How to Retain Quality Distant Assistants in Your Company
How to Retain Quality Distant Assistants in Your Company
After going through the recruitment process, you finally found the most qualified person for the job. But the question now is this: how do you retain quality Distant assistants in your company? To answer this, we surveyed nine random distant assistants regarding their needs and wants. Each of them has been known for the quality of work they provide. Participant demographics:
- Age: 18-35 years old (8 participants), 36-55 years old (1 participant)
- Status: 5 married, 3 single, and 1 who considers himself as simply taken
- Educational Attainment: 8 Bachelor’s Degree, 1 College Level
- Years of Experience as Distant Assistant: four years or more (2 participants), three years (2 participants), two years (1 participant), one year (1 participant), less than one year (3 participants)
- Citizenship: All participants reside in the Philippines
What motivates a distant assistant to work? How much will benefits impact his performance and decision to work long term?
Here’s what we learned from their answers:
1. Allow them to work at their own pace
Majority of the surveyed distant assistants enjoy spending more time with their families. Filipinos, in particular, are known to have strong family ties. Many of them see their family as a primary reason for becoming a DA(44.4%).
Other reasons for working as a distant assistant included:
- Savings in meal and transportation (11.1%)
- Savings for one’s future (11.1%)
- Comfort at home (33.3%)
- Convenience from not having to experience road traffic (22.2%)
- Inability to find a well-paying job in the corporate world (11.1%)
Their line of work provided them the convenience they desired. Flexibility is also one thing that they consider important.
By allowing them to work at their own pace, you give them the leisure of satisfying their needs as well as the reason to be happy in their work. Overall, you are more able to retain quality distant assistants in your company.
It does not necessarily mean that you allow them to go behind deadlines. They know when to complete a task and make sure they complete them well even before the time ends.
2. Wow them with your company culture
By definition, company culture has a lot to do with the relationship between a distant assistant and a client. It is not something that you enforce, but something that takes time to develop.
When asked about the most important thing when looking for a client or job, the participants’ top answer is company reputation which was once associated with company culture and community. This was then followed by pay rate.
- Company reputation (4 surveyed DAs)
- Pay rate (2 surveyed DAs)
- Flexibility (1 surveyed DA)
- Work schedule (1 surveyed DA)
- Opportunity to practice and strengthen one’s expertise (1 surveyed DA)
They also consider it as one of the deciding factors to work for a long time.
How do you manage your distant assistants? To retain quality distant assistants in your company, make your DAs feel welcomed and a part of the cause of your business.
Aligned with this, you may ask: what do distant assistants commonly expect from clients? We gave them five things to arrange in order of importance:
- Be punctual in paying for my services
- Be available when I need him (the client)
- Have a good understanding of the tasks he (the client) gives me
- Know my value as a skilled individual
- Reward incentives for good performance
Seven of the surveyed distant assistants expect clients to know their value as a skilled individual above all.
Most expected from a client:
- Know my value as a skilled individual (7 surveyed DAs)
- Be punctual in paying for my services (1 surveyed DA)
- Be available when I need him (1 surveyed DA)
One other expectation was a client’s good understanding of the tasks he assigns. It is interesting to note that many of the participants have performed various jobs for clients.
Rewarding incentives for good performance is the least they expect from clients. This was followed by the desire for punctual payment of their services.
Participants were also given the chance to specify other expectations. From their answers, we note 1) client’s consideration when it comes to inconvenient circumstances and 2) momentum in both the DA’s career and the client’s business.
3. Know their value
As a whole, the survey participants came from six areas of expertise:
- Software development and technology
- Sales and marketing support
- Professional services
- Creative and multimedia
- Writing and translation
- Clerical and data entry
Many of them are good with three or more skills. And although they least expect clients to pay on time, they still desire to be paid at a reasonable cost.
One distant assistant, for example, does many kinds of jobs for a client. They include social media marketing, graphic design, video editing, and other tasks assigned to them.
When asked how much they would like to get paid, the least amount they exacted was $5 USD. According to one surveyed DA, pay rates may depend on the exchange rate between currencies.
4. Appreciate their commitment
This calls to mind a famous quote from Vince Lombardi of the NFL, “Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” Vince was a champion not merely in sports but particularly in leading his teams towards success.
Commitment is not something that you do overnight. By definition, it is the state of keeping on for a purpose. And it requires effort to maintain.
There have been stories of distant assistants who suddenly leave their jobs without prior notice. Perhaps, you’ve heard about them too.
One thing that is many times referred to as the cause is the lack of benefits that a company provides.
In the Philippines, there is a list of benefits that companies can provide to their laborers. We selected some of them (according to the job offers we saw circulating the internet) that can also be provided to distant assistants:
- 13th-month pay
- Token of loyalty
- Internet allowance
- Vacation leaves that are convertible to cash
- Paternity or maternity leave
- Healthcare
- Rice allowance
- Mid-year bonus
- Paid training
- Referral bonus
According to the surveyed distant assistants, paid training is without a doubt a must-have for them. Other benefits generated a variety of results. Still, you may consider using them to retain quality distant assistants.
Here’s how important the DAs consider each benefit:
How likely will they stay if they have at least one of those aforementioned benefits?
Three of them said they would very likely stay with the benefits they receive. Two of them are undecided, another two do not see the connection in between, while the remaining two have their own thoughts on the matter.
5. Give them space to grow
All of those surveyed were very intent on improving their skills. They join groups, attend training, and take time to study their craft.
One DA said,
“I attend trainings and ask myself if I am on top of my industry.”
Another said,
“I watch how-to videos and sign up for (mostly free) courses online. I also joined a few Fb groups where I could read about how other DAs tackle a similar task in the most effective way.”
