Learning how to delegate is one of the most important skills you need to master if you want to scale a business. It’s clear you can’t do everything yourself, so it’s essential that you delegate to your new VA and any future employees you take on. While this can be challenging, the guidelines in this module will give you a step-by-step process to follow.

Delegate Effectively

It can be difficult to delegate if you’ve always done everything yourself. Perhaps you’ve had some experiences of delegation which didn’t work out. If so, you’re likely to feel negative about the whole procedure.

But if you use a delegation process, this will help you get the results you want and allow you to prioritize what needs to be delegated and when.

Remember your VA is there to do the day-to-day tasks you don’t have time to do. Delegate effectively and this will free up capacity for you to work on other aspects of your business.

But delegation isn’t just for your benefit.

Successful delegation also motivates the other person, as they get a sense of achievement from a job well done and have the chance to learn new things. Always explain clearly exactly what you want and ensure they have access to the necessary resources to do the task, or you are setting them up to fail. You also need to know the strengths and limitations of your VA so you don’t make unrealistic requests of them.

Delegation Best Practice

Here’s a step-by-step delegation process to follow with your VA:

1. Give an overview of the task, e.g. write a report on online marketing strategies.
2. Describe how it fits in or adds value to other tasks/projects/initiatives, e.g. to help us promote more online to increase our profile and gain more market share.
3. Explain expected outcomes, e.g. conduct research online and write a simple report with conclusions suggesting ways forward.
4. Clarify guidelines for success, e.g. check they have understood what you want.
5. Provide any step-by-step instructions, e.g. give a sample report on another topic to show the layout and structure you want.
6. Agree how/when to communicate while doing the task, e.g. set up a task in your online project management system with an agreed deadline and interim stages.

Do’s and Don’ts of Delegating

DO:

• Ask delegates if they feel thoroughly prepared for the task
• Move from hands-on to hands-off as soon as possible
• Intervene when absolutely necessary, but only at that time
• Indicate that you are available for support whilst also allowing them to get on with the task
• Give them feedback on their work

DON’T:

• Miss out briefings – take your time to explain clearly
• Surreptitiously take back a task
• Deny them the chance to learn by interfering too much
• Micromanage
• Say or hint that you doubt their ability

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Most of the negative issues people experience with virtual assistants stem from poor delegation.

For example:

• Work not completed on time when no time scale was agreed with the VA
• Work not completed to an acceptable standard when the standard wasn’t explained to the VA before they started working
• VA needing to check constantly about a process when the process wasn’t explained at the outset.

Follow the delegation process and the do’s and don’ts in this module to improve your chances of success. Get comfortable with delegating effectively.

It’s true that this will take up some of your time. But invest that time now when your VA is new to save you time later on. By that stage they’ll know exactly what they’re doing and can relieve you of tasks that are a drain on your time.