When you think about what skills a business owner needs to have, you might think of things like being good at planning, understanding numbers, handling money well, or being able to talk to people effectively. These are all really important for doing well in business. But there’s another important skill that people sometimes forget about, and that’s delegation.
Delegate Efficiently for Better Results
Delegation is key for business owners aiming to boost efficiency. Entrepreneurs often hesitate, fearing a loss of control. However, research shows that effective delegation can increase profits by up to 33%. By assigning less critical tasks, business owners free up time for strategic planning and growth. Delegating helps prevent burnout, improves work-life balance, and enhances productivity.”
This way, the consecutive sentences starting with “Delegation” and “Entrepreneurs” are now varied for better flow.
Prevent Feeling Overwhelmed
If you’re taking on too much, you might find yourself constantly busy, rushing to finish a long list of tasks. Are you working extra hours and staying late to finish everything, leaving little time for yourself, your loved ones, or relaxation? Or do you leave tasks undone and feel stressed, worried, and guilty as your workload grows?
Either way, this can lead to burnout, which can really harm your mental and physical health, your relationships, and the quality of your work.
Focus on important tasks first.
By letting go of less important and time-consuming tasks, you can have more time to concentrate on the most important things for your business. As the leader of your company, you should spend your time planning how to make the business grow or fix any issues it may have.
Boosting efficiency
If your not being there makes things slow down or stop completely, then it will be hard for your business to do well. One big thing that helps a business grow is being able to use your time to focus on growing the business instead of just doing tasks. Delegating tasks to others is what makes this doable.
Here are five important questions to think about before you hand over a task to someone else.
It might feel a bit scary if you’ve never done it before, but don’t worry! If you get these things right, you’re all set to delegate effectively!
Is the job okay?
Let’s be clear, delegating isn’t about giving away everything you need to do, but instead, it’s about wisely using your time, energy, and resources on tasks that help your business grow. Some things on your to-do list might not take much time individually, but they can really add up. For example, the average full-time worker in the US spends about 28% of their workday reading and responding to emails. That’s about 2 hours and 14 minutes each day, 11 hours and 10 minutes each week, and nearly 45 hours each month. Imagine what you could do with all that time saved!
However, while we strongly believe in freeing up as much of your time as possible at AUTOSTEREA (hyperlink), not all tasks can be handed off to someone else. For instance, scheduling social media posts is something that can be done by another person with proper guidance, but coming up with a new marketing plan should be handled by your internal marketing team or an outside expert.
Similarly, tasks that need your personal touch, like employee evaluations, personal staff matters, and planning strategies, should remain your responsibility.
But if it doesn’t require your specific skills, and someone else could do it with the right instructions, then it’s worth considering delegation. If you want a quick and easy way to figure out which tasks you could pass on to someone else, try AUTOSTEREA (hyperlink).
Did I choose the right person?
Successful delegation isn’t just about getting anyone to do a job—it’s important to find the right person for the task.
Using virtual assistants can be a great way to delegate tasks. Every year, more business owners are finding the advantages of having virtual assistants on their teams. Virtual assistants usually have lots of experience, can help out when you or your team are too busy, and hiring them is often cheaper and more flexible than hiring a new full-time employee.
However, while some people think virtual assistants can do anything, each one usually specializes in certain areas like admin work, executive support, or digital marketing. If you hire a virtual assistant for one job, like scheduling and emails, but later need help with something else, like social media, it’s best to find another person who’s better at that. Some virtual assistant services, like AUTOSTEREA (hyperlink), let you add more assistants to your team without extra cost, so you can make sure you have the right help for each task.
Did I write down how to do it?
Information is important, especially when you’re giving tasks to someone else.
Once you know what task to delegate and the skills required, consider the details. Does the person need access to a specific email or website? What tools or resources are necessary to complete the task?
Make your instructions easy to follow. You don’t need fancy writing or decorations – simple bullet points are fine. If you can, ask someone who hasn’t done the task before to try following your instructions. This will help you make sure they’re clear and easy to understand.
Writing instructions for someone might seem like it takes a lot of time, but it’s worth it! Writing down the process will help your assistant do their tasks well, and it will save you time because you won’t have to explain things over and over again.
Did I explain what I want clearly?
To make sure your assistant can do their job well, it’s important to tell them exactly what you expect. Here’s what that might involve:
How You Want Them to Get in Touch
What You Expect Them to Achieve
Preferred Communication Style for Your Company
Deadlines: When Tasks Need to Be Completed
How to Measure Success and Performance
When they know all this, it’ll be easier to check how they’re doing, praise them when they do well, and fix any issues that come up.
Have I provided assistance?
Did I offer help?
Giving clear instructions and explaining what you want is really important for delegating tasks successfully. But sometimes, even if you write down really good instructions, there might be situations you didn’t think about.
It’s really important to support your assistant in the beginning. Be there to answer their questions and make sure they have everything they need from you. At first, it might take them a little while to understand your tasks and how you do things. But if you give them enough help and are patient, they’ll soon be finishing your work quickly and well. Then, you won’t need to worry about that task anymore!
Additional advice for successful delegation
Keep communication channels open
Good communication is very important for success in business. A recent report says that teams who communicate well are 20-25% more productive. This is also true for delegation. Decide early on how you will talk with your assistant about your tasks. Talk about how often you will talk and how you will do it. For example, you may like getting a weekly email update on task progress. But if your assistant has an urgent question, they might message you on Slack.
Give feedback often
Feedback helps your team members understand how they are doing. Studies show that giving feedback regularly makes employees more interested in their jobs.
If something is not right, tell them! Clear and helpful feedback helps prevent mistakes from happening again, which can be annoying for both of you. But it’s also good to share positive feedback. Let them know when you are pleased with their work, like how fast they finished a task or how well they paid attention to details.
Conclusion
Assigning tasks to others is important for making your business bigger. Even if you work really hard, you can’t do everything by yourself. By using these questions and tips, you can avoid making mistakes.
Do you want a more relaxed and successful life? Do you want to have more control over your schedule? Give a qualified virtual assistant a try for free or talk to our team to create a customized plan.
Autosterea is committed to supporting dedicated entrepreneurs by connecting them with top virtual assistants. Book free 30 min discovery call with our expert team to begin, and we’ll match you with a dedicated professional who will help you stay organized.
Or why not give a skilled virtual assistant a try for free today?
Ready to take control of your time? Get in touch with us, and we’ll hook you up with a dedicated pro who’s ready to tackle those time-consuming tasks.
Book free 30 min discovery call with our expert team to begin, and we’ll match you with a dedicated professional who will help you stay organized.
Or why not give a skilled virtual assistant a try for free today?