Is it worth investing on someone to retain quality distant assistants?
When asked how long they intend to work in the industry, clients would be happy to know that they intend to work for a couple of years. The minimum of which is three years.
- 3 of which are considering at least 5 years of tenure
- 5 are willing to work for a long time in general or even for a lifetime
Final Thoughts
The DAs have spoken.
At the end of the survey, we asked the distant assistants if there were anything they wish to say to prospective clients. Here are their thoughts…
- “Be kind and you’ll find the right distant assistant for you.”
- “There are lot of gems in the Philippines when you’re looking for a DA. It is truly worth your time and money when you give them the chance to work with you.”
- “A lot of people are interested to be a Distant Assistant. Being a DA will not start from having a client, but it will start when you have already learned how to be a DA.”
- “You’ll never go wrong with hiring Filipino DAs.”
Here are a few more…
- “Get to know the person very well first before you let them join your company. There’s a saying that goes, “Hard work beats good talent when good talent doesn’t work hard.” In short, character is the key for a very good DA.”
- “Know your skills and be patient.”
- “Health Care and Tax are important for DAs.”
- “Study first what a distant assistant does.”
Lastly…
- “The Philippines is rich with talented and competitive individuals. I think sometimes you just have to be patient and try to adjust to the culture. Still, thank you so much for considering our country. You are a blessing.”
Do you know of other ways to retain quality distant assistants in your company? Let us know what you think in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!
Other Articles You May Like:
- Why Aspiring Distant Assistants Quit in the Recruitment Process
- 5 People to Hire for Your Business Online
- When Things Fall Apart with Your Distant Assistant
Visit Bottleneck Distant Assistants on Facebook and Twitter.
About Jaime Jay
Meet Jaime Jay – a man who wears many hats, and wears them all admirably. He's a master connector, an entrepreneur extraordinaire, and a published author who knows how to get things done.
Before he found his way to the business world, Jaime served his country as a brave paratrooper in the U.S. Army. But that's just the beginning of his many accomplishments.
He's the founder of the renowned Bottleneck Distant Assistant Services firm, and his book "Quit Repeating Yourself" has become a must-read for entrepreneurs everywhere.
When he's not busy building his empire, you can find him on his beloved Harley Davidson, cruising through the countryside and taking in the invigorating effects of Uitwaaien – a Dutch practice that involves facing the wind to boost health and relieve stress.
He enjoys spending his free time outside building stuff with his wife, Nikita the dog and their two kittens (for now at least) Tommy and Tater.
He is ‘over-the-moon’ happily married to his wonderful wife Sara, his amazing daughter, Jessica, who is serving our country as a United States Army soldier. Jaime and Sara are the proud grand parents of two beautiful little girls.
Victoria Dorsano2023-09-17Bottleneck has been such an amazing support for my business! They have a seamless process to ensure you find the right fit for your DDA. I am so thankful I started working with them! I'm now able to accomplish so much more in my business with a personal DDA and editing team on my side. Thank you!!
Rockwell Felder2023-03-15I cannot thank the team at Bottleneck enough for their incredible support of our business. Their team has played a vital role in helping us staff our customer support and ensuring our customers were satisfied with our services. Their Distant Assistants were extremely helpful in answering inquiries promptly, handling complaints, and providing solutions to our customers' needs. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and communication skills are exceptional. Working with Bottleneck has been a fantastic experience, and I highly recommend their services to anyone needing a reliable and efficient virtual assistant, especially for customer support.
Karen Ravano2022-09-24I am grateful and blessed to be part of this team. It’s such a wonderful experience because i gain more experience and help me enhance my basic skills. This will be my stepping stone to my career as a newbie in this kind of industry. It would help to reach my goals.
Jeany Mercadal2022-09-16Bottleneck Distant Assistants can lessen the burden of company owners. We provide excellent services depending on our client needs. We are not scam, clients surely get more than what they pay for. Being part of this team helped me hone my skills and become excellent in all my works.
Jeff Peñaflor2022-09-14I started last March 24, 2021 as a Dedicated Distant Assistant and it was an awesome experience. In this new journey, as Security Administrator of Bottleneck Distant Assistants, I have been supported by the team, A LOT !!!! All help that I need, the whole team is there to support me. I know that there are a lot of room for improvements with my skills and what I know, but because of BNDA, I became equipped with all the weapons I need to conquer the daily challenges especially with my tasks. With BNDA, they will not just help you to aim high, but soar the skies!
Tinoe D2022-09-09I don't remember the last time I loved what I was doing until Bottleneck came into the picture. I love working for bottleneck, they are professional. The management makes the workplace fun and they're very flexible. I definetly recommend that you make that important switch and be part of something big today by joining BNDA.
Michael Goodcliffe2022-09-09Jaime and his team are incredible at what they do! Joining them has been one of the best decisions in my life! I whole heartedly recommend them to anyone who are looking to scale and improve their business. Their highly 'Dedicated Distant Assistants' are well trained. They are top notch!
GM Simon2022-09-08Working with Bottleneck is not just having one or two assistants working alongside you. You have the support of the whole team behind them as well.
Ma. Edeliza Silot2022-09-07Aside from the knowledge gained, the trainers are highly commendable.
Sara Knox2022-09-07What an awesome business! Finally, a way to hire the RIGHT person for my administrative tasks and they are remote! No office space to consider, W2's, 1099's or payroll. Jaime and his team of remote workers are top-notch! I hired my first assistant in May. I recently suffered a motorcycle accident and it left me unable to work for 2 weeks. But my assistant stepped right in to guide our CEO on all matters financial. It’s so nice to have that stress eliminated from my life!
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