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A week-by-week strategy for training remote assistants–plus many other important details
By Angie Becker, CPO, ABO
Feb. 20, 2026
Once you’ve hired a remote assistant who embodies your practice’s core values, you’re on your way to gaining efficiency in your office. You should have a detailed training system in place to set up your new remote assistant for a positive experience.
This training process is the result of multiple hiring cycles for our remote assistant phone team over the past two to three years. We want our remote assistants to be high-performing members of our team. Remember to treat them like coworkers, not just outsourced help. It builds care and accountability.
Success requires structure, resources and daily human connection. This cultivated strategy delivers.
THE FIRST FEW DAYS
Day 1: Systems setup. Create accounts. Get them logged into EHR, email, messaging and the shared drive.
Days 2–3: Foundational learning. Assign short videos (see more on training materials below). Go over important details from the study guides. Encourage them to review.
WEEK-BY-WEEK TRAINING FRAMEWORK
Week 1: Guided shadowing. I answer calls while they watch my screen and listen. They take notes and ask questions in real time.
Week 2: Extended shadowing and co-handling. They can start making simple calls under close supervision.
Week 3: “Training wheels” live answering. They take real calls while I’m available to jump in. If they crash and burn, I’m right there to support. This is high intensity but necessary.
Week 4: Independent but supported. We move toward autonomy while keeping daily check-ins and message threads for quick help.
Week 5 and beyond: Gradual expansion of duties. Start with basics: routine contact lens scheduling, standard phone triage and recalls. As you see their expertise grow, there may be opportunity to expand into areas such as glasses order status, contact lens ordering and insurance pulling/reporting. You may also see fit to have remote assistants help with prior authorizations, medication communications with pharmacies and specialty scheduling like myopia management. I strongly recommend only expanding after consistent, measurable success.
TRAINING MATERIALS AND SYSTEMS
From the start, the remote assistant should have access to a treasure trove of training resources, available to them at any time. We’ve had remote assistants go above and beyond, continuing their training education on the weekends.
Keep it organized and incorporate different methods and media for training. Just like staff in your office, some remote assistants may be more visual learners than others.
This is our setup for training resources.
A centralized drive keeps all training materials organized. Screenshots courtesy of Lakeline Vision Source.
A centralized training drive with everything. This is the home to your training videos (we use Loom), Google Docs, step-by-step “how-to” guides, workflow checklist and recorded demos of scheduling, merging charts and ordering. All of the resources and training documents are saved on a master drive that everyone in the office has access to. It’s easy to find and search if they lose something in the email threads.
Short study packets to memorize. Include all of the details here that could come up on a daily basis, from doctor initials, common abbreviations and basic billing codes.
Loom videos recorded for recurring tasks. Important topics include how to read schedules, schedule new patients, merge charts and more. These videos let remote assistants re-watch tricky steps.
External resources. We tap into another of other education resources, as well, such as from Vision Source as well as other targeted clinical videos. I find it’s valuable for them to learn about the work of our opticians and techs to broaden their context. This extra training can help them be better problem-solvers on calls.
COACHING, METRICS AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Use learning platforms to build your training program.
Regular communication goes a long way, from casual conversations to more formal checkpoints.
Engage in daily communication. Keep it positive! Consider “good morning” messages, end-of-day check-ins, GIFs and the occasional virtual dance party. These individuals work alone and need reinforcement.
Track performance metrics. Look at the number of calls made/received, time on phone, appointments booked and revenue-impacting actions (e.g., shelf-to-appointment conversions). Compare these to benchmarks from the in-office team.
Conduct regular assessments. Check in for 30-, 60- and 90-day reviews. We review number checks, logs of EHR activity and qualitative feedback (call quality).
Be clear on coaching timelines. Everyone learns at a different speed. Give clear, written expectations and a short coaching plan if someone struggles.
BE READY TO LET GO
If effort isn’t reciprocated, be ready to replace hires that aren’t working. Yes, firing is difficult. After you’ve made a training investment, you want it to work out. But leaving poor fits in place for too long hurts the whole team. Letting them go is necessary.
GET STARTED TODAY
Engage your in-office team in putting these resources together in one streamlined platform.
- Prepare a day 1 systems checklist and day 2–3 study packet.
- Record or assemble Loom videos for core tasks. (We have about six of these.)
- Define the 90-day metrics you’ll use to evaluate success.
Consider how you can modify this plan to train remote assistants for other tasks such as scribing, pulling insurance, process optical jobs and more.
BUILD MORALE–IN THE OFFICE AND OUT
Office morale is so important. This extends to our remote assistants. We want to make them feel part of the clinic. One way we do this is by circulating their bios and headshots to our staff and include them in relevant meetings.
We celebrate wins and give regular appreciation for our remote assistants. After all, we can’t overlook the tremendous impact they are having on our team in the office, too.
When done correctly, hiring and training remote assistants has been one of the best decisions for capacity and clinic morale. We’ve seen the weight lifted off our in-office staff and reduced stress. It’s created space for meaningful raises and growth.
It’s a process. But with the right hires and a repeatable training system, it pays off.
Read more from Angie Becker on hiring remote assistants here.
Read more on staff management here.
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Angie Becker, CPO, ABO, is a patient coordinator at Lakeline Vision Source in Cedar Park, Texas. To contact her: Angie@lakelinevision.com |
