How do I delegate work effectively to my Virtual Assistant?
So you’ve finally taken the leap and hired a VA. At long last, someone to help take care of the day-to-day so you can focus on your expanding to-do list.
But now what?
Unlocking the delights of delegation!
As an ‘art form’ delegation deserves - if not requires - practice!
Learning the ropes, techniques and elements of finesse aren’t necessarily easy. Moreover, for many of us, delegating a task means relinquishing control. This in itself can be daunting, particularly if you are someone who enjoys having their finger on the pulse.
At first glance delegating might seem more of a hassle than it’s worth.
You have to take more time out of your already incredibly busy day to train someone, answer questions and give instructions. Furthermore, you may even feel no one would do the job quite as well as you. So why take the risk?
What’s the point of leaving yourself open to all sorts of disasters and winding up worse off with a whole heap of extra work just to undo the damage done by leaving it all to someone else?
The counter argument goes that delegation doesn’t mean you have to let go completely.
In fact, in the right hands the process can only help your business grow. When your business starts expanding, and you take on staff, learning how to delegate is going to make you a more effective leader.
If you haven’t been in a position that’s required you to delegate tasks or manage others, the art of delegation will be new.
You need to be aware of a few things as poor delegation can lead to frustration, confusion, and generally negative experiences for all concerned. It may even make you reluctant to delegate in future!!
When all parts of the delegation process work together, there’s harmony. If they’re not working together, there’s often discord and dissatisfaction for the parties concerned.
A question of balance
Spreading yourself too thin in too many areas is a recipe for frustration and loss of productivity.
Without enlisting support by utilising either a Virtual Assistant or hiring staff, you will find yourself working long hours where nothing gets your un-divided attention. Equally not delegating prevents you from applying your real strengths in areas where you will make the best use of your time.
Developing your delegation skills will only enhance the parts of your business that would get the most benefit.
With all this in mind, here are my Top 5 Tips to help you learn to delegate successfully!
#1. Choosing what to delegate
First off, it’s a good idea to know exactly what it is that you need or want someone else to take charge of.
A good starting point is to list all of the tasks you are currently performing.
Next, go through and highlight the tasks that can only be carried out by you. It is likely that everything remaining can be delegated.
Sometimes you’ll have tasks that require some clearer definition. For instance when you’re first starting to work with a new VA handing over tasks that are both relatively simple and repetitive is a safe way to test the waters.
Ask yourself:
How important is the success of this task?
Would an adequate outcome suffice or would failure be absolutely critical?
How much would a failure cost or what would the impact be?
If success is crucial, if you’re testing your delegating skills, or trailing a new VA, a high risk task would probably not be suitable to start off with.
#2. Selecting the right VA to delegate to
Once you have your objective/s in mind and have determined the tasks suitable for delegation, selecting the right person for the job comes next.
This can be a challenge, particularly if you’ve not had much experience with the individual you’ve selected or if working virtually is not something you’re used to. There’s a large element of trust that comes in to play.
Before delegating any task, maybe ask yourself if it can be broken down even more?
If so, consider delegating a small piece of the task. If this goes well, you may feel happy to unload a bigger chunk of work and if this goes well, then even more and so on!
This will help build trust and form a relationship with the other person that will allow you to gain valuable insight as to their skill level and ascertain their suitability for any task you may need to delegate in future.
#3. Be clear on expectations and deadlines
Delegation may feel, and often is, a big deal.
You should therefore explain your reasons for delegating, why is it so important and how does it fit within the overall business ‘picture’.
Check that your VA understands the job, be prepared for - in fact encourage! - questions, and make sure they know how you intend to decide their success or not. I would suggest it’s a good idea to get the individual or team concerned to agree to the method of how the success of the task will be measured.
Other things to agree on would be deadlines or review dates.
If there are many parts to complete or different stages, what are the first priorities or where is the starting point?
Check your VA understands the matters at hand and how they personally are interpreting what is required of them. This will help you gauge their capability or lack thereof.
A suitable method of ‘checking in’ should also be agreed upon. If not done beforehand it might make monitoring come across as interfering or even as a lack of trust which will potentially undermine the other person’s confidence. Trying to dominate after delegating will not encourage success.
Before finally handing your task over, have you considered all things like location, equipment, funding, materials, apps or any and all related activities and services?
Have you established a foundation for success or are you setting this person up to fail? In other words, are the objectives realistic with the available resources and within the given time frame?
Put yourself in your VAs shoes and ask yourself how well you would do? Can you think of anything you may have left out? Even the slightest detail can make a big difference to how well the task is completed.
#4. Communicate well
Open communication is necessary right from the word “Go”.
Be as clear as you can with your needs and expectations. Include timelines and deliverables and be sure to give all the information needed.
Who else is there that should be informed?
If you’re unavailable to answer questions, is there someone else to offer support?
Are there any times during the day that are better than others to get in touch with you if any problems arise?
Are there any delicate matters they should be aware of?
Considering all these things in the first instance will mean less interruption to your day as you clearly have provided a platform of support from the beginning.
#5. Evaluate and reflect
When the task is complete, make sure you provide some feedback.
Examine what went well and anything that may need improvement. Were there any mistakes that could have been easily prevented and why did these occur?
Examining the results will allow both parties involved in the delegation process to learn something. Whatever it may be, offering some feedback and taking the time to examine the process will provide you with valuable information for your next delegation.
These tips also apply if you’re being delegated to
If you’re reading this and you’re a VA (or looking to become one) these tips will help you too!
It’s important that as a VA you fully understand the expectations placed on you.
Are you up to the task?
Are there any areas which may require you to do some up-skilling?
Whatever it is you need to succeed, make sure you cover all bases. Not sure of something? Ask!
If you’re confident that you can achieve the desired outcome and fully understand the requirements, you’re more likely to succeed and therefore more likely to be a candidate worthy of being delegated to.
Ready to find the right-fit VA to start delegating to?
A great place to start your search is New Zealand’s very own VA Directory! And whilst you’re over there don’t forget to check out our VA Matchmaking Service where we make it even easier to shortlist suitable and available local virtual assistants.
A bit about the Author
Treena Pitham from Octopus Admin runs a small team of specialist VAs who have got all of your general administration, event management, accounting, recruitment and social media outsourcing needs covered.