For those of us who have the goal of running a business that doesn't require our 24 hour a day attention, delegation is key.
Sure, you can do everything yourself, and you're sure to be satisfied 100 percent of the time, but you'll also be exhausted, stressed, overworked and likely, underpaid. By helping your employees to take on leadership roles and have a vested interest in the company, you can ensure that your business runs like a well oiled machine, where you simply have to hit the start button and fine tune things every now and again.
What can you do to help your employees feel empowered at work? Try these 5 tips:
- Start off on the right foot with an orientation session. Employees should be informed right off the bat what will be expected of them, and helped to understand the challenges that may come along the way. Make sure and answer all the questions commonly made by new employees and take time to answer any questions they personally may have.
- Lay the groundwork of the company. Explain why certain policies and procedures are in place. When they understand the reasoning behind a decision employees are better equipped to make good decisions themselves.
- Introduce them around the company. Employees should know who they can go to when they have a problem instead of always coming directly to you.
- Give them the needed tools to succeed. Make sure they have all the proper information they will need to fulfill their role such as client and company contact information and all needed forms.
- Give them opportunity to do it for themselves. This is where delegation comes in. As you delegate employees will feel more confident to make decisions and take on roles of added responsibility.
If you are used to doing everything yourself around the office you may find it hard to start trusting your employees to handle certain tasks. Take things slow, delegating different responsibilities to others. In time you will see which employees will be able to handle added tasks around the office.
While you may enjoy the thrill of holding everything together, having a team of employees who are capable of running one small part of the business creates a healthier company and allows you to enjoy some of the more important things in life.
