10 Ways to Motivate Your Filipino Virtual Assistants

This is part two of my series on how to get the best performance from your Filipino virtual assistants. Even though they live thousands of miles away, they’re still an important part of your staff.

Previously I talked about the 4-drive theory of motivation and covered how to motivate your Filipino remote workers through their drive to acquire and achieve. In this article, I’ll go over motivating people using the other three drives.

The drive to bond and belong

Filipinos are highly social people. They thrive on feeling connected to others, whether that means family, friends or co-workers. Even if you only meet in the virtual workplace, you can still create a feeling of connection. Follow these tips to motivate your VA with their drive to bond:

1. Communicate often

Talking and emailing with your virtual workforce helps develop your relationship. The digital world can be a cold place. When you work together ‘in real life’ you have the chance to chat and have a bit of a laugh.

Try to create some of the same feelings with your virtual staff. It lightens the work day and makes people more engaged and committed to your company.

2. Provide a sense of belonging

Many employers hide the fact that they outsource. Your virtual workforce can become a ‘dirty secret’ and, make no mistake, this affects their performance. If you can, let them state publicly that they work for you.

Outsourcing is more and more common nowadays and nothing to be ashamed of. And your Filipino VA will feel like one of the families instead of a red-headed stepchild.

3. Give praise for a job well-done

A culture of praise helps create a positive work environment. A sincere “Good job!” can go a long way towards motivating your staff. Just make sure it’s sincere. For one thing, people can tell when you’re faking. For another, you don’t want to encourage the wrong behaviour.

4. Encourage friendships amongst your staff

According to research, workplace friendships not only make people feel good about their jobs and places of employment, they increase productivity as well. A friendly company culture means that staffers are less likely to quit. They often behave better too.

5. Support collaboration

A Stanford University study on the effects of collaboration found that it has substantial positive effects – personally, socially and professionally. Working together on a task can significantly improve motivation. Not just that, it makes people more engaged, less fatigued at the end of the day, and better problem-solvers.

The drive to create and challenge

Human beings are curious creatures, and the feeling of learning something new is rewarding all by itself. Your Filipino VA will feel more motivated when they know what they contribute and how their role fits into your business.

6. Create a detailed job description

A detailed job description will let your staffers know what they should concentrate on. Giving your workers clear direction improves their morale and retention rates. It helps prevent confusion and gives your virtual assistant a solid base to build upon.

7. Set goals for your staffers

Everyone likes to work with a goal in mind. It makes work more productive because you know the target you’re striving for.

The drive to define and defend

The drive to define and defend has to do with our instinct to protect ourselves, our tribe, and our position in the social hierarchy. You can motivate people through this drive by giving them something to defend.

8. Provide training opportunities for your virtual assistants

Training your VA helps them feel confident they can do their job well. When you invest in their training it shows that you believe in them and are committed to their development. They’ll be motivated to use the skills you’ve given them to perform at their best.

9. Give your VAs a career path to follow

Any staff member wants to know that they have a future if they commit to working for you. Giving them a chance to climb the career ladder will guarantee long-term loyalty. Train them in new skills, and then give them more responsibility, a higher job title, and a pay rise. After all, they probably have a family to take care of and if they don’t see a future with you they’ll have no choice but to leave.

10. Promote some of your virtual staff to leadership roles

As your company grows you’ll need someone to take over a portion of your responsibilities. Why not your trusty VA who has been virtually by your side for several years? If you’ve been training them up, then they know how the business works and what to do. They’ll feel proud of their position and you’ll be able to shed some of the load on your shoulders.

The perfect motivation mix will vary according to your industry, your personality, and your workers. If you need a little guidance please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ve worked with Filipino virtual assistants for years and would be glad to share what I discovered – and give you a chance to learn from my mistakes. It takes a little trial and error to figure out, but the results are worth it.