The workplace and business in general is often associated with hard work and determination but ironically, the advent of technology also paved the way for the emphasis of “softer” human attributes in the workplace. Compassion and empathy are two of these and have become the topic of business research of late. We shall be taking them as one blog entry for this week since compassion and empathy are interrelated in the sense that empathy is said to be a means towards achieving compassionate businesses while compassion is sometimes described as empathy in action.

The definitions of empathy and compassion even refer to each other, further solidifying their relationship. Empathy is more than recognizing emotions in others as it entails thinking beyond one’s self, one’s concerns and motives. It is putting yourself in that other person’s shoes, allowing you to discover, understand and appreciate that person’s perspective because you see her reality with your own eyes. This enables us to connect with other people, leading to feelings of compassion towards them. Compassion on the other hand is a deep understanding of the emotional state of another person, which can lead us to feel empathy for another person. In its purest form, compassion means making the suffering of someone else as our own.

The question has always been how these two traits come into play in the world of business wherein it has been said time and again that the heart has no place in. Clearly, compassion and empathy can be associated with having a heart because it deals with emotions more than anything else.

Research shows that a business wherein a compassionate culture is present have high performing, less stressed, satisfied, loyal and committed employees. The fact that colleagues and management itself go out of their way to help employees who need it by providing emotional support, material goods and granting flexibility and time to help alleviate suffering, trauma, etc., allows companies to further strengthen their relationships with their employees. Because employees feel valued in the workplace, a mutual feeling of connection, trust, protection and care is generated. Employees are more able to move forward and recover from personal challenges. This in turn improves customer service and the bottom line. As mentioned in previous blog entries, relationships inside and outside the company can make or break your business. A compassionate and empathic business can also build lasting partnerships with other companies with the same advocacy, culture and values.

Showing Empathy and Compassion in the Workplace

1) Listen without interrupting and develop an attitude of openness. Listening to colleagues and letting them finish without interruption does not only show respect and that you value what they have to say but also allows you to absorb the message and respond appropriately. Communicating to employees that there is an open door policy from management will also encourage employees to share their thoughts, decreasing the time spent skirting around issues. Such a policy will encourage them to be honest with work concerns.

2) Show empathy through body language. Maintain eye contact to show sincerity, keep a good body posture to convey openness and not disinterest in what others have to say.

3) Validate other’s emotions by agreeing with them when applicable as this shows acceptance and understanding.

4) Offer personal support. Let them know that you are there to help and that you can work on a task or a project together or that you can guide them or they can ask you should they have questions.

5) If you’re a leader, lead by example and adapt to the needs of the employees if they are for the greater good.

We at The Help, and the owner Astrid Stanek in particular, believe in the importance of cultivating empathy and compassion in virtual assistance. All tasks must be approached with these two traits in mind as both enhance all other virtual assistance skills. Virtual Assistants as partners of clients should learn to put themselves in the shoes of their clients to understand their needs, desires and expectations bearing in mind that there are business goals to meet. The VA aside from doing her job well, exerts effort to inform her/himself about the client’s business. Because of the dynamic nature of virtual assistance, the VA must be prepared to adapt to the goals of the business and her subsequent role in it, thus creating an organized workflow and better use of technology.

Empathy and compassion are at the heart of productive, meaningful relationships that are keys to the growth of any business. But these words only come alive when we, employees and management, open our hearts and minds to the challenges and joys of our colleagues and clients. We can better communicate with one another, with our clients; we create value. A united workforce and a positive VA-client relationship require constant work to achieve the goal of unity and continued success of The Help.

Written by Kathrine E./ Edited by Yoli P.- The Help

We are looking for passionate, driven, creative, smart, funny, and earnest individuals to join our Beta Testing Team. We are currently looking for IT professionals who are skilled in UNITY 3D. The right person should be able to work with our team and client in the gaming industry. This is a fun, challenging, and fulfilling position for the right individual.

This is a part time position. Depending on your work quality and professionalism, this will turn to a full time employment in no time. All you need to do is just prove to us that you are what we are looking for.

We offer outstanding salary and benefit packages for the right individual plus you get to work from the comfort of your home.

Requirements:

• High speed internet
• Windows 7 and later

If interested, please submit your resume and portfolio to admin@thehelpbyastrids.com

A lot of what we have talked about in our past entries like getting and following instructions, researching for information and resources; being resourceful and prepared can be summed up in one general characteristic-proactivity.

Proactivity is being action, results and change-oriented, anticipatory and self-initiating. If you’re proactive, you act in advance for a future situation instead of reacting to a situation when it happens. You do not need to be told what to do or be asked to do something.  Simply put, being proactive means taking control and initiating change more than merely adjusting to the situation. It aims to identify and explore opportunities to be able to avoid potential problems.

Proactive employees are considered the most valuable because they are continuously on the move to do something; to act on things rather than sit around waiting for direct orders. They go forth and look for answers in preparation for, not in answer to and they go ahead and take on tasks head on if they know what to do and how to do it rather than wait to be told to do so. They ask questions in anticipation and in preparation for the future.

How to be Proactive

1)      Predict, Plan and Prevent. Because being proactive is future-oriented, you must be able to anticipate what the future holds in terms of your work and problems that may arise and because you understand these possibilities, you work on the process, routines and practices of the present and combine these with your logic and creativity to be able to prevent future problems. These make work easier for you and your teammates.

2)      Prioritize, Participate and Perform. More than being observers, proactive people are doers. They take initiative, contribute and get involved in coming up with solutions in a timely and efficient manner. They prioritize which are important, decide and work at goals now rather than later and hold themselves accountable, believing that working on these day-to-day tasks would also minimize their workload in the process.

