Delegation is one of the most important management skills. These logical rules and techniques will help you to delegate well. Good delegation saves you time, develops you people, grooms a successor, and motivates. Poor delegation will cause you frustration, demotivates and confuses the other person, and fails to achieve the task or purpose itself.                                            Delegating is nothing but “Internal Outsourcing”. The main purpose of delegating is “Time Management”…so that you can concentrate on big…main assignments, assignments which need your attention. But what can you delegate, is an important question. I am of the opinion that “One shall not delegate what they themselves cannot do”…that means you can delegate only those things..assignments which you…yourself are comfortable in doing. When you delegate, the message that you are passing to the other person is that, “Look, I can do this and can do more efficiently but I want you to help me in doing this assignment so that I can concentrate on other issues/assignments”.

Most of the time we have seen bosses delegating those assignments which they themselves are not able to do and then there the message is, “I don’t know how to do it and hence I want you to do it”. So, now the most important question…how good are you in delegation.

Relation between Outsourcing and Delegation.

Outsourcing is the transfer or delegation to an external service provider the operation and day-to-day management of a business process. The customer receives a service that performs a distinct business function that fits into the customer’s overall business operations.

There are two principal types: “traditional” outsourcing and “greenfield” outsourcing.

In “traditional” outsourcing, employees of an enterprise cease to perform the same jobs to the enterprise. Rather, tasks are identified that need to be performed, and the employees are normally hired by the service provider.

In “greenfield” outsourcing, the enterprise changes its business processes without any hiring of personnel by the service provider.

Main purposes of Delegation and/or Outsourcing are:

Cut costs

Increase productivity

increase security and reliability

maximize uptime

Concentrate on core competencies

Delegation V/S Empowerment

Delegation is an old idea used in the traditional management model. The idea was to make sure that responsibility and authority were equal for every job. When delegation was implemented correctly, people had the authority that they needed to execute their responsibilities. Limitations of this approach: assigning authority does not mean that someone has the ability, motivation, and understanding necessary to perform.

Empowerment is a core concept of the new management model. In the new-generation adaptive organization, delegation is replaced by empowerment, and responsibility by ownership. Authority and responsibilities are formal aspects or organizing.

They are based upon organizational properties and not individual capabilities. Empowerment and ownership are social aspects of organizing, They are based on efficacy and initiative, and not just on roles and requirements. They belong to people.

Now, continuing with delegation

So, are you SMART in Delegation or SMARTER?

A simple delegation rule is the acronym SMART, or better still, SMARTER. It’s a quick checklist for proper delegation. Delegated tasks must be:

Specific

Measurable

Agreed

Realistic

Time bound

Ethical

Recorded

Traditional interpretations of the SMARTER acronym use ‘Exciting’ or ‘Enjoyable’, however, although a high level of motivation often results when a person achieves and is given recognition for a particular delegated task, which in itself can be exciting and enjoyable, in truth, let’s be honest, it is not always possible to ensure that all delegated work is truly ‘exciting’ or ‘enjoyable’ for the recipient. More importantly, the ‘Ethical’ aspect is fundamental to everything that we do, assuming you subscribe to such philosophy.

What To Delegate

Don’t delegate what you, yourself is not able to do.
Don’t delegate what you can eliminate. If you shouldn’t be doing an activity, then perhaps you shouldn’t be giving the activity away to others. Eliminate it.

Delegate routine activities, even though you don’t want to:

Fact-finding assignments

Preparation of rough drafts of reports

Problem analysis and suggested actions

Collection of data for reports

Photocopying, printing, collating

Data entry

Delegate things that aren’t part of your core competency. For small businesses, these include accounting, web site design, deliveries, hardware upkeep, software help, graphic design, travel arrangements, patenting, legal issues and even HR functions such as payroll.

Some things you can’t delegate: performance reviews, discipline, firing.
Create a plan to delegate. Don’t give out assignments haphazardly.
Invest short term time in training to gain a long term increase in productivity.
Others may end up doing a better job than you can or finding new ways to complete a task.
Delegate, don’t abdicate. Someone else can do the task, but you’re still responsible for the completion of it, and for managing the delegation process.

Things to keep in mind…while delegating

Make sure the standards and the outcome are clear. What needs to be done, when should it be finished and to what degree of quality or detail?
Delegate the objective, not the procedure. Outline the desired results, not the methodology.
Ask people to provide progress reports. Set interim deadlines to see how things are going.

Delegate to the right person. Don’t always give tasks to the strongest, most experienced or first available person.
Spread delegation around and give people new experiences as part of their training.

Obtain feedback from employees to ensure they feel they’re being treated appropriately. A simple “How’s it going with that new project?” might be all that’s needed.

Be sure to delegate the authority along with the responsibility. Don’t make people come back to you for too many minor approvals.
Trust people to do well and don’t look over their shoulders or check up with them along the way, unless they ask.
Be prepared to trade short term errors for long term results.
When you finish giving instructions, the last thing to ask is, “What else do you need to get started?” They’ll tell you.
Give praise and feedback at the end of the project, and additional responsibilities.

