The Art of Delegation

When you first start working with a virtual assistant, figuring out exactly what and how to delegate tasks using delegation strategies can be a pain, and it's actually one of the reasons why most businesses fail to work with them.

The art of delegation and creating effective work delegation Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are the foundation of bringing out the full potential of your virtual employee so they can help you run your business, instead of your business running your life for you.

3-List Method

In figuring out what to delegate first, we've constructed the 3-list method that encapsulates the tasks and responsibilities that work best for virtual assistants if you want to scale; 1.) tasks you don't like doing, 2.) tasks you don't know how to do, and 3.) tasks that you shouldn't be doing.

For reference, here is an example of a 3-list method granted you are in a position to scale and you want to hire a virtual assistant to handoff tasks to.

Based on the table above, column 3 under tasks you, as a business owner, shouldn't be doing yourself is where you would ideally benefit the most from a virtual assistant. From the list of tasks, hiring for an admin assistant position would make the most sense as these are responsibilities that cover their job description the most.

Virtual assistant positionsLooking to hire a virtual assistant for your business? Access our FREE training! could essentially be divided into two categories - technical and non-technical. Jobs like social media management, real-estate cold calling, and admin assistance are non-technical positions, while skills-based jobs such as graphics or video artists, web designing, and bookkeeping belong in the technical group.

That said, tasks you don't like and feel you shouldn't be doing would be best delegated to general or non-technical positions such as admin assistants or social media managers. And in most cases, tasks you wouldn't know how to do would involve delegating tasks for efficiency to technical skills specific to what you or your business needs. While it's true that you may dedicate your own time to learning the technical skills yourself, it simply wouldn't make sense once you factor in how much time it would cost you compared to the $4 - $8 rate you'd be paying your virtual assistant.

Standard Operating Procedures

When it comes to delegation strategies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), it is important to note that it is the lifeblood of your business. The better the SOPs, the better your virtual assistants and personnel perform as it really helps clear the air from all the questions that have to be answered.

As far as creating one, it’s wise to have both a text and a video SOP because it gives your virtual assistant different platforms to learn on whether they are better at reading or watching videos—whatever they learn better on, you need to have multiple versions so that they can be the most efficient possible, and ask you the least amount of questions possible.

That said, the contents of your SOP must include a detailed title, an overview that summarizes what the task is about, a comprehensive step-by-step process of the workflow, and depending on the nature of the task - acceptance criteria that sets a standard or minimum requirement to ensure effective work delegation and delegating tasks for efficiency, ensuring a constant stream of communication and process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a properly executed delegation will only be as effective as a well-constructed SOP - two factors often overlooked by a number of business owners which resulted in their virtual assistants not being fully utilized for their business. When it comes to handing off tasks so you can give yourself more time, hiring Filipino virtual assistants for $4 - $8 an hour is the way to go, just be sure to educate yourself on how to properly delegate using delegation strategies and construct effective work delegation SOPs for your remote employees.

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