So I’m working with a start-up and was the only front-end guy for a while, doing all of the design and front-end coding. However, we just brought a second front-end developer on board and I’ve been tasked with deciding how to delegate responsibilities to him and efficiently work together.
I’ve only worked as a freelancer and contractor in the past so this concept is new to me. Does anyone have a usual process for deciding which tasks to do themselves and which to pass on to associates?
As the lead web designer you should first establish what the new guy is and not able to do. From there you will be able to know which responsibilities you can give him and which you can not. If he is equally experienced to you then you can work together on most if not all assignments. However since he is the new guy you are responsible for directing him on how the organization works in terms of culture and values of the organization. As one of the leading research writers I am responsible for guiding new guys who join us by training them and they are experienced I still guide them on other aspects.
Do you use a project management tool? It seems like an elementary question, but a tool like Basecamp or Pivotal Tracker will help you list out tasks and assign them either to yourself or your colleague. If you’ve been working solo, it’s easy to have a less regimented system; when you add to the team, you need to add structure.
You’ll find that different people have different strengths and weaknesses, so first you have to establish that.
It also depends how “hands on” you want to be. I cheat a bit: I pass pretty much everything to my senior and let him delegate to either the junior front end guy or the devs as he sees fit. That probably sounds a bit lazy but it works for us
