staff for up-and-coming companies. We already have over 7,500 active users and our growth continues!

What is a Hybrid Workforce?

A hybrid workforce is a mix of employees split between the virtual and the traditional office environment. The decision to assign responsibilities in one way or another rests on the needs of each individual employee. Businesses have come to realize that outsourcing to virtual assistants is the best way to streamline operations, reduce costs, and grow business.

MyOutDesk lets you hire remote staff for at up to 70% less than the cost of a traditional hire. This is perfect to help balance the workload of your local team.

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Importance of moving to quality hybrid business models

I knew the COVID-19 virus would force businesses to rethink their business model in order to stay afloat. But what I saw instead was that the best framework for business to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and grow business. The framework focuses on outsourcing to virtual assistants.

This model is already evident. For example, there are more than 10 million virtual assistants employed worldwide.

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Why it matters

It’s not just about hiring staff. A hybrid workforce can improve your productivity and creativity by broadening your pool of talent. Also, save time and money on employee onboarding expenses.

How it works

If you are in search of specialists, have one handy idea or simply looking to get some work done somewhere other than your home office, MyOutDesk is an ideal option for your hybrid needs.

You can hire a virtual assistant to complete your tasks so that you can increase your sales & operational capacity.

 

Key Examples of Hybrid Business Models

The hybrid business model is unique, because it takes two or more existing business models and combines them together. It’s like driving a car with two engines instead of one.

Three of the most common hybrid business models

 

1) Decentralized Business Model

Most common in large capital corporations

 

A decentralized business model can be a great way to increase innovation in large corporations. Decentralized models are often more affordable for small companies because they require less staff and infrastructure.

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2) Outsourcing Business Model

This hybrid business model puts into practice what many small and medium businesses are already doing. However, some small and medium businesses still get confused on how to effectively use it.

“Outsourcing makes the hustle better — because you’re not burdened with many/growing expenses that you’ll need to figure out how to cover and hit profit”

The outsourcing, or off-shoring, of work to companies that use virtual assistants is on the rise, especially in departments or industries with remote working capabilities. (Such as sales development, marketing, customer service, and general administration.)

Businesses should use this hybrid business model to their advantage, because it’s the best way to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and grow business.

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3) Remote & Physical Business Model

In this hybrid model, the local workforce is used to maximize the efficiencies & benefits of both physical and virtual business practices.

The remote-physical hybrid business model can be a good strategy for companies. (Primarily for those who want to have a more efficient work space & maximize overhead cost savings.) Workers in different locations can work together on complex projects. The virtual assistant business model is one of the most common hybrid models for US corporations.

Service industries use this business model to generate some product or service; then, outsourcing, off-shoring, or outsourcing is used to complete the rest.

Local & small businesses who are looking to incorporate this business model can see cost-effective operational efficiencies for their corporations.

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Important Effects

If you’ve been spending far too much time answering calls, managing appointments, responding to emails, or are falling behind because of any other administrative tasks, a virtual assistant can boost your success in the following ways.

1. Increased flexibility

Regardless of the industry, you’ll experience periods that are incredibly busy, as well as slower periods. Your goals may also change throughout the year, impacting the types of tasks that need to be addressed. In order to achieve this level of flexibility, a virtual assistant is an ideal solution.

This strategy will allow you to pinpoint opportunities that’ll likely lead to increased productivity and growth — all while you continue to develop new growth ideas and strategies.

2. Cost-saving strategies

When considering hired help, it’s imperative that you compare the potential cost-saving benefits associated with a virtual assistant. When hiring a full-time employee, you’ll need to consider costs associated with onboarding, benefits, and other hidden costs.

In contrast, a virtual assistant can help you overcome busy periods without needing to pay someone during slower periods. Although you’ll still need to pay for their services, a virtual assistant is an investment — the type of investment that can significantly boost long-term revenue.

3. Enhanced efficiency

The old saying, “two heads are better than one” could not be closer to the truth. When hiring a virtual assistant to address x, y, and z, those tasks no longer require your attention. Learning to delegate such tasks is one of the most effective ways to boost overall efficiency.

In addition, a virtual assistant can help you become much more organized so that you can easily access the files and documents you need when you need them. From bookkeeping to CRM management, a virtual assistant will provide the level of support you need.

