HR Management 101: Prioritize, Delegate, Execute
As a small business owner, you'll find yourself wearing many hats - the decision maker, the HR manager, the number cruncher (amongst many more, of course). You'll try and do it all. However, it's important to recognize that it's not all possible (and that's okay). From an HR management perspective, proper resourcing is a big part of the job to allow you to focus on tasks that instead, fuel business growth. Take a look at your to do list. Do you see where you can add checkmarks, if you had the support to get those tasks done more efficiently? Who on your payroll, can you pass on certain administrative or operational responsibilities to? If you're taking on HR management, are you hiring and developing the right people who you feel you can trust and give ownership to?
- Read more about Why Outsourcing HR is a Good Business Decision
While becoming a jack-of-all-trades is often part of growing a business, you can increase execution efficiencies by prioritizing and delegating.
How to Delegate, from an HR Management Perspective
Effective delegation means that you are achieving results through the actions of others. As an employer, you can do so by:
- Learning and understanding the strengths of your employees;
- Developing these individuals;
- Giving them the opportunity to take on greater responsibility; and then,
- Holding them accountable.
Take a look at what this means, from a step-by-step perspective.
HR Management: The 9 Steps to Employee Delegation
Here are nine steps that you can take to manage employee delegation.
- Make an assessment: recognize key opportunities for delegation based on the expertise of yourself and of others
- Determine standards: define the outcome you expect to see by mapping out exactly what you're asking for and when it needs to get done by
- Assign the employee: identify by skill set and opportunity to see where both parties can benefit from taking on the task
- Get commitment: confirm that there is a shared understanding of the task at hand and the deliverables expected, either with a signed agreement or electronically (it's always a good idea to have a paper trail)
- Provide training and support: educate your employee where their experience is lacking, give them the proper tools for completion, and be available to offer guidance throughout the assignment
- Monitor progress: have regular check-ins to keep the project on track and see where you can provide additional support
- Give feedback: take time to share feedback and approach this as a teaching opportunity so that your employee is learning new skills, while working towards result that meet your expectations
- Evaluate performance: when the task is complete, compare the end results with the standards you defined (step 2); share this with your employee
- Show appreciation: thank your employee for checking off that task from your to do list. Emphasize their efforts, learnings, and where there are opportunities for them to take on similar or greater responsibilities to grow, as your business grows too.
What's next? Repeat steps 1 to 9 and continue to delegate. Remember, employee delegation is a fundamental driver of organizational growth.
