Pass It On!

July 31, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on August 2007 We’re all too busy all of the time. So it’s only natural that we’d like to pass on some of our work to employees.

Trouble is, we tend to have the mindset that says, “If you want it done right, do it yourself.” After all, how else can we control quality?

Joe Milevski believes you can delegate important jobs to staffers—and ensure that they’re done the right way every time. The CEO and founder of marketing firm JRM Sales & Management (jrmsales-mgmt.com), speaking at Myriad Software’s 2007 Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., presented his golden rule for management: “Delegate unto others before they delegate unto you”—in other words, pass along the smaller pieces of the puzzle so you can focus on the big picture: building your business.

Why Delegate?

To understand the value of delegation, Milevski raised the question, “Why do we hire employees? Is it to add stress to our lives ... or to demonstrate that no one can do things better than us, so we might as well just do it ourselves ... or to diminish our bottom line?”

One of the major benefits of having employees, in his view, is the ability to spread the stress around. “Management maturity sometimes comes with the realization that some personnel can actually do something as well as you—or better,” he said, “and that it gives them a sense of accomplishment at the same time.”

How much of your workload should you delegate? “Nearly everything, as your company evolves,” he said, “or you will always be performing that task—forever.” He added that if you can’t imagine passing on mid-level tasks like ordering, pricing, making deposits, etc., you should look closely at both your employees and your existing systems, because you should be able to entrust such things to others as you grow.

In the cases of owners and senior managers, he said people at these levels should keep very few tasks to themselves. “Signing checks and balancing the checkbook may make sense (for company leaders) in a small organization,” he stated. “However, once you spend more than 60 minutes a day on clerical tasks, your business is delegating to you. After all, who’s working at a high-enough level to take your company higher? Not your clerical people. You are.”

Get Your Ducks in a Row

Before you ask a staff member to handle a task, Milevski recommended seeing to it that each of your workers has a day-timer calendar or other way to track their projects. When you ultimately hand out assignments, make sure the time commitment for each is reasonable. “The goal is to get the task done,” he said, “and teach the associate the importance of meeting his or her commitments.”

He also stressed that you shouldn’t accept ambiguous commitments. Instead, agree on a specific deadline with the employee.

“When delegating,” he added, “take the extra step of asking the associate if he or she understands the task assigned. Just say, ‘So you’re clear on what I need you to do?’ This step is often missed.”

Eventually, you’ll reach the point when it’s time to see if the job you delegated has been completed. It’s a good idea to get regular updates on the job’s progress all along, but deadline day is the moment of truth.

“Don’t let a deadline pass without speaking to the associate,” Milevski said. “Make a point of congratulating the (employee) when the task is completed.”

But what if the job didn’t get done? “Actively listen to the associate’s ‘excuse,’” he said. “It may reveal a deeper issue,” one you can work to fix.

He also stressed letting staffers know you’re just as concerned that they didn’t tell you they were having problems as you are that the work didn’t get done. This will set a tone that you’ll have an open door if there are difficulties with future assignments, but also send a clear message that you want things done on schedule.

Hopefully, the jobs you delegated were done right—and on deadline. If so, Milevski suggests you seize the opportunity to build on this momentum by delegating more to your employees. “Set them up for success—allow them to demonstrate to you how good they can be—and their results may surprise you,” he said. “Most (of them) want to be more responsible and more recognized for their work. But most of your workers can complete their current tasks and seamlessly add more ... depending on the dynamics of the tasks and the growth of your company.”

Recognize Human Needs

Milevski listed common factors that can contribute to unsuccessful delegation, including:

• Extensive stress and conflict, causing employee discomfort.

• Lack of respect for leaders.

• Dwelling upon mistakes, while strong performance is viewed as “just doing the job.”

• Poorly developed systems.

• No team spirit.

• Nonexistent accountability.

• Lack of support (supplies, training, leadership, time) for employees.

• No opportunities to grow in terms of responsibility, skill development, education or salary.

To avoid such pitfalls, he said, you should strive to create an environment in which:

• Communication is clear and consistent.

• People understand their jobs and how performance is measured.

• Improvement plans include employee support (training, tuition reimbursement, pay increases).

• Policies and procedures are consistent and well-documented.

This drive to meet your workers’ needs for organization, leadership and recognition will have two major benefits: they will look forward to coming to work in the morning, and your customers will enjoy the experience of shopping in your store.

Strength in Numbers

Having a well-defined management team is one characteristic Milevski cited as being essential to well-run stores with effective delegation. “A good solution supported by the team (is more likely to) get implemented than a great decision supported by one person,” he stated. “Encourage team members to openly give their input with no danger of being shot down.”

However you grow your business, a positive environment developed along these lines will bear fruit in motivated, skilled employees who will graciously accept delegated assignments, give you ongoing feedback on their progress, and finish each job correctly and on time, every time. HFB