4. Consistent customer service

Some weeks seem as though they hit you like a ton of bricks. As you try to catch up, prospective business is not addressed as it should be. Whether you are following up with last week’s clients or are sending out client documentation, you are wasting valuable time and resources.

In turn, your clients/customers are not getting the attention they expect — and your business could suffer. Virtual assistants can address all of your customers’ questions and concerns, all while you focus on driving your business forward.

5. Greater lead generation

Just imagine being able to grow your client list while you strengthen your relationship with current clients. Perhaps you have a contact list that you have not yet used for marketing purposes? If so, a virtual assistant could create an email or telemarketing campaign to gain more leads and in turn, grow your client list.

If routine, non-dollar productive tasks are steering your business into a rut, it’s time to eliminate these tasks off your plate. MyOutDesk has been serving the business professionals across the country for 10 years, becoming one of the top service providers. After serving more than 5000 clients, we’ve branched out into the industries listed above. We’re here to help you scale, leverage, and grow your business.

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Innovation & Planning: Integrating Hybrid Business Models

Businesses are going to have to change in order to survive. The switch is already happening. In 2020 & 2021, most business owners report making a pivot in their business model. Hybrid business models are here to stay, and this dynamic is forcing many of us to learn a lot about efficiencies. All businesses need to get to a hybrid model in some way, shape, or form. This applies to any corporation, no matter the size of their business or the size of their budgets.

In order to excel, businesses need to figure out how to offer more quality services & close more deals. In some cases, that means outsourcing. Many productive entrepreneurs & CEOs do business with virtual assistants. Using virtual assistant services is a good option for getting more work done in less time. Many business leaders choose virtual assistants to stay organized, complete the grunt work, and help with sales & marketing (SEO, inside sales, etc.).

The thing I like most about using virtual assistants in my business model is that I have more time to focus on the things that matter.

Further benefits of hybrid business models

 

CEOs have enough work to do on my own, so they need a way to get ahead. That’s what outsourcing is all about. It’s a good business model for any company that wants to stay competitive in the future.

• Access to more human capital, while saving on costs.
• Lower overhead, more profits & income.
• More minds maintaining quality service, data, and overall brand.

Hybrid business models can benefit corporations because they can help companies to innovate easier. Corporations can be innovative in-house or through outsourcing. A hybrid model allows the corporation to try out new ideas without giving up control of its core business operations. Hybrid business models are advantageous for corporations in that they allow them to access to a bigger talent pool and broader customer base.

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ENVISIONING OF A NEW REALITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

 

Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & marketing agencies owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.

MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.

See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.

 

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

 

Did You Know?  MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VPs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”

 

 

 

Focus on your growth & scale your operations

ENVISIONING OF A NEW REALITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.

MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.

See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.

 

Claim a free business strategy consult
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

The shift in marketing has been dramatic over recent years with the growth of digital media — sales pitches are no longer just about who can tell you a better story, but who can present it best and to whom.

Marketing for medical practices in particular has been complicated by these same shifts in marketing. Patients are looking more critically at what doctors do (and how they do it) when deciding a new practitioner, especially doctors that offer integrative or complementary therapies that have become more popular over recent years.

 

 

Fortunately, medical practices are tapping into the talent of outsourced virtual assistants to assist with their outreach and marketing activities. A virtual assistant, or VA, is someone that specializes in working remotely from a distance. While there have been some notable successes in the healthcare markets, the market for VA’s has yet to reach a critical mass.

Let’s take a look at why the need for VA’s and how they can be used.

Why Virtual Assistants?

The challenge of marketing to patients and to professional hires lies not just in articulating a story, but also in presenting that story in an effective manner. Consumers are getting smarter when it comes to choosing who they do business with. The answer is simple: you must become one of many options on the shelf — or be more clearly differentiated from others than you were before — if your practice is going to succeed in today’s complex and competitive marketplace.

Virtual assistants & marketing in the medical, health, wellness field

To accomplish digital marketing today, doctors and healthcare providers are tapping the expertise of virtual assistants to enhance their practice’s marketing. But first, a little background:

VAs in the medical field started out as executive assistants to physicians who would provide administrative support for their medical practices. Over the years, VAs have evolved and are now found in every type of business. While many provide administrative support to companies’ executives, others offer specialized services including marketing — which is where we find today’s medical virtual assistant (VA).

What does a virtual assistant do? A lot, actually — and it’s much more than answering client calls or email inquiries.

