I was recently asked how responsible a Virtual Assistant should be for making sure that clients use their retainer hours, so none of them go to waste.
In my view, although most VAs will feel responsible, in actuality, the responsibility for it belongs entirely to the client.
Having said that, if we’re talking about working in partnerships with clients (as we always do), then I think that the invested, engaged, and gracious thing to do is let a client know when she’s heading toward the end of the month and it looks like there will be unused hours. In that note, from your side of the relationship, you can also suggest some things you know you could work on to use those hours.
But once that’s done, you’re done, and the responsibility for making sure hours aren’t left unused is squarely on the shoulders of the client because you can’t be responsible (as in, it’s yours to DO something about) without authority. And the client always needs to authorize the allotment of her financial resources, even when it appears she’s going to be wasteful.
Remember, you’re the client’s VA, not her mother. Let her be responsible for herself; it calls her to be her best. ♥
