Sharing Your Google Login to Your VA: Email Delegation and Other Tips

Managing one’s inbox becomes considerably less of a chore when you have a skilled virtual assistant helping you. A virtual assistant that helps with email management can organize and prioritize your inbox, field questions on your behalf, and more. In addition, having a virtual Assistant handle this daily task for you will give you more time to focus on other, more essential elements of your business and life.

Email management includes creating and organizing folders, prioritizing messages, and removing unnecessary emails. The regular use of email is a staple in nearly all industries since it is a convenient way to keep track of communication with clients and colleagues. Keeping on top of one’s business inbox can ensure it doesn’t get flooded with unread messages. Finding the right software or solution to manage one or more email accounts is essential for staying on top of one’s correspondence.

Sharing your Google login to your virtual assistant/VA is an essential step in managing your emails professionally.

Keeping up with your inbox can be so time-consuming that you avoid checking it altogether. Instead, you can focus on more pressing matters by allowing your assistant access your inbox.

Gmail and Office 365’s Outlook provide secure methods to grant your assistant access to your mailbox. You can select the permissions to grant the helper without sharing your password. In addition, you may check in on your Assistant’s progress while maintaining command of your inbox.

You can give your assistant access to your inbox using Gmail. Giving them access to your messages allows them to view and reply on your behalf. Delegating access to your Gmail account is a safer alternative to revealing your password.

 

How to Share Your Gmail Login with Your Virtual Assistant?

Here’s a summary of steps that you can take to delegate access to your Gmail account:

1. Enter Your Gmail Account Information and Log In

Since delegation access cannot be set up from within the Gmail app, you need to log in first.

2. Open Gmail Settings

After you’ve logged in, go to your account settings by clicking the cogwheel. Select “Settings.”

Go to the “Accounts” menu. To alter preferences, select “Settings.” A new tab or window will appear. The Accounts tab in that same window is where you should go next.

3. Select “Add Another Account.”

Grant access to your Gmail by scrolling down to the Accounts tab. Your Assistant’s email address can be added to your account by selecting “Add another account.”

You can have up to 10 delegates in a personal Gmail account or up to twenty-five with a business account. Here, too, you get to pick an option that best suits your needs. Toggle between having your Assistant mark messages as read or unread when opened.

There will be a prompt for input. For example, when you click “next,” you’ll be prompted to enter your Assistant’s email address.

A Google account email address is required for the email delegation to work in Gmail. If your VA has a company email, that won’t work. Note that you can only access Gmail accounts that are part of your organization. If you don’t already have a @gmail.com address, you won’t be able to delegate to one, either.

4. Select “Send Email to Grant Access.”

After entering your virtual Assistant’s email address, you can authorize access by pressing “Send Email to Grant Access.”

5. Verification

Your Assistant will need to send a confirmation request. Once the request has been confirmed, only then will the Assistant be able to access your email. However, it may take up to a day before they appear as your Delegate.

Remove access to your mailbox with Gmail’s delegate feature. In addition, you can remove any prior authorizations if you have changed delegates or no longer want someone to organize and read your emails.

 

What Are the Benefits of Delegating Your Inbox to Your Virtual Assistant?

Email is such a time sink that many people prefer to hand off their mailbox management to others. Research indicates that the average person spends 5 hours daily just checking their email. Nearly half of all respondents also stated they regularly checked their work email every couple of hours. The cost to your focus and efficiency from checking and switching around will add up. One of the most obvious perks of hiring a virtual assistant is having them handle your emails. Other benefits include the following:

1. You can spend less mental energy worrying about email and more time pursuing activities that require your unique skill set.
2. Improve your ability to focus; email alerts are a major time-waster. Inbox delegation leads to less time spent switching tasks, more time spent in focused work, and increased productivity.
3. You can avoid fatigue associated with constantly checking your email/s. If you hire an assistant to help you through your inbox, you can spend as little as 10 minutes each day replying to urgent emails. Your VA will take care of the rest.
4. Make your communication routes more effective by clearing out your inbox. You won’t have to worry about forgetting to respond to crucial emails, and you can put your interactions front and center.
5. You can better incorporate your Assistant into your life by having them manage your email.

Logically, you’d feel uneasy about someone else seeing your email for the first time. The good news is that email companies have privacy-preserving tools that let you give delegates access to your inbox without sacrificing security.

Delegating access to your Gmail account means that another user can view your inbox without having access to your password or other personal settings. They will also be unable to communicate with you via chat while they are logged into your account.

You can manage each delegate’s level of access with other email providers, such as Outlook—more on the subject to come.

Maybe you also worry about being a horrible micromanager. It’s typical to feel the need to micromanage or, even worse, do everything yourself while working with a remote executive assistant for the first time. Hopefully, the urge to micromanage will fade with time as you see great results from your virtual assistant.