Delegation

Delegation

If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. This adage has been around for a long time and perpetuates an environment that is very closed, inefficient, and an environment that is unlikely to progress. What is the solution to this menacing problem? Delegation. Some objections to delegation might be that an employee likes what they do. As a manager you can not do everything. What else could you be doing if you were able to delegate? You might say that staff can not be trusted to do the job you would, or the job you want. Why is that? What training or mentoring could you provide to bolster an employee's competence? Not being able to delegate is a weakness of a leader and not an employee.

Delegation is an important part of making an office run efficient, and cost effective. It motivates employees and builds unity and trust. This paper will address three main questions. What guidelines are necessary for effective delegation? How do managers at The company Financial Network delegate? And how could employees use delegation more effectively?

Effective Delegation

Alan Chapman is a speaker and consultant in Leicester, England and has put together some answers to this first question of what skills are needed for effective delegation. His recommendation in delegating is S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Timebound, Ethical, Recorded (Chapman, 2005). Specificity is important as it incorporates what is needed in any given task. The president of The company will often ask for reports. It must be know who is being reported on, what the parameters of the report are and how it is expected to look. The company also has a parent company and it is faster and easier for them to read and understand the reports if they are in a standard format. Measure a scale of success to your delegation. Something easily overlooked at The company is the delegation of sales calls. The president can not make every sales call that comes to The company. Although obvious and overlooked delegation, it still is a situation where the number of calls that the sales desk makes or receives is a measurable task. Make sure that both parties agree on what needs to be done. Don't leave room for surprises. The tasks must be realistic. Unrealistic tasks are often put aside to avoid dealing with it. If it can not be done then what is the use in trying. What is the time frame? This is an important question. Without that answer, any given task could end up on the bottom of the to-do list and leave another employee high and dry with out vital information. Ethics find their way in to every task and every day of our lives. Delegation needs to be of an ethical manner. Take time to record results and notice a finished product. Record and recognize employees for their contribution.

Delegation at The company

The company is a very flat organization and has only 9 employees. Lots of different delegation happens every day. Because of The company's size every employee has an area or task they are responsible for. This does not stop others from answering phone call and assisting clients. Many times it is necessary for the sales desk to delegate a task to the commission individual. This task could be to fix a commission or verify information that would regard a future situation. On the flip side the commission person may not be able to run an insurance quote. The commission person still helps the call and then delegates the request to the sales desk. All of these situations demonstrate trust and responsibility between the parties. The previous recommendations for S.M.A.R.T.E.R. delegation all apply to make sure that client's needs are satisfied and expectations are met.

The company has a lot of lateral delegation but also has top down delegation. Weekly manager meetings discu tasks and directions from the president. However taking a