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The Art of Delegating – Crack the Code
Delegating effectively is an elusive skill for many business owners and managers. Many of us were taught that we should “do it ourselves” if we want to get it done faster, cheaper, and better. Early on in our careers, that is often true. However, as we grow our businesses, we can get bogged down in a pile of mundane busy work and wish we had more hours in the day—or competent help to share the load.
In any business, communication is key. Anyone in a leadership role must be able to communicate what needs to be done, how it should be done, when it must be completed, and by whom. This is a simple formula but easier said than done when people’s personalities, diverse skill sets, and busy lives come into play. Many of us are never taught how to delegate properly or don’t even know what effective delegation looks like. As a result, we are unable to scale our businesses by delegating tasks to others. Mastering the art of delegation can minimize time wasted, unlock new possibilities for growth, and take your business to a level you never thought possible.
Delegating is not just about efficiency. This is about having trusted partners and a long-term view on growing your business. Effective delegation means:
Having more time to do meaningful work in your own role
Instead of rushing through administrative tasks to check-off boxes, you are able to work with your team on new projects that will drive the company forward.
Finding time to address your own personal development
When you are able to delegate administrative tasks, this opens up your schedule for professional training or having more time to focus on improving a specific skill.
Employee Retention
Your employees are able to take on more responsibility, which can lead to better job satisfaction and stronger workplace bonds. Higher retention rates help you avoid the costs of hiring and training new personnel.
Maintaining work-life balance for everyone
Many business owners and managers struggle with their own levels of work-life balance, and it can be difficult to expect better from your employees. Delegating some of your tasks to those with the skill sets to handle them effectively will lead to more productive workflows and increased job satisfaction for you and your team.
Who Should You Delegate Work To?
Now that you know the benefits of delegating and may be thinking about some facets of your operation that could be handed off, the next question is: who should you delegate work to? Some options include:
Outsourcing to call centers
An outsourced virtual assistant from call centers has the capacity to take on large projects and scale with your business as it grows. With call center outsourcing, you can provide parameters for the work you need to be completed, such as detailed scripts for customer interactions, and your call center team does the rest.
Internal teams
If you already have staffing on hand or are able to hire, you can delegate tasks to internal employees. Your ability to do this depends on the size of your company, current workloads, and whether or not you have the resources to manage others while still completing your own work. If delegating tasks internally will take away from your core responsibilities, you may need to explore external options, or you risk creating more work for yourself which defeats the whole purpose of delegating.
Virtual Assistants
Virtual assistants are becoming extremely popular across all business models. Qualified virtual assistants are typically college graduates with strong backgrounds in administrative work.
While all three of these options are viable for delegating certain types of tasks, virtual assistants are the most robust option for entrepreneurs and executives looking to get the best value and highest levels of service for their investment.
Benefits of Delegating to Virtual Assistants
There are a number of benefits to delegating tasks to a virtual assistant, including:
Increased productivity
Delegating tasks to outsourced virtual assistants can free up your schedule and allow you to accomplish more while still staying on top of your day-to-day business with regular check-in calls. Virtual assistants establish trust and create a lasting business partnership with the organizations they serve, leading to greater productivity for everyone.
Spend more time with family or hobbies
If you have a family or interests outside of work that have been neglected lately, delegating some of your tasks can lead to more time at home. Investing in support to increase your work-life balance can be one of the healthiest things you do for yourself and can, in turn, lead to a re-energized attitude at work.
More time to develop meaningful business relationships
When our plates are too full, it’s easy to get lost in non-deadline items such as networking, sales, and client interactions. Delegating tasks to a virtual assistant frees up time for meaningful business meetings with customers and colleagues.
These benefits are only the start. Don’t get bogged down in the details any longer. Start delegating tasks to a personal virtual assistant and see how it positively impacts your organization almost immediately.
8 Tips to Perfecting Your Delegation Skills
As you can see, there are many benefits to delegating tasks to virtual assistants. Delegation is one of the most important things you can do for your company and yourself personally. If you are still uncertain how to master the art of delegation, following these tips can help make it a breeze:
1: Make notes of all the tasks you do daily
This will help you find out what tasks are the most time-consuming for you. Once you have identified these, you will better understand where you need help and what tasks to delegate.
