Back

DELEGATION: THE CLOUT NEEDED FOR PRODUCTIVITY

Published: Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Education TrainingBusiness Information Technology (IT)

A large managerial role entails making people work, driving productivity and reducing inefficiencies. Part of making people work is making work for people. Too often management holds onto the reigns, gathering all the more balls until they simply cannot be juggled any longer. 

    Press Release feature Image

    Issued by Perfect Word Consulting (Pty) Ltd

    A large managerial role entails making people work, driving productivity and reducing inefficiencies. Part of making people work is making work for people. Too often management holds onto the reigns, gathering all the more balls until they simply cannot be juggled any longer.

    “Delegation is the key to motivating staff. Giving staff ownership drives their belief in themselves, because they perceive this hand over of responsibility as the manager’s belief in their abilities,” confirms Mark Orpen, Chief Executive Officer at The Institute of People Development (IPD). “As is the case with most management functions, however, delegation is a skill that can (and should) be taught, and one which wise managers will hone to perfection.”

    Management specialist, Brian Tracy, offers seven essential steps to effective management and delegation. “These steps serve to ensure that the right tasks are being delegated to the right person,” adds Orpen.

    Firstly, it is essential to pick the right person. “Managers are often disappointed in an employee’s execution of a task, but this is largely due to assigning the task to the wrong employee, resulting in failure,” advises Orpen. This leads to the second step, which is to match the requirements of the job to the abilities of the person being delegated to.

    It is, of course, crucial that the delegation is handled effectively. “Take the time to ensure that the employee understands what is required, so that micromanagement is not required, freeing the manager up to attend to their own higher-level demands. This requires delegating the entire job, giving 100 percent of the responsibility over to the employee. This is a great source of motivation,” says Orpen.

    In line with this, Tracy advises to delegate smaller tasks to newer staff members, building their confidence and competence. To help the employee to achieve success, it is critical to delegate clear outcomes. “When delegating, managers should ensure that the employees are aware of the desired outcomes, and how their success or failure will be measured,” states Orpen. “The staff member should understand why the job needs to be done and, if necessary, be told how best to do it.”

    Lastly, it is essential to delegate with participation and discussion. “Delegation shouldn’t be a one-way demand, it is a conversation, a discussion as to how best to reach the desired outcomes, and an invitation to gain understanding of how to achieve those goals,” concludes Orpen. “To offer this level of communication, managers often require soft skills and general management training, enabling them to guide rather than command. This, in turn, improves relationships between managers and staff, fosters a unified company culture and directs ongoing productivity of the organisation.”

     

    - ENDS -

    Boilerplate:

    Founded in 1999, Workplace Skills Solutions t/a The Institute of People Development (IPD) strives to equip, prepare and certify practitioners to serve South Africa’s skills development strategy and facilitate the transformation of education and training. Over the years, IPD has become the preferred people development partner to most state owned and private enterprises in Southern Africa. IPD has assisted over 500 public and private training providers across most sectors of the economy to achieve or maintain accreditation through consulting, training and providing published guidelines.  For more information, please contact IPD at trainingenquiries@peopledev.co.za on (011) 315 2913 or visit www.peopledevelopment.co.za.

    Mark Orpen is the Chief Executive Officer of The Institute of People Development (IPD). With an undying entrepreneurial drive, Orpen founded IPD in 1999. He holds National Diplomas in Marketing and Sales, Learning and Development and a National Higher Certificate in Occupationally-Directed Education, Training and Development Practices. Orpen is represented on the board of more than ten companies and has the skills necessary to execute his duties as CEO of IPD.  With a keen desire for the acquisition of knowledge, he has also completed many training courses in Human Resource Development, Marketing, Corporate Governance, Maritime Studies and Commercial Property Investments. Orpen can be contacted at mark.orpen@peopledev.co.za.