Delegation as a Process…Procedure involved in Delegation

Before starting lets understand the various barriers in Delegation

The biggest barrier to delegating is overcoming the entrepreneur’s curse: insisting on doing it all. That’s a fatal error that prevents start-ups from growing into viable companies.

Here’s how to tell if you’re digging yourself into a hole. When a friend asks, “How was work today?” do you talk about how much work you did? Or do you focus on the work that you coached others to do?

If you discuss how well your employees are “stepping up” and “lightening my load,” that’s a good sign. It shows you’re delegating in a meaningful way. But if you sigh and summarize all the rush jobs you had to handle — and all the fires you had to put out — that indicates you could benefit from more delegation.

Beware of giving the following excuses to avoid delegating:

1. “It takes too long to explain.”

2. “No one on my staff is capable of doing it.”

3. “If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.”

4. “My people are already overworked. I can’t dump anything more on them.”

Which of the above statements have you made to rationalize your lack of delegation?

Although you may offer the above excuses, your real reasons for refusing to delegate may appear below:

1. “I’m comfortable doing things myself. If I give that up, then I would wind up operating my company in a way I’m not comfortable with.”

2. “It’s my company, so it’s ultimately my job to run everything.”

3. “What if the other person messes up? We’re a young company, and we can’t afford any mistakes.”

Can you think of any other reasons why you don’t delegate as much as you should?

Why you Should Delegate?

You free yourself to run your business and see the big picture.

1. You develop your employees and make them more valuable.

2. You spread accountability to encourage a stronger, more resilient team.

3. You can respond faster to changes in your business when you can rely on nimble employees to take charge.

Delegation involves three elements:

1. responsibility

2. authority

3. accountability

When you delegate, you distribute responsibility and authority to others while holding them accountable for their performance. The ultimate accountability, however, still lies with you.

THE PROCESS OF DELEGATION

Stage – I: Choose What to Delegate

Study what kind of job you intend to delegate. Plan how you are going to present the assignment, including your requirements, parameters, authority level, checkpoints, and expectations.

To determine what tasks you should delegate, begin by keeping a log of what you do during the day. After two weeks, review your daily activity log and ask yourself if it truly reflects what you should be doing.

Say you make the most contribution to your firm by focusing on five duties:

1. Courting new customers

2. Mapping out your firm’s growth strategy

3. Exploring acquisitions and marketing alliances

4. Analyzing new markets for your products or services

5. Coaching employees

If your activity log shows you do not spend the bulk of your time in these five areas, this should spur you to delegate. Squandering your day on minor matters will divert you from what really counts and stymie your company’s growth.

Do delegate:

1. All routine or even sporadic clerical duties (filing, counting, sorting, routine reports)

2. Making minor decisions

3. Answering routine questions

4. Minor staffing problems such as scheduling

5. Anything your employees are expected to do when you’re not there

6. Jobs that can develop the employee in other areas for potential promotion

Don’t delegate:

1. An emergency or short-term task where there’s not time to explain or train

2. Morale problems

3. A presentation to investors about your company’s financial performance and future plans

4. A job no one else in the company is qualified to do

5. Personnel issues such as hiring, firing or disciplinary matters

Stage-II: Choose the Right Person to Delegate to

Andrew Carnegie once said, “The secret of success is not in doing your own work but in recognizing the right man to do it.”

The key to finding the right person to delegate to is to match skills and personality to the task at hand. As a preliminary exercise, ask each of your employees these questions:

1. What would you like to learn more about at this company?

2. What areas would you like to expand your skills?

3. What parts of this company do you feel you know the most/least about?

4. Are you eager to change your current job duties in any way? If so, how?

Armed with the answers, you can delegate duties to people who are receptive to accepting them.

Also consider the work habits of individuals on your team. Some people may need lots of explanation, while others merely want to know your expectations and any guidelines before they’re left alone to “get it done.”

Stage-III: Communicate What You Want Done

Rather than rush to give “do this, do that” orders, effective delegation consists of explaining the WHAT and the WHY:

WHAT do you want the employee to do?

WHY did you choose them to do it?

When you delegate, include a “WHAT-WHY statement.”

Examples:

I’d like you to make ten survey calls to find out what our customers think of our new product. Given your excellent phone manner, I think you would represent us well and get people talking.

We need to turn in some financial information to state regulators by next Friday, and I want you to confirm all the numbers are up-to-date and accurate in our financial exhibits. You’re a stickler for details, so I’m depending on you to crosscheck everything.

Can you write a letter to our suppliers about our new purchasing policies? You’re familiar with our expense control measures and you’re a good writer, so I think you would be perfect to write this letter and provide the proper context.

