As the saying goes: If you need something done, ask a busy person. But if you are that busy person you’ll quickly realize that there are only 24 hours in a day (yes, really) and burning the candle at both ends will eventually take its toll on you and on your business. So it’s time to sit down and see what tasks you can ask someone else to take on.
Delegating is easier said than done but the pros (more time to grow your business and do the work you love!) far outweigh the cons (the stress of a never ending to-do list). Here are some delegating tips to get started.
1. Identify what tasks you can delegate
As a business owner, you know there are hundreds of small tasks that need to be done every day. Make a list of the small tasks that take up a lot of time or that you find yourself doing late at night because you just couldn’t get around to it during the day. Could an employee, part time or full time, fit this task into their schedule and free you of the distraction?
2. Decide who you can delegate to
Identify employees who are interested in taking on more responsibility. If you haven’t hired any employees yet, look at your network — are their friends or family members that could help? Maybe someone in your community is looking for work experience? Could you stretch to hiring someone on part time? For example, you could pay someone to spend 1-2 hours each day to responding customer service messages, or to manage your social media accounts. Or it could be as simple as hiring a cleaner to come in once a week. Yes you will have to spend money on part-time labor but it will allows you to accomplish more — you'll have more time to make more sales, to create more products, or explore new markets. Delegating can be well worth the investment.
3. Change your mindset to see delegating as a good thing!
Are you worried that if you delegate a job to someone that they will mess it up? Or it’ll take too long to explain it to them and you’re better off doing it yourself? Yes, there is a chance that the employee you delegate to will make a mistake on their first or second attempt. They are human after all! But ultimately it is worth taking this risk. Try to see delegating not only as a benefit to you but as a benefit for your employees: it’s training opportunity, a chance for employees to learn new skills, take on more responsibility, and advance their own career. What’s more, in time, the person you train can train someone else to do the same task and on and on as you build your team, and grow your business.
4. Set clear goals and a deadline
Once you’ve decided what to delegate and who is going to help make sure you define the task clearly. Describe why the task is important, outline each step or actually demonstrate the task if you can (ideally the delegatee can watch you do it at least once), and determine when the task should be completed. Setting a deadline or a date/time that you'll follow up with the delegatee isvery important. A deadline will help the them manage their own schedule and to get the job done on time for you!
✅ There you have it! There are countless other small ways you can delegate tasks in your daily working life — if you have a quick tip to share click Reply below. We’d love to hear more!
