Have you ever been in a situation that you really wanted to get out of but you didn’t know how to do it without ruffling feathers? Running a business in many instances requires trial and error. Often times business owners will stay in situations that are not conducive to their success because they are afraid of the outcome.
Being the boss means that you have to learn how to deal with the good, the bad and the uncomfortable. It takes some getting used to, trust me, I’ve definitely had my share of uncomfortable situations. Over the past several years, I have had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful entrepreneurs. Surprisingly, I have been asked on more than one occasion, how do I remove the ties with my Virtual Assistant.
My first question to the entrepreneur is “Why do want to fire your Virtual Assistant”? I ask this question because I always want to make sure the relationship can’t be salvaged. In many cases, the Virtual Assistant just hasn’t done a good job in showing that there is real value in the service.
Now if your VA is just not a good match for your personality type or the quality of the work is terrible here is how you dissolve the relationship.
Validation or Overreaction
The first thing you need to do before firing your Virtual Assistant is to do an assessment or overview of the work that has been provided thus far. Is the quality what you expected? Is the delivery always on time? How is communication between the two of you?
It is important to remember that your Virtual Assistant is human. If your VA has done 100 successful projects for you and blundered 2, you may be overreacting and this situation may be resolved if you just talk to your VA.
Preparation
Now if you have done your review and you feel that there is absolutely no way to repair the relationship, you gotta do what you gotta do. Preparation is a key component in every decision or action. I suggest that you schedule a time to speak with your Virtual Assistant but before you do so, there a few things you need to get in order.
What’s your plan B? You always need a backup plan in business. When you hired your Virtual Assistant, I’m sure you had an idea in mind as to how you would best leverage their services. What are you gonna do once they are no longer a part of your team? Who is going to pick up where they left off?
Change Your Passwords
You want the talk between you and your Virtual Assistant to go smoothly but things don’t always go as we want them to. My advice would be to change all of the account login details that your VA had access to just in case they want to do something crazy.
Be a Professional
It is unfortunate that you now have to lose this member of your team but you don’t have to leave the situation with both parties frustrated and pissed off. It is important that you handle the situation in a professional manner. Remember that the Virtual Assistant is a business owner as well and you never know when you will cross paths again.
This break up has to be handled very delicately because you could be ruining future referrals and maybe even joint ventures down the road. Explain to the Virtual Assistant that you are sorry to say that the working relationship is not a good fit for your business model and you appreciate all of the hours they have dedicated to your work. If the Virtual Assistant is a professional, they will understand and the break will be clean and drama free.
I hope that this article has been helpful or at least entertaining. I wish you all the best in your business and future endeavors.
Author Credits—
Apex Virtual Solutions is a virtual provider of website design, online marketing and administrative support. Our key focus is to help small business increase their revenue through creative strategies, systemizing and ongoing support. For more great tips, subscribe to our monthly newsletter.