The first two weeks decide whether a virtual assistant becomes a time saver or another thing to manage. Follow this plan and your assistant will be handling real work from day two.
Before Day One: Access and Tools
Create a separate account for your assistant in each tool instead of sharing your own. Use Gmail or Outlook delegation for email, and share passwords through a vault such as 1Password, Bitwarden or LastPass. Separate accounts keep a clean record of who did what and let you remove access in one click.
Make a short list of the tools your assistant needs: email, calendar, file storage, project management, CRM and any industry software.
Days 1 to 3: The Kickoff and First Tasks
On the kickoff call, walk through your week and name the tasks that come up every day. Start with two or three simple, repetitive ones, such as inbox triage, scheduling and data entry. Record yourself doing each task once with a screen recorder like Loom. That one recording becomes the training material.
Days 4 to 7: Turn Recordings Into Checklists
Ask your assistant to write a step-by-step checklist (an SOP) from each recording. Review it, correct it once and approve it. From then on, the checklist is the standard. If you order the SOP add-on, your assistant does this for every task as part of onboarding.
Week 2: Set the Rhythm
- A short daily update: what got done, what is next, what is blocked
- A weekly 15-minute call to review priorities
- One shared task board so nothing lives only in email
Then add two or three new tasks. By the end of week two, most clients have handed over 5 to 10 recurring tasks.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Handing over everything at once
- Explaining tasks verbally without a checklist
- Giving feedback only when something goes wrong
- Sharing your personal passwords
Ready to Start?
Place your order and list your first tasks in the details step. Your US account manager uses them to plan your kickoff call.