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A VA can be in charge of:

Searching and finding products to promote

VAs will seek out the most popular and compelling items on a retailer’s website, then develop informational materials that detail their features, benefits and price points.

Managing a viral Youtube presence

A VA will create, edit, and publish videos of your interactions with clients who consent to be part of your marketing, which are posted on your company’s Youtube channel.

Creating supportive blog posts and content

VAs will research your industry, then write blog posts that promote you and your practice in a thought-provoking way (which improves your Search Engine Optimization results).

Running social media campaigns

VAs will research the best platforms to promote a new product release or seminar, and plan the best strategy for giving it visibility. VAs will manage an established social presence, encouraging their clients to engage with them on a regular basis. They will also build relationships with influencers in their industry, which can turn out to be quite a powerful factor for a VA if it has the potential to spread the word about a client’s business.

Using social media to communicate with your target clients

When a VA generally does not actually sell products, they can assist you with activating social media for a specific campaign. For example, they can schedule posts on your company’s Facebook page, or create advertising campaigns for Facebook or email. A VA can also keep an eye on those channels to monitor how certain messages are being received by customers.

Creating and maintaining web pages

A VA can create your practice’s website and update it on a regular basis. Not only can they make sure that the info is up-to-date, but they will also ensure that it is visually appealing to site visitors.

Writing blog content

From routine posts to a monthly newsletter, your VA will research and draft blog posts on topics important to your medical practice. They can also plan future posts based on their research of what is hot in the news or topics related to trends in the healthcare industry.

Medical marketing & PR

A VA can monitor your reviews, nurture positive ratings, and quickly respond to all inquiries.

As you can see, a VA can do so much more than just provide basic administrative support. In fact, many VAs specialize in particular areas of marketing such as search engine optimization and web page development. With their broad range of services and their online access from anywhere, VAs are an invaluable resource for medical practices today.

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Why You Need a VA?

The biggest benefit of hiring a VA is that you will be able to provide your customers with quality service and continually attract new ones.

The Future of Virtual Assistance in Healthcare

Outsourced virtual assistants help medical practitioners to increase patient relations, decrease costs, and provide more time for medical research. As virtual assistants become more cost effective and virtual meetings become the norm in medicine, we are going to see more doctors outsource different aspects of their clinical practice to free up their own time and budget.

Here are some key advantages:

Reduce staff costs

Virtual assistants can take on a lot of staff workloads at a fraction of the cost while increasing productivity.

Focus on research & business development

Medical practices should spend most of their budget on research and development into new medications, procedures, and therapies. Virtual assistants can help with tasks that don’t need hands-on experience while you focus on your area of expertise.

Efficiency

Virtual assistants can take on tasks for which you have little or no time to devote to at all.

We don’t think it will be long before virtual assistants become a mainstream practice in medicine, especially in areas where the benefits outweigh the costs. This is because they are an effective way for your practice to take advantage of new trends while you focus on your area of expertise.

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How to get started

Start by realizing you want to outsource certain aspects of clinical practice that don’t require a lot of time or skills, yet these tasks generate massive productivity.

1. Chiropractor clients use VAs for video content editing for their viral Youtube channels.
2. Covid-testing & biotech clients are using VAs for search engine optimization (to analyze, track, and rank high on google results).
3. Home healthcare clients are using marketing VAs for PR purposes, to competitively recruit and attract more nurses.
4. A client in the cannabis businesses their VA to hire and oversee the productivity of in-house employees and freelancers (a lot of these businesses have well-functioning in-house traffic departments, but they’re still not allocating enough time or money to the work that needs to be done).

Remember that virtual assistants are similar to other virtual assistant job opportunities – we all first want to determine what tasks we want our VA’s to perform for us. Remember that there are two ways of doing this — you can hire someone in specifically for this purpose or have your VA do it on their own.

• content creation and syndication
• website maintenance
• social media management
• marketing project management
• project management
• content writing/blogging
• collaboration (i.e., definition of expectation for joint marketing plans, preparation of materials such as white papers, brochures, newsletters, etc.)
• video production and editing
• social media marketing (SMM)
• web design

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Industries have benefited most with virtual assistants in the last 10 years:

– Insurance

– Consulting

– Marketing

– Real Estate

– Financial M, Mortgage, Lending

– Healthcare

– Ecommerce & Retail

– Biotech

– IT

 

It has been reported that a growing number of firms have started hiring virtual assistants that specialize in analysis, marketing, operations, and sales development. Virtual assistants that are specialized in recruitment coordination, research, and development, have led to growth in industries such as information technology, biotechnology, and healthcare/life sciences.

