Delegation - What To Delegate? Delegating in Human Resources Management
1. Delegate specific tasks that a subordinate will like
Delegation will have good results when an employee has the skill and knowledge to do the tasks. It works well when he has the ability to determine what the tasks should look like and how to get them accomplished.
There are certain tasks that fall into the area of expertise of a specific employee so these tasks are better assigned to a certain employee. Although a manager does exceptionally well in general, there are specific tasks wherein some employees do better.
There is a task
clearly defined that can be delegated to a subordinate who has the skills needed to accomplish the task.
2. Delegate tasks that a subordinate can do better
The overall capacity of a manager in an organization is inarguable. However, there are some things that a subordinate does better such as routine works since their minds are not as busy as the manager's, and years of experience in performing their routine job allow them to do better than a manager does.
For example, dealing with areas of numbers can take up much of a manager’s time as he still needs to deal with other important issues of the organization. By delegating the task to a subordinate who has been working on accounting matters for years can speed up the results. Basically, these are the tasks that need specific skills that a manager doesn’t have.
3. Delegate tasks that a subordinate needs to do for growth
The other type of delegation is delegating for development of a subordinate. This takes place when a manager delegates a task to a subordinate who might not be best suited for the assigned task but is eager to take the challenge. In this process, the subordinate gains invaluable experience and know-how which can be applicable in the future. It gives him an opportunity to grow professionally.
This type of delegation can be time-consuming for a manager because he needs to significantly invest time and energy to teach and guide the employee to accomplish the task successfully. In delegation for development, the manager
has the ultimate responsibility for the outcome.4. Delegate operational work
A manager’s mind is constantly busy because he keeps on thinking and planning strategies and schemes which may increase the organization’s productivity. When a manager sits in his office chair, staring blankly at the door and thinking, it means that he is working. To be able to be effective in strategic areas, a manager needs to delegate operational work to subordinates which can take much of his productive time.
These are operational jobs and routine tasks such as preparation of rough drafts and reports, collection of data and reports, data entry, fact-finding assignments, collating, printing and photocopying which can be comfortably handled by subordinates while the manager works on more important things.
5. Delegate tasks which you don’t have time to do
When tasks increase in an organization, a manager needs to focus on the bigger picture so he can prioritize working on strategic areas of the business to be able to bring it to the right direction. This can successfully be done by delegating to his subordinates the tasks which take up a lot of his time but have less importance.
There are things that only a manager must do and there are also tasks that can be delegated to subordinates like operational works so a manager can efficiently and productively perform the more important tasks necessary for the good of the organization in general.
Delegation - What To Delegate? Delegating in Human Resources Management
Related Links: What is Delegation? , Barriers To Delegation
