Delegating Tasks

To be successful, delegation requires methodically working through the 10-step process to ensure that all potential issues are resolved prior to delegation. The first step is identifying the task to be completed. For example, a task that requires completing at Allpack is to ensure all active customers’ credit limits are up to date, and that the customer is tracked on the Creditsafe system, so we are notified in the event of any changes. Clearly identifying the task means that the staff member involved understands the required result.

Next, assessing the skills and time commitments to complete the task is necessary to ensure you delegate to a resourceful person with adequate knowledge. Identifying this ensures that the person involved understands

Anticipating what will be gained out of the task will influence your decision to maximise the benefit. I will ask Sarah Fisher and her team to ensure that all active customers are tracked with up-to-date credit limits, as she is the Head of Accounts and will benefit most from the alerts she will receive. Currently, debts have to be chased to discover that a company is in financial difficulty.

Assessing the teams’ ability is required to ensure that they are capable of completing the task. If they express any doubt, you cannot delegate to that team. Completing a SWOT Analysis ensures that they are sufficiently capable. The Accounts team led by Sarah understand the required task and are able to complete it as they already deal with customers’ accounts and have to amend details. They are all using the SAP system and can update it with information from Creditsafe.

Reasons must be given why the job is being delegated to them and how it benefits everyone. In this situation, we explained that management could not undertake this task. You should delegate to those who benefit the most, so the Accounts were chosen as the task is related to their activities. Explaining why a task is delegated overcomes buck-passing, as the reasons are

You must consider all resources including workload, people, equipment, and any other costs. This task will take one person to invest in one hour per day for a month to complete the initial task and twenty minutes per day thereafter to keep the records up-to-date. A computer is needed to complete this task working from the main office. This is an extension to other debt chasing activities, which they normally complete in time. It is important to agree on resources to prevent the staff member trying to get more resources later on and the project costing more than forecasted.

Subsequently, you need to agree on deadlines for the main task and review dates for the ongoing tasks. You can use a Gantt chart to plot when sections are completed to remain on track, to measure the success. This gives clarity of when you expect task completion. At Allpack, following customers on Creditsafe will take one month to complete and we will hold quarterly meetings with Accounts to check the list is