Delegating Tasks Is Key To Reducing Your Workload
In this article, I will provide you with a very simple and common way of eliminating some of the stress in your work life giving you more time to rest and escape work.
What Is The Main Source Of Stress For A New Entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurs have a very typical trend of working extremely hard to set up a business with the intention of slowing down once it is established. In doing so, they handle every aspect of the business and this is an excellent way to become an expert in your own business.
However, long-term, this is not a sustainable method. I have met so many entrepreneurs that are burned out. They have held the reins since the business was set up and have never let go in order to have everything done perfectly. The stress this causes is detrimental to your health, and ultimately, your business. Many entrepreneurs need to realise that delegation of tasks is how you can relieve stress and keep your physical and mental health in check.
“An entrepreneur needs to switch from operating a business, to leading it. Delegation is key”
Why Do Entrepreneurs Avoid Assigning Tasks to Employees?
All too often I hear people say; “it is quicker to do it myself than to teach someone else how to do it”. Sure, I have no doubt, after all, you are the expert. However, the extra time spent teaching someone to do it will pay you back over and over in personal time to do something else or just to relax. So keep an open mind about training your employees to take on some of your tasks.
Another reason entrepreneurs avoid task delegation is where they have an emotional connection with the business and are afraid to “leave it in someone else’s hands”. All too often people refer to their business as “THEIR baby”. I can understand that after investing so much into it, it can be hard to let someone else take the wheel. However, just as a healthy parent is necessary to take care of a baby, so too does a business require their guardian to be healthy. Overworked entrepreneurs often end up having resentful feelings about a business that is dominating their lives. Remember, your business needs you to be healthy and happy too.
If a leader is truly invested in their business, they need to learn how to share the responsibilities involved in running the business for their sake and that of their business. Remember, if your business relies on you alone, your business can only expand as far as your capacity will allow.
How Do You Effective Delegate Tasks to Employees?
To avoid some common problems in delegating tasks, there are some important points to consider when delegating tasks and in this article I will guide you through the process of delegating tasks in the most efficient way to ensure you get the most out of it.
Get to know your employees
So if you have new employees, take the time to try them out with different tasks or talk to them about their hobbies or interests. In doing so, you may discover they have a skill for a type of task or an interest in learning certain aspects of the business.
As an example, are any of your employees students? If so, maybe one of them is a business major or an accounting student and would appreciate experience working with the books of a legitimate business for their resume?
Maybe one of your employees has a flare for art and could make up daily or weekly signs with some crafts materials?
Do you have an employee who is passionate about social media? Perhaps that person could handle your social media relations and post special offers, check comments and reviews, post images, updates etc.
This highlights one of the benefits of getting to know your employees. Assigning tasks that the employees are interested in will ensure they are done with energy and enthusiasm and in most cases, the employees will jump at the chance of broadening their experience and doing less mundane tasks.
A positive side-effect of delegating tasks is that the employee can gain a feeling of gratitude due to the trust and faith invested in them.
Communicate Your Idea(s) With The Employee(s)
No matter how well you think you know your employees, you can never be certain they want to undertake the task. So, why don’t you discuss the option with them? That way you can have a clean indication if it's something they want to do, something they have time to do and something they think they would be able to do.
Employees should be encouraged to be honest as to whether they have the time to complete the task efficiently and if not, perhaps some of their other duties can be reassigned to provide them time to do the task well.
Have A Back-up Plan
Let’s face it, employees come and go for any number of reasons so if you are designating a task to someone, a task you rely heavily on, make sure you have a contingency plan in place for if that person is absent, leaves the job suddenly or decides they can no longer do the task.
In many case, this could simply mean you do the task yourself but if not, you may need to have another employee trained in the same task as a back-up. Sure, its extra training time but it will provide you with peace of mind that if an employee leaves, you won’t be stuck.
When a clear backup plan is created, ensure this is communicated with those involved so they know what to do should the need arise.
Seek Regular Feedback
So, you have found the employee and assigned the task! Just forget about it and enjoy the free time? No, not exactly. Give the employee some time and schedule regular feedback with them to see how they feel the task is going. An employee needs to feel supported in their efforts so occasional discussions about their work is a great way to achieve this.
Also, in the beginning, you should check the work and ensure it is what you intended and you are both on the same wavelength. In some cases, that employee may not have been the ideal choice so you can then redirect to another person.
If it is a long term project, you may want to check in occasionally to ensure milestones are being reached and goals achieved.
Consider Subcontracting
If finances allow, you should consider subcontracting some aspects of business to another company. Social media management, marketing, janitorial, building maintenance, deliveries etc. Companies specialising in these tasks are better prepared and already trained in their processes. You get immediate high quality results and a lot more time to yourself.
How Do You Choose What To Delegate?
Start by making a list of everything you do. This will be extensive and probably a little overwhelming when completed.
Closely approximate how much time each job takes per day/week/month. If you don’t know, wait until it is time to do the task and time yourself.
Group the tasks into categories based on how difficult they are to complete: simple, medium, difficult. Also, create an extra category for tasks that need to be done by the entrepreneur, tasks that may contain private data or may be central to the survival of the business. Let's name this Priority and this should be kept for only the most trusted employees or the entrepreneur.
Simple tasks that take the most time are clearly the best to delegate as they will require the least training and can be entrusted to multiple employees.
Medium difficulty tasks can also be given to employees but may require some additional training time.
Difficult tasks should only be given to employees who are likely to remain in the business long-term and justify the extensive training involved.
Don’t forget that many tasks that take only a short amount of time can add up to a significant saving in time for the employer so don’t focus entirely on tasks that take a lot of time.
Following the guidelines above will help you successfully designate tasks to employees leaving you free to lead the business to its next level of success.
If you need assistance delegating tasks or managing the stress in your work, contact business coach David D’Silva today.