Did you know that a bad hire can cost you up to 30% of that hire’s annual salary?
According to Zippia, a bad hire disrupts productivity and impacts your team’s morale, ultimately draining your time and money.
Learn how to spot when a virtual assistant isn’t the right fit, the warning signs to watch and how to fix the problem before it costs your business.
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Key Takeaways
Spot issues early. Recognize underperformance before it drains productivity or affects clients.
Coach or offboard. Structured guidance or professional offboarding ensures your operations run smoothly.
Hire right next time. A dedicated virtual assistant or VA company ensures tasks are done efficiently and your paid time isn’t wasted.
Signs Your Virtual Assistant Isn't Working Out
Poor performance shows up in patterns, not one-off mistakes. These patterns drain your time and focus.
Signs to watch:
- Errors on tasks that slow your operations
- Missed deadlines affecting what matters for your business
- Low initiative, requiring you to manage workflows
- Poor communication with clients or the team
- Inconsistent use of tools and processes
Example scenario:
An e-commerce founder hires a virtual assistant for data entry and customer service. Six weeks later, orders are processed incorrectly, customer emails remain unanswered for more than 48 hours and the founder spends 10 hours a week correcting errors that should have been handled automatically.
What does this mean for your business?
According to Gallup, disengaged workers can cost companies about 18% of a salary in lost productivity. For you, that means stepping back into administrative support and constantly spending mental bandwidth on tasks that your virtual assistant should be handling.
These are signs your VA is no longer the right fit:
Declining Performance and Missed KPIs from your Virtual Assistant
When quality drops and deadlines aren’t met, it affects every part of your business.
Signs your assistant isn’t keeping up:
- Task completion issues. Repeated errors require you to redo work or follow up, which slows operations.
- Missed deadlines. Projects drag when calls, emails and other tasks aren’t completed on time.
- Communication gaps. Lack of updates, unanswered messages or delayed contact interrupts team coordination.
- Low initiative. Waiting for constant direction instead of proactively using software and tools to complete tasks.
Performance Red Flags vs. Normal Growing Pains
|
Behavior |
Normal Growing Pains (First 30 Days) |
Performance Red Flag (After 60+ Days) |
|
Task Accuracy |
70–80% accuracy while learning systems |
Still under 80% after training |
|
Deadline adherence |
Occasional delays with communication |
Repeated missed deadlines, no proactive updates |
|
Communication |
Asks clarifying questions frequently |
Goes silent, fails to contact when matters arise |
|
Initiative |
Follows SOPs closely |
Still waits for direction on routine tasks, doesn’t use available resources |
What you should not do:
- Ignore repeated mistakes. If your assistant continues to make the same errors, you’re wasting time, money and resources, which in turn affects the professional standards of your business.
- Assume effort equals results. You need to assess and determine whether the work truly matches what matters most.
- Skip accountability. Without clear metrics, you can’t know if tasks are complete or if they are delivering the professional support you expected.
Communication Gaps and Lack of Initiative in Virtual Assistant Services
Great assistants clarify, anticipate and solve. Weak ones wait for instructions, leaving you to manage details they should handle independently.
Poor communication skills often signal deeper issues with training, motivation or role fit.
Signs your assistant may be struggling:
- Unclear updates or incomplete tasks
- Lack of proactive problem-solving
- Radio silence or delayed responses on important calls or emails
- Waiting for constant instruction instead of using software and resources to complete work
Expert insight:
When your virtual assistant still needs guidance after training, it’s a mismatch. Lack of professionalism and expertise wastes your resources. You shouldn’t have to micromanage specific tasks, check task lists or manage calls or emails; a dedicated assistant should start working and complete assigned responsibilities independently.
Evaluate Before You Terminate Your Virtual Assistant
Sometimes, performance issues stem from unclear expectations, not a bad hire.
Before you decide to fire your virtual assistant, determine whether the issue is the employee, your processes or a mismatch in skills.
Ask yourself:
- Are SOPs and task lists clear?
- Was onboarding enough to give your assistant the tools, training and guidance for tasks like email management or project management?
- Do they have the right skills, expertise and professional mindset to handle the specific tasks assigned?
