6 Ways to Delegate the Right Job to the Right Person

Successful finance pros get to the top by knowing and doing a lot.

But one of the most practical skills you can have when you’re a finance leader is knowing how and when to effectively delegate.

Being able to tap the right person at the right time makes you and your team better.

The Delicate Dance of Delegating

But when the time comes to delegate, you likely find yourself doing a delicate dance. It’s your job to delegate work, but it might not be obvious what tasks should go to which employee on your team.

One option is to fake it: Gather your team together, outline the tasks and let employees choose what they want to be responsible for. It might be easier, but it’s less effective.

Why? Employees tend to respond better when they feel they’ve been chosen for a particular task, rather than having to volunteer for it, according to research from the University of California, Riverside School of Business.

Delegating specific work to a specific employee tells that employee his manager feels he’s the best one to get that job done right. This encourages more investment in getting it right.

Plus, it eliminates competitive squabbling among employees; if the directives come right from the boss, there’s no use fighting over who’s doing what. This is especially critical if you manage a large team filled with even larger personalities.

The UC Riverside researchers found that manager-fueled delegation – versus employees picking their tasks works best when employees “have a broad skill range, tasks are highly interdependent and coordination requirements are high.”

So, it’s important to get the delegating dance done right. Here are six ways to help you do it gracefully – and ensure no one gets left out:

1. Busy Work to Task-Focused Employees

These are employees who never want to be bored or don’t crave too much downtime. They’ll pound the tedious and repetitive stuff out quickly and be ready for more when it comes.

Just don’t pile all the busy work on one person all the time. And emphasize to that employee how important those tasks are to the overall project. Otherwise, employees could get the impression they’re only around to do the tedious things no one else wants.

2. Project Management to Confident Employees

Showing innate leadership abilities and decision-making comfort makes these employees naturals to direct projects you don’t have time for.

These employees have also earned enough respect from their co-workers, who will be more willing to follow their lead.

3. Schedule-Keeping to Organized Employees

If your task involves time tables and planning, get your uber-organized employee to take this on. You’ll likely never have to worry about missing a deadline or falling behind.

They’ll most often keep friction to a minimum and can take some time-consuming meetings off your hands.

4. Unique Tasks to Most Seasoned Employees

Not only are they experienced, they also likely could use a change of pace.

Switching things up for trusted employees who’ve toiled at mostly the same jobs for years keeps their curiosity piqued and their engines running.

5. Ongoing Crucial Tasks to Structured Employees

These are the ones who leave their desks every day so tidy that it looks like no one works there. Everything is off their plate by the end of every day, so they can start fresh tomorrow.

This is key when you know you need a lot of work done in a short time.

6. Stuff You Hate to Do to Easy-Going Employees

There’s usually nothing they mind doing, so they’ll find the up-side of the tasks you dread. And they might even come up with a less painful approach to getting them done.

Of course, these are only suggestions. The way to really succeed at delegating is to mix things up every once in a while. Employees appreciate when you take advantage of their strengths and encourage them to break out of their own routines. They’ll reward you by making your delegating dance easier to do.