Running a remote business can be overwhelming. Hiring a virtual assistant team can ease your burden if you’re a business owner drowning in heavy workload. However, an important part of this is learning how to properly delegate tasks to remote employees.

Task delegation is key to an effective and efficient business. With it, entrepreneurs can maximize their time and take advantage of their employees’ skills and years of experience.

But how do you do it in a remote working environment? How can business owners and team leaders delegate work digitally? To answer your questions, here’s a detailed guide on implementing effective task delegation to remote teams. 

 

Guide On Delegating Tasks To Remote Employees

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Effective task delegation is a tedious process. Team leaders or managers must carefully consider the delegation’s whats, whos, and hows. 

But why? 

It’s because task delegation needs to be strategic to be effective. Team leaders must determine the right task and find the right person for the job. It considers not only the employee’s skills or experience but also their personality and characteristics to determine if they are fit for the role.

With that, let’s review the critical steps involved in task delegation in remote teams.

 

Step #1: Identify The Task To Be Delegated 

The first step in the delegation process is identifying the specific tasks you want to delegate. More than knowing what needs to be done, an essential part is understanding the tasks that should and shouldn’t be delegated to employees.

Not everything can be delegated. Tasks such as employee evaluations or conflict resolution take much work to delegate to an employee. Before deciding to delegate a particular task, determine the importance, urgency, as well as possible implications of delegating such work.

Determine the nature of the task and its purpose. One task ideal to be delegated is recurring tasks such as data entry. Another type is those that align with an employee’s scope of interests, such as graphic design. 

 

Step #2: Determine The Right Person For The Job

Once you’ve figured out the details of the task you want to delegate, the next step is to find the right person for the job. To do this, you should have a clear picture of what your team is capable of.

Team leaders should know their employees. They should understand their skills and their educational or occupational background well. But more than their years of experience, it is also crucial to consider each member’s characteristics and personality.

Some employees, despite their skills and experience, need more endurance, perseverance, or patience to work on certain tasks effectively. To do this, look into each team member’s work habits and performance. Are they efficient workers? Are they habitually late? Factors like this can greatly influence an employee’s suitability for a specific job.

Aside from this, it is also important to consider the employee’s current workload and availability. Ask about people’s current workload and schedule. Know if they are capable of handling more tasks or not. 

Other than their workload, ask about your employees’ current circumstances and situation. Considering they are working from home, it is possible that they are dealing with other responsibilities that may stop them from taking in more work. 

 

Step #3: Set Expectations and Define Outcomes

Another crucial step before delegating a task is to set the project’s outcomes and expectations. Doing this gives your employees a clear picture of what needs to be done and how it should be accomplished. Be as detailed as possible and ensure your employee understands the requirements completely. 

 

Step #4: Provide Detailed Instructions and Information

Part of clarifying the expectations and outcomes of a particular task or project is to provide your employee with clear and concise details about their role. When briefing your employees about the task, review key components of the project, such as the scope and objectives. 

Include key factors such as the allotted budget and the standard quality of deliverables. Doing this gives them a clear picture of the project from start to finish.

 

Step #5: Arrange All Tools And Resources

Part of effective task delegation is to provide employees with the tools and resources they need to do their jobs as efficiently as possible. Regarding remote teams, a wide array of online tools, programs, and software can be utilized to automate tasks or streamline certain processes. 

 

Step #6: Mentor, Guide, and Support

At this point, your employee should be well-equipped to take on their task on their own. They are given precise instructions and provided with the tools they need to do their job. Despite this, you are still responsible for consistently monitoring their progress to ensure they are heading in the right direction.

Once your employee has settled down and planted a stable footing, your responsibility turns to a more supportive role. You will no longer hold their hand. Instead, you will allow and trust them to take the lead and only provide your guidance whenever needed. 

Aside from guiding and mentoring your employees, consistently motivating them is also essential. Employee motivation is crucial, especially when it comes to remote work setups. Learn how to keep your employees happy and satisfied to maintain their motivation to work. 

 

Step #7: Assess Outcome and Results

At the end of the project, the final step is to evaluate the results and outcomes of the delegated work. Assess your employee’s performance based on the expectations and standards set at the beginning of the project.

Team leaders should pay close attention to details. Look into key elements such as accuracy, compliance, and completeness. Aside from that, gauge the outcome’s impact on overall company goals and objectives.

Don’t be afraid to offer feedback and constructive criticism if there’s any. Emphasize what they did well and elaborate on aspects that need improvement. Doing this when delegating tasks allows employees to showcase and sharpen their skills. 

 

Tips To Get Better At Managing Remote Teams

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Be wary of email or chat overload.

Digital communication is a key element of remote work setups. Since virtual teams solely rely on tools like Slack, Zoom, and email to communicate with each other, the volume of messages they receive on a daily basis can sometimes be overwhelming. 

To help with this, encourage your employees to set boundaries and practice online communication etiquette. For example, people should give a heads-up about the subject matter or purpose of a call before actually calling. Another is always having an email subject line for clear communication.

Another way to prevent email or chat overload is to allow and encourage employees to cut off communication after work hours. They can turn off their devices or ignore messages past their working hours and only tend to them the next day.

 

Take advantage of video communication tools

In the world of digital communication, video is the most effective way to deliver and receive a message in detail. Take advantage of video communication tools to prevent miscommunications and misunderstandings when giving instructions or directions. Video conferencing through apps like Zoom and Skype is one way to do this.

 

Meet Regularly

One of the biggest mistakes a business owner or team leader can make when managing remote teams is to pay attention to their employees completely. While providing them with flexibility is good, maintaining a sense of teamwork among employees is still essential.

Scheduling a meeting with everyone in the organization is one way to make remote employees feel that they are not alone and that they are part of a group. Aside from that, meetings can also be used to keep every employee set in the right direction. 

Ideally, meetings should be conducted at least once a week or every two weeks. This helps ensure that everyone is up to date and on the same page before moving on to their individual responsibilities.

 

Want to know more about effective task delegation strategies? Sidekicks is an on-demand virtual company, and we’re eager to help visionaries and entrepreneurs like you. Get a free ebook and learn more about how we can help you by signing up for our newsletter. We also offer a free 30-minute consultation if you prefer something more personal.

 

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