Quick Diagnostic – System or Performance
Issue | System Problem | Performance Problem |
Missed deadlines | No tracking tool | Deadlines are in the shared calendar, but still missed |
Poor task quality | No SOPs | Assistant ignores SOPs |
Low communication | No check-in scheduled | Assistant misses daily check-ins |
Lack of initiative | Tasks lack context | The assistant waits for direction |
What you can do today:
- Schedule a direct chat with your assistant with specific examples
- Assess performance with clear goals tied to tasks and deadlines
- Offer two to four weeks of ongoing support and service
- Track progress to see if the assistant is the right fit and worth paying for long-term
Remember: Clear guidance and access turn a dedicated assistant into real professional support. Using virtual assistant services helps your company manage email and various tasks across different industries, saving money and resources while hiring the right person for the job.
Coaching, Realignment Opportunities and Professional Support for Virtual Assistants
Sometimes, a structured conversation and clearer KPIs can turn performance around.
Knowing how to give direct, actionable feedback and setting measurable goals tied to your business needs can make all the difference. Providing training and support helps you to determine if the job is the right fit.
How to coach effectively:
- Give direct, actionable feedback tied to specific tasks
- Set measurable goals aligned with clients or specific industries
- Provide ongoing support and tools, and schedule regular check-ins to boost productivity
Realignment in action:
A SaaS startup hires a virtual assistant for customer support and research. After 8 weeks, response times are slow, and research is surface-level. Instead of firing, the founder:
- Creates a response time KPI (under four hours)
- Provides templates for common customer questions
- Schedules 15-minute daily check-ins for two weeks
Within three weeks, performance improves to 95% on-time responses.
Performance Improvement Plan Template
|
Week |
Goal |
Measurement |
Support Provided |
|
Week 1 |
Improve email response time |
90% under 6 hours |
Daily check-ins, email templates |
|
Week 2 |
Reduce task errors |
95% accuracy on data entry |
SOPs reviewed, screen recording tutorials |
|
Week 3 |
Proactive communication |
Zero missed update emails |
Communication protocol document |
|
Week 4 |
Assessment |
Meet all 3 KPIs consistently |
Final review meeting, free Q&A support |
When coaching is not enough
Even with clear KPIs and support, some virtual assistants are a mismatch. Knowing when to fire a virtual assistant preserves productivity, protects clients and gives immediate access to results without doing all the work yourself.
How to Offboard a Virtual Assistant Professionally
Firing doesn’t have to be harsh; it should be clear, respectful and documented.
Steps to offboard:
- Schedule a direct conversation and explain the decision clearly
- Confirm final tasks, deliverables and pay
- Ensure legal compliance, especially if the virtual assistant is an independent contractor versus an employee
- Secure access to all tools, files and client information before offboarding
- Maintain professional support and courtesy for future references
Remember:
Proper offboarding protects your company, preserves productivity and ensures your virtual assistant services leave on good terms, keeping doors open and preventing lost resources.
Transitioning to a More Effective Virtual Assistant
Use clear criteria to evaluate performance and identify what your next assistant or virtual assistant services should deliver.
Here’s the Performance Criteria Template that you can use:
Criteria | Current Rating (1–5) | Acceptable Standard | Notes/Action Plan |
Task Accuracy | 4+ (90%+ accuracy) | ||
Communication | 4+ (proactive, clear) | ||
Responsiveness | 4+ (within agreed SLA) | ||
Initiative | 3+ (solves routine problems independently) | ||
Reliability | 4+ (meets 90%+ of deadlines) |
Handling the transition effectively protects your clients, frees your time and sets your next VA to make a difference, not just fill a seat.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Repeated errors on tasks that slow your operations
- Missed deadlines that impact what really matters for your business
- Lack of initiative, forcing you to manage the workflow instead of focusing on high-value priorities
- Poor communication with clients or team members
- Inconsistent use of tools, systems and processes that should streamline work
- Review your task list and workflows to see if expectations are clear
- Check if training and onboarding align with your business needs
- Track performance metrics and KPIs to determine if the employee or dedicated virtual assistant is the right fit
- Evaluate whether paid time and resources are being used efficiently
- Schedule a direct conversation and explain the decision respectfully
- Confirm final tasks, deliverables and pay
- Ensure legal compliance if the employee or virtual assistant is an independent contractor
- Secure all tools, files and client information
- Maintain support for references or future collaboration
