The 24-Hour Onboarding Guide

Create a welcome document

Write a 1–2 page overview of your business, your goals for the VA engagement, your communication preferences, and your working hours. This is the single most important document you can give your new VA — it saves hours of back-and-forth in week one.

List your top 5 tasks

Identify the five recurring tasks you want your VA to own immediately. These become their week-one focus. Don't try to hand over everything at once — start with the tasks that have the highest time cost for you.

Prepare system access

Create login credentials (or invite your VA as a user) for the tools they'll use: Gmail/Outlook, calendar, CRM, project management, and any industry-specific software. Use a password manager — never send credentials via plain text.

Set up Asana

Your VA manages all tasks in Asana. If you don't have an Asana account, THC will set one up during onboarding. If you already use Asana, invite your VA and your Client Manager as members of the relevant projects.

Sign the NDA

Ensure the NDA has been executed before your VA's first day. This is handled during the matching process — your Client Manager will confirm it is complete before day one.

Kickoff call (30–45 minutes)

Your first call with your VA should cover: your business overview, the five priority tasks, your communication preferences, your working hours and response time expectations, and any sensitive context they need to know before they start.

Walk through your tools

Spend 15–20 minutes showing your VA how you use each tool — not just that you have it. How do you like emails organized? What does a completed task look like in your CRM? This context is invaluable.

Assign the first real task

Don't give your VA a test project. Give them real work on day one. This is how they learn your standards fastest. The first task should be specific, have a clear outcome, and have a reasonable deadline.

Establish communication rhythm

Decide: daily standup or async daily update? Slack messages or email? What's urgent vs. what can wait? Setting this clearly on day one prevents communication friction in week one.

Share your welcome document

Send your welcome document and any relevant SOPs or process documents. If you don't have documented processes yet, that's fine — your VA can help you create them.

Task 1–3 completed and reviewed

By end of week one, your VA should have completed your first 2–3 assigned tasks. Review their work carefully and give specific feedback — this calibration early on sets the quality bar for the whole engagement.

Communication rhythm established

By the end of week one, you should have settled into a comfortable communication pattern. If you're getting too many messages or not enough, adjust now — not in week three.

SOPs drafted for recurring tasks

For every recurring task your VA handles, have them draft a simple SOP (standard operating procedure) by end of week one. This ensures consistency and makes backup VA coverage seamless.

Asana fully set up

Your Asana workspace should have all active projects, recurring task templates, and your VA assigned to relevant items. Your Client Manager has access and is monitoring task completion.

Week 1 feedback call

Have a brief check-in at end of week one. What's working? What needs adjustment? This is the time to recalibrate before habits are formed. Be honest — your VA is a professional and can handle direct feedback.

Weekly async update

A brief weekly update (what was completed, what's in progress, any blockers) keeps you informed without requiring a call. Your VA sends this every Friday — review it and respond with priorities for next week.

Monthly performance check

Your Client Manager (Full-Time plan) conducts a formal monthly KPI review. Part-Time clients should schedule a brief monthly check-in with their VA to review what's working and what needs to change.

Trust the process

The biggest mistake clients make is micromanaging their VA after the first few weeks. Once your VA has demonstrated quality and reliability, trust them to own their tasks. This is what frees your time.

Expand the scope

Once your VA has mastered your core tasks (usually by week 3–4), start delegating more. Most clients underestimate how much they can hand off. The ROI of a VA compounds as the scope of delegation grows.