There’s power in people – especially in business.
The skills of the delegation are something every business leader should strive to perfect. While the vast majority of entrepreneurs will have some level of desire to control operations from top to bottom, once a business reaches a certain size this is simply not viable and will actually waste your time and reduce productivity.
With that in mind, read this guide to see how giving power, decision-making, and agency to your employees will help you save in more than one way.
Learning how to delegate
Of course, you cannot delegate everything. Draw up a list of business operations that you currently have complete or majority control over and think very carefully about which might be better suited to having its own designated officer. Making a delegation plan is key to success in this area, as you need to be able to match up tasks with suitable employees who will be able to take control of the task with minimum upheaval.
Once you have begun to implement this strategy, see how it ties in with time management. If you are still spending a considerable amount of time overseeing a task, even once you have delegated responsibility over it to somebody else, you need to re-strategize.
Begin to look at delegation as a form of time management, rather than just a contributing factor. This interconnected view of power-sharing will help you come to terms with relinquishing some previously held control, aiding your discipline, and, in the long term, saving you time to spend on other tasks.
Removing HR obstacles
Antiquated HR systems can be a true stumbling block in the face of modern business, in particular time-saving systems and proper power sharing. If your HR department is still working with old paper documents and slow-moving cogs, then moving and altering responsibilities within your business will happen sluggishly and frustratingly.
To combat this, use software for HR that allows staff to intuitively change their profiles, view job descriptions, and decide on employee benefits. Businesses that use this software have been found to spend 90% less time on organizing payroll and employee benefits – an incredible time-saving investment, all by handing decisions over to staff members and giving them a digital portal in which to act on them.
You should also consider giving staff the power to choose how they work – after all, one of the world’s most successful businessmen, Bill Gates, believes flexitime companies will “have the edge” in recruiting the best talent available. Providing phone booths for offices can be another excellent way to offer flexibility and privacy, enhancing productivity. This will improve employee retention and save you time on recruitment cycles. Furthermore, working without this type of flexibility can contribute to burnout and poor health, meaning time lost due to sickness or stress.
In summary, learning how to share the load can save you and your employees time across the board. This isn’t just about you – the business owner – saving a few hours in your day; this is about a total system reset – a method of working that uses power sharing as a tool to reduce wasted time. With the right attitude and the software to match, you could be very surprised at the results.
