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5 Tips for Improving Productivity

Are you hesitant to assign a task to another employee because you know you can perform it better?

Do you find yourself doing tasks that would be more productively performed by a co-worker?

Do you do tasks just because you don’t like having to catch another employee up to speed?

If you answered  yes to any of these questions, then you need to learn to delegate effectively before you wear yourself out! As a successful professional, you are used to doing tasks that keep the company running, But the more successful you are, the faster you will reach a point where you simply cannot do everything. When you delegate assignments, you provide employees with an opportunity to expand their skills and abilities as well as showing them that they have performed well in the past. While delegating tasks is beneficial, it is counter-productive to micro-manage the processes once you’ve done the assigning.  Here are some simple steps to effective delegation.

Identify what tasks could be assigned to others. Do your best to assign one employee to one process that they can do from beginning to end. If it is something that must be divided between several people, be sure to let each person know how their work will fit in the big picture.

Choose the correct person.  You want to help employees increase and improve their skills, so that they can continue to grow in their career. A strong employee means a strong company. When choosing the correct person, think about skills, time availability and if they have done similar work in the past.

Set up the assignment for success.  Meet with the employee to discuss the assignment and how it fits into the larger picture of the department or company. Be sure to cover your expectations and the criteria you will use to evaluate the assignment. Break the task into smaller assignments so that you can check the progress periodically. Having the employee give you feed back is a good idea. Make sure that your instructions were clear and that you are both on the same page.

Give positive, encouraging feedback.  It is less stressful to focus on the desired results rather than the process that the employee is achieving them. Do your best to avoid stepping in and doing it yourself. Micromanagement sends the message that you don’t trust your employees and it is also detrimental to an employee’s ability to stand alone and be independent.

Evaluate the completely assignment. When everything is done, meet with the employee and go over your expectations and evaluate the achieved results. Reward for a job well done and give advice for improvements.

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