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Growing a small enterprise with virtual assistants more accessible than ever before:

– Hiring a virtual assistant is accessible to small businesses and start-ups

– Lower cost alternative to offset the workload of local employees while scaling operation and growing business capacity.

Project management software, like project management software such as Asana or Trello, is the backbone of operations in most companies. Its allows companies to hire virtual assistants for just about any job – from administrative tasks, sales and marketing work, blog posts and transcribing sessions. It has become more affordable for businesses to hire virtual assistants — one of the factors why outsourcing is so popular with companies today is because quality remote work is easily accessible.

 

 

 

See For Yourself: A Closer Look at Virtual Assistants

The popularity and acceptance of virtual assistants will grow over the next decade. It is estimated that, in 2020, 40% of the entire US task force are virtual professionals. Today’s use cases for these task-oriented professionals are vast. “Freelance virtual assistant services” will be one of the biggest industries in terms of employment and global revenue by the end of the decade.

“Outsourcing makes the hustle better — because you’re not burdened with many/growing expenses that you’ll need to figure out how to cover and hit profit”

Focus on your growth & scale your operations

 

 

ENVISIONING OF A NEW REALITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

 

Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.

MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.

See what we are about, and schedule a free ‘Double Your Business’ strategy consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.

 

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment cost
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

 

Did You Know?  MyOutDesk’s origin story is set during the last global financial crisis of 2008. Yes, that’s right — our business started by scaling businesses with virtual assistants during a recession! Our first client in 2008 went from five to seventeen VAs with a completely revamped organizational model in short order, and he told MyOutDesk, “Our virtual professionals have shaved $250,000 off our monthly overhead.”

Asana is a powerful project management and team tracking tools. Learn how to leverage this tool to manage virtual assistants in this guide!

 

How to Use Asana to Delegate Tasks to Your Virtual Assistants

The last time Asana announced its subscriber amount, it had 50,000 organizations signed on as paid subscribers. That was in 2018, and the tool has only gotten more popular since.

Providing a lot of qualities to keep tasks manageable, organized, and on time, the Asana app has skyrocketed in popularity for those trying to keep their business neat.

If you’ve hired some virtual assistants and are looking for a way to communicate with them and delegate tasks, there might be no better option than Asana.

Read on for a quick guide on how to make the most of Asana when it comes to your assistants!

What Can Asana Do?

Asana can help with the following things:

• Keeping track of the tasks that you’re working on or that need to be completed
• Scheduling tasks on a calendar
• Uploading related files to each task, such as images or documents
• Deciding and showing who is working on each thing
• Communication

All of these are extremely valuable when it comes to managing your organization. Virtual assistant services can provide some barriers when it comes to everyone being on the same page, since you’re not working in the same office — Asana can break down these barriers with ease.

How to Use It

You can access Asana on desktop or through the Asana app on mobile. The desktop, however, is easier to use and has more features.

You can create an Asana for your organization and create projects if you’d like to split the tasks into sections. For example, you could choose to split the projects by:

• Different departments
• Different skills
• One project per assistant

Within projects, each task can be given an assignee, a deadline, and any other thing, depending on which fields you’d like to add.

It’s one of the best virtual assistant tools because you can see when each task will be completed and by whom.

If you have multiple virtual assistants, you might want to let them claim tasks themselves and set their own deadlines, within reason. Or, you might want to assign them tasks and set a deadline yourself — that way, they’ll receive an e-mail whenever a new task has been added.

Tasks can also be commented on and users can be tagged, so if you or your assistant has questions, clarifications, or wants to request a change to something, you can do so through there and receive e-mail alerts when a comment has been added.

The calendar is also a handy tool for scheduling, as you can put meetings on there and they’ll show up at the correct date and time when you switch to calendar view!

It’s a Truly Great Tool

There’s a reason that Asana’s popularity is mounting, and that’s because it’s a great tool for organizations and assistants alike. Virtual assistant services run smoothly when there’s clear communication and everyone knows what’s expected of each other.

Asana can make sure that happens.

Looking to hire a virtual assistant? Contact us today for a free consultation.