The Importance of Confidentiality

As a Virtual Assistant, you’re privy to a lot of information about your clients’ businesses. You might see how they organize their files, how much money they make, and who their clients are. You may have access to their social media accounts, email, calendar and credit card numbers.

It takes a lot of trust for our clients to hand over so much access and information, so we need to make sure we honor and respect the trust they give to us!

Here are some tips for displaying trustworthiness:

1. Keep quiet. When you’re talking to clients, you can refer to work that you’ve done for others as an example of work you might do for them. But never mention client names, their client names, or other sensitive information. Your clients will notice if you’re gossiping about others and assume you’re doing the same about them.
   
   
2. Keep their information safe. Make sure their passwords and credit card numbers are stored in a secure manner. This can be in password-protected documents or an application like LastPass.
   
   
3. Don’t share what’s not yours. Sometimes, clients have asked me to see examples of others' client work. If it’s in the public domain, like on their website, I will send the example. Otherwise, I politely decline and simply say, “I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to do that. It’s not mine to share, but I’m happy to explain further or create an example for you.”
   
   

Don’t be afraid to mention your safety systems to your clients so that they know you’re taking this area of your business seriously and treating their confidential information with respect!

If you’re not already a member of our Facebook Group, The Virtual Assistant Connection, and would like to join, here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevaconnection/