Trust is one of the most costly investments a business owner can make. It could take you years to acquire someone’s trust, but only a moment to lose it. Delegating tasks like Facebook ad management that entail sharing passwords and other sensitive information about your business to someone you may not have met in person can be challenging.

Trust spreads from you to others. As the saying goes, trust leads. To win and offer trust, be brave and vulnerable. It’s a gamble that can pay off in business. The way you model trust affects how others see you. So, here are some ways to build trust with virtual staff.

Build trust right from the start

It is possible to gauge a virtual staff’s reliability during the recruiting process. You can learn about a candidate’s values, strengths, and potential shortcomings through the candidate’s portfolio, interview, and character references. Use all the information you have to form a judgment on whether a candidate values trust as much as you do.

Set expectations
Setting clear expectations with your virtual staff builds trust. Your expectations should realistically match your staff’s skills, experience, and responsibilities. Know what he or she can and can’t do. Your virtual staff can do more if you tell them what you need and provide the necessary support. These will help give you confidence that your staff can be relied upon with the tasks assigned to them.

Communicate regularly
The key to success in business and in developing trust is consistent and clear communication. Be sure to communicate your needs to your virtual staff and have follow up conversations and foster an environment where he or she feels safe to voice any concerns, ask any questions, and offer any suggestions. Having open lines of communication is a basic foundation of trust.

Protect confidential and sensitive information
When working with a virtual staff, it’s natural to feel uneasy about disclosing confidential information like trade secrets and passwords. Legal instruments such as a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) will add a layer of security in handling confidential and sensitive information.

Trusting others with your business is inherently risky, but there are methods for reducing that risk. However, you also need to take a leap of faith when choosing somebody to trust and include on your team. When hiring a virtual assistant, choose someone you can trust.

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