A guide for Access to Work Recipients
If you have been granted an Access to Work grant from Department of Work & Pensions, the relationship you will have with your Virtual Assistant will be very different. Check out our guide below to find out why.
1. We are Support Workers
By hiring a virtual assistant under the Access to Work scheme, we are technically Support Workers and not virtual assistants in the traditional guise. The main difference with a Support Worker is exactly as the title suggests, in that we will help you to complete tasks that otherwise may prove overwhelming and therefore prove to be a constant barrier to any progression.
Therefore, we will work in a different manner to typical Virtual Assistants. We can offer the following:-
- Daily check in calls
- Accountability sessions with mind mapping to organise thoughts and help to identify priorities
- Online body doubling / mirroring sessions to help task completion
- Assist with project management and realistic task planning
- Organising your schedule to ensure it is manageable and realistic
Although these services can be offered to all, these are particularly useful for those people who have ADHD and may require some additional support in organisation, executive planning and accountability.
2. We are not Employees
By hiring a virtual assistant funded by the Access to Work scheme, we are not employees and therefore are unable to carry out additional work for your colleagues. The Department of Work & Pensions funds individuals to secure Support Workers to support the recipient only, and therefore please do not request us to carry out additional tasks or liaise with other people within your organisation, as refusal may offend.
3. We are focused on Enablement
By hiring a virtual assistant under the Access to Work scheme, we will help support you with tasks you may find overwhelming. We will work to support you with these tasks to develop strategies, identify shortcuts and support you to complete them.
4. The type of work we can do to support you
There will be tasks we can take off your hands to provide immediate relief:
- Email inbox decluttering and organisation
- Social media management and scheduling
- Website management including SEO
- Organising appointments
- Synchronising diaries
- Research projects
- Filing
- Administrative tasks
- Setting up spreadsheets to help with tasks
- Organising Project Management software
So now you know what we do and how we can help, how can you get the best out of your relationship with your Virtual Assistant?
Have realistic expectations from your relationship. Your Virtual Assistant will help you to organise and structure. Do not expect a Virtual Assistant to run your business for you.
Ask for Terms & Conditions.
Check in regularly. Whether you opt for a weekly online meeting or prefer to communicate via messaging service, keep in contact with your Virtual Assistant. This will enable both of you to build the relationship and to ensure each party knows what tasks are expected of them and when. In your first meeting be sure to establish your preferred method of communication and hours you can be contacted.
Ask for a weekly timesheet. Most Virtual Assistants use time recording software to record their work. This means it is easy to generate and send a report of their hours. Remember, the Access to Work funding is allocated to you, not your Virtual Assistant. In your first meeting, ensure you set out how you would like your timesheet – with lots of detail or simply just using a task name to identify allocation.
Establish the key areas of support. Most experienced Virtual Assistants working with ADHD customers should be able to identify your key areas of support from your first few meetings. The Support Worker Tasks form completed as part of your Access to Work application, will help to identify key areas.
Chemistry matters! In your initial meetings with your Virtual Assistant, it is important to establish the ground rules for a successful relationship. Over the course of the first few months it is important you are able to build a rapport with your Virtual Assistant. If you do not feel the relationship is going to plan, ask for a review meeting. If you decide the end the relationship, check your Terms and Conditions for the expected termination period.
Get in touch if you would like more information about Access to Work funded Support Workers and Job Aides.