Deciding to Delegate Work

Qualities of the Delegated Work

Whenever you assign or delegate a task to an employee, in order to be effective the task should have the following traits or qualities:

• It should be by consent, in the sense that the delegated task should be one that comes within the ordinary scope of work of the employee or delegated by obtaining his or her consent
• It should be specific, in the sense that the task should not be vague and should be measurable
• It should be realistic, in that the task should not require the employee to utilize resources beyond his or her means
• It should be time bound, in that deadlines should help the employee to prioritize his or her tasks and deliver effectively
• It should be ethical, in the sense that non-ethical work should not be delegated or done
• It should be recorded, in that the task and the contribution of the employee should be considered both in performance analysis as well as task analysis

The Process of Work Delegation

Every individual has different styles and methods of delegating work that work well for them. However, the basics of the process remain the same at its core and follow these steps:

• Finding the task to delegate: First you need to prioritize your work properly and select the tasks that have the highest priority among those that can be delegated
• Finding the person or the team to whom the work can be delegated: Delegation is an important management tool and should be used to yield productivity as well as motivate. So, it is important to decide upon the mutual benefits before deciding a task. For example, if a task has a high priority and a close deadline, probably it would be fit to delegate the task to employees who are well acquainted with the same. However, if the task does not have a tight deadline, probably it would be better to delegate it to employees who have not handled similar tasks before, but possess the required capabilities to do it. In the first case, you will be receiving assured productivity, and in the second, you will be providing new challenges, training, and motivation on top of receiving productivity and building work capacity.
• Considering and providing required resources: The employees to whom you delegate work should have access to resources required to fulfill the task. This might include access to office equipment or resources including the services of specialists or members of other teams.
• Deciding upon deadlines: It is important to decide upon deadlines by agreement with employees, as every employee and team in the modern workplace has to concurrently cope with a multitude of similarly important tasks. It is necessary to be realistic and real targets cannot be established without the input of those who are to do the work
• Stating the consequences: The consequences of success or failure need to be effectively communicated to those upon whom the task is placed
• Demanding feedback: Periodic feedback is of utmost importance in today’s workplace since without periodic feedback the work can lose priority and get out of control
• Actively supporting the work: It is necessary to be in touch with the delegated work in a positive manner and in a supportive role. It is extremely important to observe that support and supervision do not turn into micromanagement. Obsessive attachment with support and communication in delegated work has the hallmarks of micromanagement and is resented by employees

Delegation is one of the most important tasks for any one in a leadership position. Whether you are a supervisor, or manager, or just a senior employee with trainee staff under you, you need to delegate work effectively and wisely. Effective delegation is a superior management skill that increases productivity along with providing training and encouragement to employees down the line of management hierarchy. Wrong delegation can cause unnecessary stresses and stall productivity as much as correct delegation can boost workflow. So, it is necessary sometimes, to take another look at the basics of delegating work.