8 Steps When Starting Work With a New VA

Finding and recruiting the best online Filipino specialist can be a challenging process. Once you find the right candidate, you’re pretty much on your way to success.

BUT, you have to make sure that you and your OFS are primed for success. Getting the first day right can influence how well your working relationship goes in the future.

How do you ensure this? Let me share what I do whenever I hire a new virtual assistant from the Philippines.

1. Hire one Filipino VA

2. Discuss your policies and make sure your VA understands them

3. Give your VA a first task.

4. Set the right expectations

5. The daily email: a vital part of their job

6. Make the first few weeks count

7. Talk about pay

8. Expect some turnover

1. Hire one Filipino VA

I’ve seen business owners hire multiple VAs right off the bat because they wanted to get a lot of things done right away. This is a mistake.

Managing several employees is difficult enough. Now imagine having to teach, train, and manage a handful of workers on the other side of the world. And if you’ve never outsourced before, it’s going to be a real challenge.

You’re much better off starting with one VA and letting that person learn everything they can about your business. Focus on building a good relationship with that person first. Once the VA proves more than capable of handling the tasks you assign, you’ll be ready for another VA.

Once you get used to the process, you’ll have several VAs working for you. Just don’t hire an entire team from the very beginning. Start off slow and ease into it.

2. Discuss your policies and make sure your VA understands them

Never keep your VA guessing. From the moment they’re hired, spell out the policies and guidelines of your business and working relationship.

Along with your specific policies, there are some general ones I like to point out to all of my workers:

Are they full-time or part-employees?

I recommend hiring full-time workers. But part-time help is fine if that’s all you need. Full-time employees are expected to work eight hours a day, five days a week. Part-time employees work one to four hours a day, five days a week.

Monitoring time and schedule.

I don’t use a time-tracking system to monitor my VAs. I’ve found that Filipinos resent being watched every minute of the day. They lose motivation when every little thing they do is scrutinized.

But it’s important to emphasize that they should work a full day (or half a day if they’re part-time). Even without time tracking, you’ll be able to tell if your OFS is productive based on their daily reports.

If you really need to monitor time, I recommend using TimeProof. It’s free with your OnlineJobs.ph account.

Pay will be computed and sent weekly for the first couple of months. Then monthly after that.

To establish trust with your Filipino worker, I suggest paying them weekly—at least for the first couple of months. Many are afraid of being scammed into working without pay. Unfortunately, this happens more often than you think. We regularly receive complaints from workers who did one or two months of work and never got paid because their employer ghosted them.

Paying weekly at first shows you’re serious about working with them. Once you build trust, you can switch to a monthly payment schedule.

The best payment method we have right now is EasyPay.

Paid time off.

I don’t expect all of my VAs to work on holidays. My customer support team has a schedule they follow. I pay them on Philippine holidays, and it works for me. If this isn’t something you want to do, work it out with your VA.

Allow your VA vacation time and sick leave.

You should give your VA paid vacation and sick leave every year. It’s up to you how many days or hours are appropriate. You can set policies like requiring your VA to request time off in advance.

Here at OnlineJobs.ph, we don’t give a set amount of sick or vacation days. We just ask our workers to notify us ahead of time if they want time off. If they’re sick, we just ask them to let us know so we understand why they didn’t work.

Don’t forget the 13th month.

Companies in the Philippines are legally required—after one year of employment—to give one-twelfth of the year’s pay in December, aka the 13th month. The 13th momth is pro-rated if the worker has been with the company less than a year, as long as they’ve worked at least 22 days.

You’re not required to do this, but it’s best to honor the practice. Filipinos look for it in job posts, and it’s a great way to motivate your VA. Discuss it when you hire them, and ask them to remind you about this extra pay in December.

Yearly raises are based on performance.

How much you raise your VA’s salary is up to you. Increases usually range from $0 to $50. The amount depends on attendance and overall performance. You’re not required to give a raise if your VA performs poorly. But if they’re excellent, we’ve even doubled a VA’s salary on occasion.

Your VA shouldn’t be working for anyone else.

If they’re working full-time, your VA should give you their full attention and best effort. This is why we discourage part-time hires—part-timers will always work for someone else, and their time and focus will be split.

Reassure them that they can come to you if they have problems or concerns.

Filipinos often struggle with this. They’re easily embarrassed and may fear being fired if they mess up. Tell them it’s OK to ask for help if they’re stuck. Promise them you’re available to resolve issues and answer questions.

Tell them that they can’t disappear.

One of the biggest challenges in outsourcing is that workers sometimes disappear when things go wrong. Rather than express concerns or admit mistakes, they stop sending daily emails, cut off communication, and vanish.

You can’t let this happen. Emphasize that disappearing isn’t an option. Work on building trust so they’ll come to you when there’s a problem.

