5 Ways Your Agency’s Communication Process Is Costing You

I’ve worked with a lot of teams over the years.
Agencies. Small online businesses. Fully remote teams with VAs spread across time zones.

Different tools. Different personalities. Different leadership styles.

But there’s one issue I’ve seen derail projects more consistently than almost anything else.

Communication that lives in too many places.

Most teams don’t struggle because they’re disorganized or careless. They struggle because requests are scattered. Emails, texts, Slack messages, DMs, quick asks during calls. Everyone means well, but no one has full visibility.

When there’s no single place where communication lives, things slip. Not because people don’t care, but because the system depends on memory, timing, and perfect follow-through.

Below are five real-world ways I’ve seen communication processes quietly hurt businesses, strain teams, and frustrate clients. These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re patterns I’ve watched repeat across teams I’ve managed and supported.

Why isn’t my Process Working??

The most common ways I see communication processes quietly costing agencies time, trust, and retention:

1. Requests Live in Too Many Places

A quick text here.
An email there.
A Slack message.
A DM.
A “while we’re on the call” ask.

No one is trying to create chaos. It just happens.

The problem is that when requests live everywhere, accountability lives nowhere.

A VA may genuinely believe they are on top of things. A client may feel like they’ve clearly communicated what they need. But when the request never makes it into a shared system, there is no visibility.

No reminder.
No due date.
No paper trail.

If it’s not in the project management tool, it might as well not exist.

2. Private VA-to-Client Communication Removes Oversight

This is where things get sticky.

I’ve seen agencies allow VAs to email or text clients directly, with no central visibility. Sometimes the CEO is adamant about letting people “work in whatever way feels best.”

It sounds flexible. In reality, it creates risk.

When communication happens privately:

• The project manager cannot see what was asked.

• The scope can quietly expand.

• Deadlines get assumed instead of agreed upon.

• Tone and clarity vary wildly depending on the VA’s communication style.

Clients often believe they’ve given all the necessary details. Especially Type A, fast-moving clients who are busy because they need a team.

But the VA may receive the message while at a ballgame with their kids. They acknowledge it quickly, then move on with their evening. By the next morning, the request is forgotten because it never made it into their PM tool or notes.

No one is careless. The system just didn’t support reliability.

3. “I Thought Someone Else Was Handling That”

This phrase is the silent killer of projects. I see this so often. A meeting is held, a VA volunteers, “I can do that for you!”
Then, they forget they said it. It’s in the notes, added to the PM Tool. But, because the lines gray between what they
normally do with another VA’s usual tasks, it slips through the cracks. The due date comes, the client’s launch is here-
and the task isn’t done. 

IThis happens when:

• Tasks are discussed verbally but never documented.

• Multiple VAs are loosely assigned to the same client.

• There’s no single place showing ownership and status.

Without centralized communication, assumptions fill the gaps.

– Someone assumes a task was picked up.
– Someone assumes feedback was shared.
– Someone assumes the client approved the direction.

And then days pass.

By the time someone notices, the client is already frustrated.

4. Delayed Responses Don’t Always Mean Laziness

Another uncomfortable truth.

Contractors generally have up to 24 hours to respond. A quick acknowledgment goes a long way, followed by a clear estimate of when the work will be done.

But I’ve seen plenty of retainers where a VA only checks in once or twice a week, especially if their hours are limited.

If communication is scattered across email, text, and Slack, there’s no natural rhythm for daily check-ins. No visual reminder of open loops. No pressure to close things out.

A centralized tool creates a different dynamic.

Tasks stare back at you.
Statuses are visible.
Incomplete work is obvious.

That visibility alone changes behavior.

5. “I Was Out of the Office” Turns Into “I Didn’t See It”

This one is incredibly common. And it’s usually said with good intentions.

“I was out yesterday.”
“I didn’t see that come through.”
“I thought I replied.”

I’ve seen this happen recently, and I’ve seen it happen many times over the years.

A client sends a request while someone is offline. The message goes to email, or text, or Slack. The VA acknowledges it quickly, or plans to handle it later. Then life happens.

Meetings. Kids. Errands. Another client issue.

By the time they’re back at their desk, the request is buried. It never made it into their task system. No reminder fires. No one else sees it.

From the VA’s perspective, it was an honest miss.
From the client’s perspective, it feels like silence.

This is one of the biggest risks of scattered communication.

When requests don’t live in a shared system, work depends on memory. And memory is not a reliable operating process, especially in remote teams juggling multiple clients.

Centralized communication removes the “I didn’t see it” problem.

If the request lives in the project management tool, it’s still there when someone gets back online. It can be triaged, prioritized, assigned, or clarified. And if something sits too long, it’s visible to more than one person.

No one has to be perfect.
The system holds the work.

And that’s the difference between a team that means well and a team that consistently delivers.

None of these issues come from bad intentions.

They come from systems that rely too heavily on people remembering, catching up, or circling back later.

Agency owners often tell me they want to give their team freedom and flexibility. That’s valid. But freedom without structure doesn’t create ease. It creates risk.

A single, centralized place for communication isn’t about control. It’s about visibility. It’s about protecting your clients, supporting your VAs, and making sure no one is carrying more mental load than they should.

When communication lives in one place:

• Requests don’t disappear when someone is offline

• Tasks don’t rely on memory

• Clients feel seen and supported

• Teams know where to look, every time

If your business feels harder to manage than it should, this is a good place to look first.

Not at your people.
At your process.