Why delegation matters: a guide to its benefits and effective use

The principle “if you want to do something well, do it yourself” works only up to a certain point. The higher the load on the manager, the more difficult it is for him/her to control all business processes, which can be dozens and hundreds. Preventing burnout at work and optimizing the company’s performance is helped by delegating certain tasks (usually those that are not considered a priority) to other specialists. We tell you about an effective tool for distributing authority in this article.

What is delegation?

Delegation is the process of reducing the load on the manager by transferring part of his responsibilities to the company’s employees. Anything can be delegated: from writing annual reports to purchasing office supplies. In this case, control over the final result remains with the business owner, so his task is to clearly define tasks and establish full contact between employees and management.

Delegation provides the following benefits:

• freeing up time for the manager to use it for higher-priority tasks;
• verification of employees’ qualifications, their involvement in business processes, organization and interest in the final result;
• improved team trust through closer working contact between management and executive staff;
• personal growth and increased motivation for employees if delegation is associated with an equivalent increase in salary or KPIs.

Delegation can be:

• full – the task is 100% delegated to another person;
• limited – the task is performed by another employee, but the result is controlled by the management;
• reverse – the employee returns the assigned duties to the manager.

Principles of delegation

In order for delegation to be really effective, it must meet the following principles:

• Defining expected results.
  A task is delegated to an employee only when the expectations of the task are defined and the tools for accomplishing it are selected, not the other way around.
• Functional definition.
  This means that tasks should be delegated to an employee according to his/her authority, rather than setting goals in different directions for the same employee.
• Scalar Principle.
  This is about building an effective chain of communication from executive staff to management so that everyone understands the hierarchy of relationships and the principle of role allocation.
• Relevance to authority levels.
  Each employee and manager should fulfill the tasks of his or her segment and not try to shift responsibility for their implementation to his or her immediate superiors.
• Unity of command.
  Each manager is recommended to have a personal assistant to whom only he/she can delegate authority, without influence from other members of top management.
• Unconditional responsibility.
  Each party to the process has its own area of responsibility: the employee is responsible for accomplishing the tasks assigned, the management is responsible for controlling the final result.
• Correspondence of authority and responsibility.
  An employee cannot be delegated a task that is beyond his/her working capabilities and, as a result, is not mandatory.

Criteria and algorithm of successful delegation

The subject of delegation is the duties that are transferred to the employee and meet his level of capability and responsibility. Management theory establishes such rules:

• Delegation of tasks not to a person, but to a position.
  Authority is delegated to certain personnel (for example, an accountant or tax consultant) and assigned to the position, regardless of changes in the composition of the team.
• Delegation of tasks but not responsibility for performance.
  The final person responsible for all business tasks is the owner or manager of the company, so he or she can delegate certain responsibilities to another employee, but still control their performance.

Successful delegation consists of four stages, each of which will be discussed in more detail below.

Stage 1: assessment of areas of responsibility

The manager compiles a list of tasks that are performed on an ongoing basis, such as:

• production rounds and security checks;
• receiving incoming calls from potential customers;
• researching proposals from suppliers and making purchases;
• writing the final daily report.

It is important to list all relevant duties to understand which ones can be delegated.

Step 2: Calculate labor hours for each area of responsibility

The manager needs to calculate minute by minute how much time per day he/she spends on each of the tasks from the previously compiled list, for example:

• ispection of production and safety control – 60 minutes;
• receiving incoming calls from potential customers – 210 minutes;
• reviewing vendor proposals and making purchases – 90 minutes;
• writing the final daily report – 30 minutes.

Step 3: Evaluate the importance of each area of responsibility

The manager, on a scale of 1 to 10, assesses how important it is that the corresponding task on the list be performed by him/her, taking into account his/her roles in the company and his/her own responsibilities. Example:

• ispection of production and safety control – 8;
• receiving incoming calls from potential customers – 6;
• reviewing vendor proposals and making purchases – 9;
• writing the final daily report – 7.

Stage 4: selecting authority to delegate

The final stage is to identify tasks that can be delegated to other employees. This can be done using the formula: 10 points of maximum importance – (your assigned score for the task) x the number of minutes taken to complete it. Example:

• ispection of production and safety control – (10-8) х 60 = 120;
• receiving incoming calls from potential customers – (10-6) х 210 = 840;
• reviewing vendor proposals and making purchases – (10-9) х 90 = 90;
• writing the final daily report – (10-7) х 30 = 90.

The task that scores the most points in the final formula should be delegated. In the current example, this is receiving incoming calls from potential customers, which can be delegated to sales managers. Those items from the list that received the lowest score, on the contrary, are necessarily left to the manager.

In practice, it turns out that simple technical tasks, routine work that does not require special skills, non-urgent tasks and those for which the company has employees with the appropriate competence are usually subject to delegation. In any case, the manager is left in charge of issues of special importance such as management decision-making and financial responsibility for production activities.

How delegation works at a glance

In general, the delegation procedure, after identifying the tasks to be delegated to another employee, can be visualized as follows:

1. Selection of a suitable performer.
2. Communication with the subordinate.
3. Training for the employee.
4. Supervision of task completion.
5. Feedback on the results of work.

The contractor should be selected on the basis of their professional experience, skills and personal qualities. It is important that it is a motivated person who has the appropriate competencies and demonstrates a desire to develop in his or her area of expertise. It should be considered whether the current pool of tasks allows the employee to take on additional workload.

Communication with the employee should be reasoned and friendly. It is not enough to inform the employee about the extension of authority: it is necessary to explain why these tasks will be transferred to the new employee and what benefits he or she will get from performing them (e.g., bonus or promotion). Training can be divided into two stages: joint task fulfillment (possibly several times) and evaluation of the employee’s independent actions.

At first, it is worth monitoring the results of delegated tasks on a regular basis, as well as giving useful recommendations when necessary. Over time, this process independently will become rarer, but no less important.

Popular mistakes when delegating

Delegation can fail if:

• Delegate tasks in a hurry.
  Delegation requires a thoughtful, step-by-step and reasonable approach, assessing risks and opportunities. You can’t just give a task to an untrained employee without explaining the principle of working with it and motivation.
• Delegate a task to the wrong employee.
  It is worth considering several candidates for delegation, it is even acceptable to organize a small competition if employees are motivated to win it.
• Delegate the task to several people.
  This often results in a “collective irresponsibility” effect: everyone counts on the integrity of another employee’s performance and doesn’t really look into his or her own authority.
• Limit authority.
  Delegation implies trust. It is necessary to give “all the cards in the hands” of the selected employee, having spent time to train him/her beforehand.
• Forget about your responsibility.
  The manager delegates the task, but must control the result of its fulfillment. Ignoring this point often leads to deplorable results for the entire business.
• Allowing reverse delegation.
  Often employees constantly go to their superiors “for advice”, thus actually returning the task to the manager. A balance should be struck between permissible assistance and keeping in mind the areas of responsibility of each team member.

Delegation is an extremely useful tool for any business. The main thing is to approach each of its stages responsibly, to define and understand the responsibilities of employees and management, and not to make decisions in a hurry.