A web project manager set for action.

If your day is spent assigning tasks to your virtual assistants and you’re finding you don’t have enough time to get to the all-important job of driving the company forward, then it’s time to invest in a new Spiderman suit and appoint a new web project manager!

In all seriousness, it’s not a healthy situation for your small business if you are micro-managing tasks that someone else could be doing. This ties up time better spent on the growth and future direction of your company.

Usually when you have developed a small team of 3 or 4 VAs it’s already time to either hire a web project manager or appoint one from the team you already have. If they are trained up and know the systems, are good communicators and have the skills to manage a small team then of course it’s best to promote from within.

It’s a good idea to create a semi-hands-off approach to your project management teams. That is, you let them roll with it, organizing and appointing tasks for the team of VAs they are charged to look after, but you have daily meetings with the managers and maybe use a site priority sheet where each assistant has a list of the different tasks they are working on and you, as the boss, can keep abreast of the progress towards each outcome. This puts a little quality control into the overall process but doesn’t take up much of your valuable time.

Another feature of giving your online project manager the “space” to work in and freeing up your own time is allowing them to make spending decisions up to a certain amount – maybe $500 or so, under which they don’t have to check with you. This creates good trust in the relationship, as well as saving time.

It’s important that your project managers do focus on the outcomes of the tasks, not the tasks themselves; there can be a temptation when hiring outsourced assistants to keep them busy without stopping to see what it’s really achieving.

Finally take care to keep your project managed team manageable. More than 7 team members can be counter-productive as it will stretch your project manager in too many directions.

Knowing the when, what, how and why of hiring a web project manager for your small business is a great start, but there’s plenty more to find out about effective project management using an outsourced workforce. Click here if you want the best outsourcing tips and strategies.