How Delegation Can Improve Employee Engagement

As a manager, you know that employee engagement is essential for a successful team. But what if you’re not sure how to improve it? One simple way to increase engagement is to delegate tasks more effectively. By delegating tasks to others, leaders can free up their own time to focus on more strategic initiatives, while also giving their team members the opportunity to develop new skills and grow their careers.

Some of the varied benefits to delegating, include:

• Increasing your own productivity: When leaders delegate tasks, they free up their own time to focus on more important things. This can lead to increased productivity and efficiency, as leaders are able to focus on other, more impactful tasks.
• Improved employee engagement: When employees are given the opportunity to take on new challenges and responsibilities, they are more likely to feel engaged in their work. This can lead to increased job satisfaction, motivation, and creativity.
• Enhanced team development: When leaders delegate tasks to their team members, they are providing them with the opportunity to develop new skills and grow their careers. This can lead to a more skilled and experienced team, which can benefit the organization as a whole.

Of course, there are also some challenges associated with delegating, such as:

• The need to trust others: In order to delegate effectively, leaders need to be able to trust their team members to do the job right. This may well be difficult, especially for leaders who are accustomed to doing everything themselves.
• The need to provide clear instructions: When leaders delegate tasks, they need to make sure that they provide their team members with clear instructions. This will help to ensure that the task is completed correctly and on time.
• The need to provide feedback: Leaders should provide their team members with feedback on their performance, both positive and developmental. This will help team members to learn and grow, and it will also help to ensure that they are on track to meet expectations.

A caution:  If you delegate a project but don’t provide feedback along the way and ultimately hold the employee accountable for delivering a quality product, you may have done more harm than good.

Here are some tips for delegating effectively:

• Be thoughtful about what tasks to delegate. Not all tasks are created equally. When choosing tasks to delegate, consider the following factors:
  • The level of skill and experience required to complete the task.
  • The importance of the task.
  • The time frame for completing the task.
  • The availability of resources.
  • The employee’s ability to deliver results at the level you expect
• Provide clear instructions. When delegating a task, be sure to provide clear instructions to your team members. This includes the following:
  • The objective of the task.
  • The stakeholders that may need to be consulted along the way.
  • The deadline for completing the task.
  • The resources that are available.
• Set expectations. When delegating a task, be sure to set expectations with your team members. This includes the following:
  • The quality of work that is expected.
  • The level of communication that is required.
  • The way in which feedback will be provided.
• Provide feedback. Once the task has been completed, be sure to provide feedback to your team members. This feedback should be both positive and developmental. Positive feedback can help to motivate your team members and encourage them to continue to do good work. Developmental feedback can help your team member to learn and grow, and it can also help to ensure that they are on track to meet expectations.

By following these tips, you can learn to delegate effectively and improve employee engagement, team development, and productivity.