As a small business owner, knowing how to identify tasks to delegate to an assistant is crucial for efficiency and growth. It is impossible for one person to do all the things it takes to run and grow a business. Oftentimes, deciding what to delegate can prove to be a daunting task. Outlined below are key factors to consider when deciding what tasks to delegate. Keep in mind that you can always start by delegating less critical tasks to build trust and confidence with your assistant.
5 Tips to Identify Tasks to Delegate
Task Assessment
Begin by taking a look at what you do daily. Ask yourself what keeps getting moved down your to do list, what is not getting done. Review all your daily, weekly and monthly tasks. Categorize them based on urgency, complexity, your expertise in handling them and your desire in handling them.
Critical vs. Routine Tasks
Now take a deeper dive into those tasks. Determine which tasks are critical and require your specialized skills or decision-making. These are tasks you may want to keep. You can then delegate the routine, time-consuming or repetitive tasks that don’t necessarily need your unique expertise.
Skillset Analysis
When reviewing your task list, consider your skill set. Ask yourself if this task is something you want to spend time learning how to do? Ask yourself if this task is something you enjoy doing. Delegate the tasks that fall outside of your skill set or those tasks you find particularly unenjoyable or challenging.
Time-Consuming Activities
Identify tasks that consume a significant portion of your time but don’t necessarily require your direct involvement. Many client management, marketing, administrative and bookkeeping tasks can be easily delegated to an assistant.
Impact and Value
Consider the impact and value of these tasks on your business growth. Keep your focus on high-impact activities, such as business strategy, client relationships or product development. Delegate the tasks that don’t fall into these categories. This will free up your time to place more focus on the high impact tasks.
Effective delegation removes the tasks that eat up your time from your to do list. This time can then be devoted to the areas of your business that focus on growth and success. This will significantly boost productivity and reduce your stress. Remember to provide clear instructions, communicate expectations and offer feedback. Open communication is vital to the success of this working relationship and should certainly go both ways. As the relationship grows, you can always add more tasks along the way.