Before delegating your next project, compose a WHAT-WHY statement:

Rehearse this statement out loud to see how it sounds. You may want to practice with a trusted adviser and get feedback.
When you’ve polished your WHAT-WHY statement, you’re almost ready to delegate. But first, prepare answers to these three questions:

1. Who should the employee work with on this assignment? Who’s available to offer help? 2. What resources or tools are available? 3. What’s the deadline?

Weave the answers to the above questions into your instruction. Encourage the employee to take notes, especially to confirm the deadline so there’s no misunderstanding about what you expect at that time.

The final step in communicating what you want done is to gauge the employee’s willingness to comply. End by asking, “Are you excited about doing this?” or “Do you feel comfortable tackling this?”

You might also ask for input on how the individual intends to get started. Example: “How do you plan to approach this?”

Stage-IV: Follow Up

Establish checkpoints to monitor progress. This discussion should be a collaborative process where you reach mutual agreement on how you intend to follow up.

You have three options to track an employee’s work:

1. Scrutinize and approve every step of the assignment before the worker proceeds to the next stage.

Advantage: You ensure the project is completed satisfactorily, and you can satisfy your urge to know what’s going on throughout the process. Many control-oriented entrepreneurs prefer to keep a close watch on an assignment after they delegate it, especially if it involves lots of details or complicated steps.

Disadvantage: You might make the employee feel stupid by signing off on each step. You risk showing you don’t trust others to think for themselves without your constant oversight. Plus, it takes more of your time.

2. Set a date for the individual to complete the work. Instruct the employee to come to you with any questions along the way; otherwise, you stay out of it.

Advantage: You give the worker a chance to operate independently without lots of interference. Your hands-off role also frees you to do what’s most important.

Disadvantage: You may be in for an unpleasant surprise if the work isn’t done by the due date or it’s done incorrectly, and you may have no way of knowing how it’s going unless the employee chooses to keep you informed.

3. Designate a manager who’s in charge of overseeing the employee’s work. This is really double delegation: you’re assigning work to someone and assigning a supervisor to monitor that work.

Advantage: You increase the odds the work will get done properly — without having to spend time tracking it yourself. You can also give your team leaders a chance to expand their supervisory role by making them the “contact person” for your employee and by having them follow the worker’s progress.

Disadvantage: In a fast-growing business, you may not have the luxury of putting a manager in charge of monitoring an employee’s work. And that manager may not have the time to track the project carefully or provide meaningful help to the employee.

Before concluding…lets do an introspection and lets check how good or bad you are in delegation.

Answer each statement with the corresponding number using this code: 1 = always 2 = sometimes 3 = never

___I find that my employees consistently look for ways to relieve the pressure that top management faces — without being asked.

_____I’m free to “think big” because my colleagues and employees handle all the daily operational stuff.

_____As my company continues to grow rapidly, I’m totally comfortable letting go and putting others in charge of pieces of my business — rather than clinging to control.

_____I prefer to spend 30 minutes training an employee to do a new task than just doing it myself in five minutes.

_____I say to an employee “Let me show you how to do that” far more than I think to myself “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done right.”

_____I look for opportunities to praise my managers for delegating to their workers.

Review your answers. If your total score is 6-8, then you’re an excellent delegator. This Business Builder will reinforce much of what you’re already doing and introduce you to some new techniques.

If your score is 9-14, you’re on the road to becoming an effective delegator. But you need to raise your awareness and make a more concerted effort to coach others to plug holes and take on more responsibility.

For those who score over 14, you’re not alone. And you’re honest! Many entrepreneurs need to confront the fact that they just can’t do it all, and that assigning jobs to others is a vital part of building a business. Ask any legendary business builder — including our own Edward Lowe — to identify a key to transforming a great idea into a thriving enterprise, and here’s the answer you’ll hear: harness the drive, skills, and talents of every employee.

Conclusion:

Managers delegate work not to just relieve their workload, but to allow the employees they supervise to grow professionally. Effective delegation is a two-way discussion and understanding. Be clear about the delegated task, give employee(s) an opportunity to ask questions, monitor progress and offer assistance as needed. Use effective delegation to benefit both yourself and the person to whom you delegate. DOs and DON’T of Delegation…

DOs

 

Chose delegates based on a fair and objective assessment of his or her skills and abilities in relation to the requirement of the task 

Give precise instructions; use simple procedures; show employees how to do something and explain why it is done that way

Show how each delegation contributes to organizational goals

Clarify expected results

Develop together standards of performance; recognize superior performance

Discuss problems; answer questions; seek employees’ ideas about how to do the job

Be supportive; exhibit trust; keep your promises

Praise positive achievements in public

 

DON’Ts

 

Don’t delegate in a haphazard fashion 

Don’t over-exercise your power; don’t try to dominate the delegates; be rather a leader than a mentor

Don’t criticize employees in front of others

Don’t overreact to problems or mistakes

Don’t over-control the performance

 

That is all I have to say about delegation as “Internal Outsourcing”. Lets discuss. Looking forward to your inputs/comments.