Tips on delegating work and responsibility

Delegating work and responsibility is not something that everybody can do. One reason that business mangers do not like delegating work and responsibility is because they no longer have control. If they are going to delegate work and responsibility to an employee, the manger no longer has full control over what is being done with the project. Another reason that business mangers do not like to delegate work to other employees is that they are afraid that the employees are not going to be able to do the job right. Doing the job right is important because even if the business manger delegates the work to somebody else the business manger is still ultimately responsible for the outcome of the work. Being responsible for the outcome goes hand in hand with being in control, if you are going to be responsible for the outcome regardless of who does the work you may as well do the work yourself so that you know it is being done right.

Delegating work can actually be a win-win situation for both parties involved, but it has to be done correctly. When delegating work to other employees you must make sure that, you choose the right person for the job. Choosing the right person for the job is going to allow the job to be completed as efficiently as possible and as quickly as possible. Here are some tips to keep in mind when delegating work to your employees.

Tip one:

As the business owner, you are going to need to give other people in your business authority to handle things when you are not around. This is important because if you are not around to make decisions for your business somebody else needs to make those decisions so work can continue as normal. When delegating authority to other people you want to make sure you are clear with what type of authority they have. For example, will they be authorized to grant overtime hours to employees or is that's something that can only be granted through you.

Tip two:

You do not want to delegate work to just any of your employees. When it comes to delegating work, you want to make sure that the people you are delegating work to be responsible and competent in the areas that they will be working in. For example, if you are going to have somebody fill in for you as a manager while you are on vacation you want to choose somebody who has management skills so that you are comfortable that everything will get done in your absence.

Tip three:

Make sure that you are clear about what you are delegating to each person. Include the specific details about what the person is going to be responsible for. This is important because when people are in charge of doing something they want to know what they are in charge of so that they can ensure that all of the work is done. Knowing what they have to be done will allow them to plan what they need to do and get approval ahead of time if necessary.

Tip four:

Even when you are delegating work to other employees, it is important that you maintain control. The best way to maintain control over the work, that you have delegated is to hold the person responsible for the outcome of the assignment. When you have assigned somebody to complete a task and it is messed up the person in charge of completing the task needs to be held accountable for what went wrong. Even though you are holding them responsible you still need to check in with them to ensure that things are going smoothly, which will help you keep control over what is going on. Having regular meetings is a great way to monitor what is being done and what still needs to be done.