2: Assess the priority of these tasks
Some tasks are more important than others, so it is vital to assess these tasks and determine which ones require your personal attention. If there are some tasks that are more time-consuming than others but can be completed without your personal input (e.g., routine paperwork or answering customer support emails) delegate these tasks first.
3: Make clear and detailed instructions
When delegating a task, provide clear and detailed instructions to the person who is going to complete it. Write instructions as if the reader has little or no knowledge of the project, process, or subject material (even if you’re planning to delegate the task to an experienced employee). Having highly specific instructions ensures the task can be passed along to another person in the future if necessary. Make sure to include all relevant details. Creating an SOP document is a great way to delegate tasks with clear instructions that your virtual assistant can follow.
4: Be patient with your help
When you first delegate a task to someone else, be patient and understanding with them. Everyone learns at their own pace, so offer corrections as needed, but try not to rush your employee or virtual assistant. Start them with a few tasks and build their workload as they adapt to your organization and grow their skill set. They may have a different work style than you and may require some training. If you are patient, invest in each other’s successes, and respect the growth process, you can perfect the art of delegation together.
5: Give them space
No one likes to feel like they are being micromanaged or that their workspace is being invaded. Giving your assistants room to operate will help them feel respected and valued in their roles. It may be hard at first, especially if you’re someone who has grown your business from the ground up, but standing back and letting your help succeed will, in time, grow your confidence and leave you wondering how you ever did it without them. Independence also gives your assistant a chance to practice their communication skills by demonstrating that they know when to reach out to you for guidance.
6: Create a feedback system
Your virtual assistant will be completing tasks for you on a daily basis, so it’s vital to have a feedback system in place. During the initial stages, the relationship may rely on more frequent feedback throughout the day due to a lack of experience using a particular task management tool or software. As your assistant builds their skills and more projects are delegated, daily check-ins become sufficient for many business owners.
7: Be transparent throughout the process
Transparency is essential during delegation to help overcome any hurdles that may arise. By being transparent about your business processes, you make your assistants feel invested and empowered, and you set them up to succeed with their newly delegated roles—and their success is your business’s success.
8: Celebrate success
As with any new process, there can be bumps along the way. A great way to celebrate success is by rewarding those who help you delegate tasks as well as rewarding yourself for achieving successful delegation. This can be in the form of a dinner, gift card, or even just a warm, thoughtful email that expresses your gratitude and motivates them to continue doing great work.
By following these eight tips, you’ll be on your way to successfully delegate tasks and achieving all the benefits that come with it.
Finding a Virtual Assistant
While there are many options for finding great virtual assistants, there are also, unfortunately, many scams and non-qualified workers out there. This is why it’s important to hire a virtual assistant through a trusted agency such as Virtual Latinos. Virtual Latinos is a virtual assistant firm that offers experienced staff from Latin America. They hire only graduates from top universities to work as virtual assistants or virtual professionals. All of our assistants are bilingual and available to work within your time zone.
It’s important to note that there are a wide variety of virtual assistant roles to meet the focused needs of each individual business. Some of these virtual assistants you could hire from Virtual Latinos include:
- General admin: General administration such as scheduling, scanning, making travel arrangements, and purchasing.
- Digital marketing: Managing and monitoring social media accounts, as well as creating, scheduling, and posting content.
- Customer support: Helping to solve your customers’ issues via email, phone, and chat.
- Writers and bloggers: Writing eBooks, articles, blog posts, or whatever written material you need to share the word about your product or service.
- Graphic designers: Designing logos, banners for social media or advertisements, and marketing material such as flyers and brochures.
- Healthcare Virtual Assistants: Managing patient’s appointments, Interpreting and Translation, patient onboarding, etc
- Web designers: Designing, coding, and managing your company’s website.
This is just a taste of what Virtual Latinos can offer in terms of a virtual assistant for small business and large corporate projects. Having a dedicated virtual assistant with specialized skills that you can trust and rely on to help get your tasks completed, will allow you to focus on growing your business.
Hire a Virtual Assistant from Virtual Latinos Today
Are you ready to take your business to the next level? If so, then it’s time to hire a virtual assistant from Virtual Latinos today. Now that you know the benefits of leveraging top virtual assistant services to properly delegate tasks, it’s time to find the help you need and get back to running your business.
If you would like to consult with Virtual Latinos to discuss how this process could work for your particular operation, feel free to contact us today and get started. We are always standing by to help expand your business and your horizons with our talented, professional, and well-educated virtual assistants.
