How to Use Slack Workspaces Alongside Your Virtual Assistant

So, you’ve hired a virtual assistant. And, your business is set up for Slack workspaces. Here’s how to combine the two to get things done!

How to Use Slack Workspaces Alongside Your Virtual Assistant

Slack workspaces are a popular choice for any business. Everyone knows how it feels to be inundated by e-mails you can barely keep up with, and Slack claims to reduce e-mails by 32%.

Not only that, but communication tends to be much quicker since messages can be shot back and forward without the delay of checking an inbox and typing out a formal e-mail.

This is especially handy for a virtual office.

If working remotely from co-workers, communication becomes even harder, but Slack will make it feel like you’re right there with them.

If you’ve hired a virtual assistant (or multiple), this is how to use your Slack workspaces to get things done.

Create Slack Channels for Them with Subtitles

If you create channels specifically to communicate with your virtual assistant about tasks, you’ll find that communication will be a lot smoother.

A lot of people make the mistake of just having one Slack channel, where all communication from the company is thrown in.

Not only could this be intimidating for a virtual assistant to jump into, but a lot of the messages could also get lost.

By having a dedicated channel to communicate about virtual assistant tasks, you should find it much easier and much more efficient.  Some example channels that we like at MyOutDesk.com: #SOD (start of day report) and #EOD (end of day report) #PleaseHelpMe or #Accountable (with photo proof of task being completed) or #Project (with a name of the project) to name a few.

Make Sure Statuses Are Updated

Slack has two statuses for users: ‘active’ and ‘away’.

Often, people set their status to ‘away’ and forget to change it when they sign on. Or they might be stuck on ‘active’ because they’re on their computer and not actually working, but the app is running in the background.

Keeping these statuses up to date is vital for communication, so make sure everyone knows that — both virtual assistant and employee!

Things can get especially tricky when working remotely because of time zones. You might have hired a virtual assistant halfway across the world and forgotten what time it is for them!

By keeping statuses updated, you’ll both know when you can contact each other and expect a response.

Make Use of Profiles

If you have other people in the company who might need to delegate tasks to virtual assistants, or if you’ve hired multiple and just find it hard to keep track, make sure everyone has their profile updated with their role.

Rather than looking at a list of e-mails and being unsure of who is who, Slack will present a picture, name, and role every time.

Host Meetings

Slack also has the ability to host meetings and conference calls! You don’t need to hop over to Skype or Google Hangouts — you can do it all right there in the app, making it much more convenient.

No need to keep track of usernames for different programs.

Slack Workspaces Are Great Virtual Assistant Tools

In a virtual office, Slack workspaces are one of your greatest assets, and they will make a huge difference when it comes to communicating with your virtual assistants. By using it, you can keep all communication in one place and have an easy way to contact each other — the key to success in any organization!

Thinking about hiring a virtual assistant? Contact us today!