3)      Evaluate and automate procedures and processes. Depending on functionality, discard those that do not work, adjust what can be adjusted and think of ways on how to improve or automate processes to minimize time like using computer applications and delegating to team members tasks based on who are best fit for the requirements of the task.

4)      Learn and Commit. Continuously develop a passion and interest for anything to improve work situations or yourself through company trainings, online courses or exposure to other tasks. Use these to commit yourself to excellence and be an asset to your company/client.

Because of the nature and scope of the work of Virtual Assistants (VA), they need to be proactive as they get to better manage their times and their tasks and are better able to serve clients when they take control of things they need to do. By taking note of things that they do regularly for each of their clients, considering the difference in time zone and nature of business, they would automatically be able to do these tasks without waiting for clients to constantly remind them.  A proactive VA is prepared and as such, she rarely gets flustered nor is she always in a rush.  She takes interest in the trends that could improve her clients’ businesses and service and consequently get to also improve her service.  The proactive VA understands what needs to be done, how and at what cost,  much like the client she is assisting and these can empower her to do her tasks and make decisions based on her knowledge of the business and the project.  These makes the proactive VA more valuable to clients because the VA does not only get to work on more tasks on the specified hours but also shows the client that they care about their business. Clients also prefer proactive VAs and delegate more complex tasks because they know they can rely on them.

Businesses can also benefit from being proactive by setting goals and constantly looking out to better improve their systems, productivity, efficiency and standing in the market rather than wait for competitors to give them stiff competition by being complacent.  Proactive businesses are cost-effective because they get to solve small problems before they even become big enough to cost a lot of time and money. Proactive businesses increase good results and cultivate positive workplace environment.

Proactive Virtual Assistants are always ahead of the game because they are constantly on their toes. They go out of their way to find out where they are at the moment and where they want to end up and work on these by developing processes and procedures and disciplined habits and going beyond what is expected of them, making them valuable partners of the client and their business.

 

 Written by Kathrine E- The Help

Communication is a very important factor in all aspects of human life because human beings are naturally social beings. Communication is defined as “the act or process of using words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings to someone else (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication).”

This definition encompasses the three ways of communicating which are:

1) Verbal communication is communication expressed in spoken words; orally spoken rather than written down such as during conversations with friends or colleagues or meetings in the workplace; oral class recitations or voice calls with clients

2) Written communication on the other hand is expressing oneself with the use of words through writing them on a piece of paper or through the use of the computer such as emails, blogs, memo, etc.

3) Non-verbal  communication, unlike the preceding  two, this does not make use of words.  It uses body language including gestures, facial and eye expressions and posture; communication through objects like symbols, clothing and architecture. It has also come to include the stress, voice quality and intonation of the speaker in actual speech, but not the words themselves.

No matter the kind, good communication is the key to a good relationship – between team mates and between the virtual assistant and the client. Good communication becomes even more significant in the virtual assistant’s workplace considering the hours, cultures and personalities of those involved and how they affect its dynamics.

In a regular workplace, an employee needs to communicate with the team to build camaraderie and rapport as well as for projects to be successful. The same is true in a virtual environment, it being more dependent on the ability and the willingness of people to communicate verbally and in writing as phone calls and emails are the primary means of communication in the virtual office. A little less on the use of non-verbal cues as these are primarily anchored on body language which most often than not are not seen by the client.

Advantages of Communication in the Workplace

1)      Foundations are laid and expectations managed.  It is through communication that employees are briefed and oriented into the system and instructions given and clarified for the employee to know what is expected of her and for the client to determine whether instructions were clear. Almost always, the VA spends the first few minutes of her shift talking to the client for tasks to be done for the shift as well as the specifications for each. In the course of her shift, she gets to constantly communicate with the client and team members through Skype or email for further instructions or help.

2)      Conflicts are avoided and collaboration developed. Discussing issues and problems that may arise in the course of doing the job avoids future conflicts. With proper communication, chaos and confusion are avoided because ideas are exchanged, feelings clarified and a relationship cultivated, making way for a collaborative environment and for trust and respect to be developed. In a virtual workplace, dealing with different kinds of clients, good communication certainly helps with managing this diversity.

3)      Morale and productivity are boosted. With communication, team mates get to support one another in every way possible and necessary, leaving no room for misunderstanding, thereby increasing productivity and confidence in dealing with clients and undertaking tasks; reducing delay and wastage. In addition, constant communication among team mates builds a friendly environment conducive to efficiency and productivity; contributing to a happy, satisfied workforce with high employee morale which in effect makes the client happy because happy employees do not only put in the hours but turn in excellent quality work.

Consequently, the lack of communication in the workplace could lead to waste of time and energy due to miscommunications and a lack of trust. Team members who do not communicate do not get feedback to enable them to correct their ways with proper guidance or resources for work.

Research shows that an organization with competent employees and strong support can still fail without the most important element of success which is communication. Without it, business goals cannot be established, much less achieved and become efficient.

 

Communication is the key to building relationships and relationships are important for any business. No organization-virtual or otherwise can exist without communication because it supports all aspects of the work environment. Without a good relationship with our clients, they will take their business elsewhere. Without a harmonious relationship with the team, there will be chaos. Communicating with these important people in our workplace makes work and life in general easier to manage.

 

In this day and age, communication can be limitless due to numerous avenues, and it is now that it should be truly explored as a means to build those important relationships. Start with your team, today.

 

 Written by Kathrine E.- The Help