As your trade business grows and expands, the quantity of work needing to be done (and asap) also increases. This could be bookkeeping, dispatching or quoting. There comes a time when you must delegate some of your responsibilities and tasks to lessen your workload.
There’s no point wasting your precious time on minute administration tasks when a staff member or outsourced company could be doing it for you. Leaving you free to focus on other more important profitable tasks. The problem is, there are some business owners who just can’t let go of these tasks!
Why? They’re afraid.
They fear that staff member/outsourced company won’t be able to perform the assigned work the same way they do. They fear the individual will make mistakes.
As such, this scenario occurs. They keep on accumulating more and more tasks and soon, they’re bogged down with so much work they don’t even know where to start. The important tasks fall through the cracks and they’re stuck in a vicious cycle where work keeps accumulating but ‘nothing’ really gets done.
Sound familiar?
If you’re someone who has a fear of delegation, here are some tips to help you overcome it.
1. Change your mindset
When delegating a task, there’s a little voice in the back of your mind that says, “they’ll mess it up” in a negative tone, which is why you prefer to just do it yourself. By all means, listen to that voice. We’re only human, right? And humans make mistakes.
Instead, turn that voice into a positive tone. The individual completing the task may make mistakes. These mistakes provide them the opportunity to learn. The next time they complete the task, they will know exactly how to do it.
Not everything will run perfectly all the time.
2. Create a system
Delegating tasks doesn’t mean you need to fully step away from the job!
Just because you have assigned a staff member to manage inventory, doesn’t mean you just stop overseeing it.
One of the crucial components of delegation is creating a system for each task whereby you are able to interact with your staff member and oversee their work.
For example, you could create a checklist or flowchart for the delegated task and review the assigned work at each step. This could be done through the web programs Lucid Chart and/or Asana.
With your review, conduct daily or weekly short meetings to discuss any issues you want to bring up about their work and listen to any questions they may have.
3. Lower the risks
There’s no doubt about it, delegating important work has its risks. But there are ways in which you can lessen these risks.
The most common, and one we’ve already discussed… is the work containing mistakes.
Reduce this risk by assigning easy tasks to begin with. Don’t assign new and more complicated tasks until you’re satisfied with the staff’s performance with his/her current work.
4. Delegate to the right people
It’s natural to delegate important tasks to people you trust.
However, are you 100 per cent sure that they are the right person?
You see, your trust in them doesn’t guarantee they have the skills, experience, and background, to execute delegated tasks correctly.
For example, you may trust your staff members or your friends and family. But when it comes to tasks such as bookkeeping, they may not have the skills required, and therefore you need to outsource/hire an outside bookkeeping company.
There are times when it’s better to delegate tasks to someone who is qualified and has the skills no matter the cost.
5. Training!
You can’t just delegate a task and expect it to be done at an optimal level without any type of training.
Take your time to train (or source outside training, example, an online Facebook course) the delegated staff on how to effectively perform their new tasks.
Are you ready to delegate now? Gain back your time to focus on more profitable tasks?
We thought so.
What’s next?
- Join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook Group, for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources, plus a like-minded community of tradies.
- Book a 15-minute Game Plan Call with Andy, owner of Dr. DRiP plumbing and co-founder of Lifestyle Tradie, to clarify your priorities and get clear action steps.
