DELEGATION

Delegation -- Using employee(s) effectively. Giving decision making and other responsibilities to the appropriate employee.

Supervisors must know about the need to delegate. Without this knowledge, they will overload themselves or refer matters that should be handled by them and their staff to higher levels.

When supervisors delegate effectively, they: give the employee decision-making authority and room for action; clearly state the tasks, responsibilities, and controls; provide the necessary guidance and resources; sell the employee on a task's importance; and fit the task to the employee's skills and development needs. What is delegated (responsibility, authority, or data gathering), how it is delegated (clarity of the delegation, information resources suggested), and the targeted person's capabilities are important factors to consider in making these assignments.

Key Behaviors:

• Assigns tasks to the most appropriate employee.

• Assigns work by describing the end product/result and allows the employee to control the resources and make the decisions to reach it.

• Delegates work to the lowest appropriate level (providing that the employee can finish the work, and it is in his/her area of expertise).

• Recognizes opportunities to delegate.

• Offers guidance and instruction based on each employee's needs.

• Uses delegation to offer development experiences to others.

• Assigns employees new responsibilities if appropriate.

• Monitors after delegation to help employee reach goal.

• Balances responsibilities and tasks not delegated with those that have been delegated.

Key Words -- assignments, responsibilities, authority, involve, employees, confidence, work load, development of employees

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