3. Give your VA a first task.

Once your VA starts, don’t waste time—give them a task. Their first assignment is important. It shows you what they’re capable of and sets the tone for your relationship.

People often ask: should the first task be easy or difficult?

A simple task might ease your VA into their role.

But a challenging one will:

• push the worker,
• reveal their commitment,
• show how well they follow directions, and
• test if they’ll ask for help when needed.

The decision depends on you and what their role will be. Personally, I assign a tough task at the start—but I do it with care.

I tell them the task is challenging and that I want to see them try to figure it out. I also make it clear they should ask for help when they get stuck—because I expect them to get stuck at some point.

If they figure it out? Great. That shows they’re resilient and ready for more.

If they ask for help? Also great. It shows they’re willing to communicate and won’t disappear.

The task should be something relevant—not just difficult for difficulty’s sake. Give direction. Give feedback. Be involved. That builds your VA’s confidence from day one.

4. Set the right expectations

From the beginning, your VA should know what you need, how you want it done, and when it should be done.

If you want your VA to be good, be a good boss. Train them well. Give consistent feedback. Filipinos appreciate this—and you’ll get out of the relationship what you put in.

Filipinos often feel they’re not good enough or qualified. If you don’t set clear expectations, they’ll try to do everything perfectly. And when they can’t, they’ll get embarrassed and stop communicating.

So explain:

• what you want done,
• how to do it,
• how often it needs doing, and
• when it should be done.

Once your VA is comfortable with basic tasks, train them to take on more. Eventually, they’ll know everything about your business.

Before assigning new projects, consider asking:

“Can you do this?” or “Would you feel comfortable with this?”

That shows respect and helps you match tasks to their skill level. Then, give them the encouragement they need to succeed.

5. The daily email: a vital part of their job

Of all the things I teach about outsourcing, this one is essential. Once your VA is hired, emphasize the non-negotiable daily email. It’s vital to their success.

Each day, they should email you three things:

• What they did today
• What problems they ran into
• What you can do to help

This simple habit keeps you connected. It builds communication, encourages ownership, and saves you from micromanagement. You won’t need to constantly check in—they’ll tell you.

If your VA stops sending daily emails, reach out. A missed email could be a sign something’s wrong—or that they’ve disappeared.

You can use calls, instant messages, or project management tools too. The platform doesn’t matter. What matters is consistent, daily communication.

Also—respond to their emails. Even just “Thank you” lets them know you’re paying attention. That matters a lot.

6. Make the first few weeks count

The first 14 to 21 days are critical.

They can be the difference between a productive, long-term relationship and a disappointing one.

Here are a few tips:

Keep them busy.

Don’t overwhelm them, but make sure they have a steady flow of tasks. That way:

• they won’t run out of things to do,
• they won’t get used to downtime, and
• they’ll develop a strong work ethic.

Always have the next project ready to go.

Be prepared. Once they finish a task, you don’t want to scramble for the next one.

I had a friend send his new VA a task he thought would take days. Thirty minutes later, the VA messaged him:

“I’m done! What’s next?”

Be ready.

Be liberal with compliments.

Praise goes a long way—especially early on. When your VA does something well, tell them. Encourage them. It builds morale and motivates them to keep going.

7. Talk about pay

Discuss this early—before you even hire them.

I recommend starting them on the lower end of the pay range, then increasing it after a few months if they’re doing well. Pay weekly for the first two months, then switch to monthly. Remind your VA to send invoices on time if they want to be paid on time.

8. Expect some turnover

Not every VA will work out. That’s normal.

In over 10 years of outsourcing to the Philippines, I’ve had about an 80% success rate.

Why do some VAs not last? A few reasons:

• Employers expect perfection too early.
• The learning curve is steep—for the VA, and often more so for you.
• Communication breaks down, and the VA disappears.

It’s hard working with someone new—especially across time zones and cultures. Your VA may have never worked for someone in the U.S. before.

If your first hire doesn’t work out, don’t panic. Try again. Avoid the same mistakes. Eventually, you’ll find someone perfect for your business.

And once you do? They’ll likely stay for years.

Conclusion

Working with Filipinos can be a great experience—both personally and professionally.

I’ve met wonderful, talented, hard-working individuals during my 10+ years of outsourcing. Don’t let the hiring process scare you. It can feel overwhelming at first, but following these eight steps will help ease the anxiety—and set you and your VA up for long-term success.

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About John Jonas

John Jonas is a long-time outsourcing expert and the creator of OnlineJobs.ph.

Since 2005, John has taught hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs how to profitably delegate to VAs in the Philippines (and get their lives back in the process).

With help from his own VAs based in the Philippines, John has created an outsourcing empire that allows him to work 17 hours/week and to spend most of his time with his wife and 5 kids.

Find John at JohnJonas.com and Facebook.

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