As your business grows, you may find that in order to continue to move forward, you need to start handing over some of your daily to-dos to someone who can get the work done and free up your time for other business activities.
But although it may be necessary, delegation can be a very difficult step for many business owners. Some of the hurdles we may have to jump in order to delegate effectively include:
- Feeling like we need to do everything ourselves to have it done right.
- Not having the time or desire to transfer the knowledge necessary to have someone else take over.
- Being unable to find people we trust enough to delegate to.
While these are all valid and significant hurdles, you can overcome all of your reservations by taking a well-planned and logical approach to delegation.
Step 1: Know What to Delegate
In every business, there are some things that can be delegated and others that can not. For example, you should probably think twice before delegating tasks that involve sensitive or confidential client information. And you may not want to delegate a task that hasn’t been clearly defined.
Step 2: Be Picky with Who You Choose
This step is one of the most important and the most difficult. It takes a lot of time to find people you can delegate to that meet all of the necessary criteria for a successful relationship:
- Trust and loyalty
- Necessary skills
- Adequate availability
- Work ethic comparable to yours
- Positive performance history
It may take time, but by having thorough discussions about your expectations and the other person’s ability, you can make a good decision about who you choose to bring into the fold.
Step 3: Provide Documentation and Clear Instructions
Just as it is vitally important in business continuity planning, having documentation that clearly outlines the details of the work and provides all of the necessary information is important in delegation.
But don’t leave it at that. Once you have shared all of the necessary information, take time to review the specifics and answer any questions that may arise.
Step 4: Track Work and Provide Feedback
When you’ve found your team and assigned the work, don’t simply write it off and forget about it. It makes sense to follow along with the work being completed to ensure it’s being done correctly and to your specifications.
You certainly don’t want to micromanage work that you delegate, but you should be kept in the loop so you can monitor the work and provide feedback for improvements. And your goal should be to remain available to all parties so you can address and resolve any potential questions or problems.
Step 5: Make it Ongoing
Your business responsibilities change, so your delegation needs will also change. On a regular basis, take a look at what you have coming in and who you are delegating to in order to determine if you need to outsource more work and possibly expand your team. By making this a regular evaluation process in your business, you will be able to anticipate needs and be ready to handle changes as they occur.
Do you frequently delegate? What have you done to make the process easier?
Image credit: Sanja Gjenero
Alyssa GregoryAlyssa Gregory is a digital and content marketer, small business consultant, and the founder of the Small Business Bonfire — a social, educational and collaborative community for entrepreneurs.
