Delegating work to virtual assistants can be a game-changer for business owners. They often juggle numerous responsibilities, from administrative duties to strategic planning, which can hinder their ability to drive growth and innovation. By delegating time consuming tasks such as calendar management, data entry and other operational tasks to virtual assistants, business owners can free up valuable time to concentrate on higher impact initiatives.
It is imperative for business owners to understand what work should be delegated, as not knowing what to delegate will have major consequences such as hiring the wrong person or waste time doing tasks that could’ve been easily done by someone else.
In this blog, we’ll guide you through identifying which tasks to delegate and selecting the right candidate for the role.
Identify Your Daily Tasks and Review Task List
- Understanding what needs to be delegated begins with itemizing your tasks. Writing down everything you do on a daily basis will help you see where and how you spend your time. It also allows you to clearly identify task priorities which will help you prioritize and delegate better.
- For you digital enthusiasts, tracking your day-to-day activities on a time tracking application like InStaff will also help you keep track everything you do and take note of each task’s duration.
- Make sure everything is listed and tracked! These tasks could be administrative activities, research work, scheduling appointments, social media management or simply writing emails.
Once the task list has been created, review the list by asking yourself the following questions:
- Are there tasks that I can’t stop doing? Identify tasks that will not have a direct impact to your business and is not urgent enough for you to focus on right now. For example, are there meetings that you don’t really need to be there for?
- Are there tasks no one else can do but you? Identify tasks that only you can do. Think of tasks involving exec-level decision-making like hiring a marketing manager or setting company’s vision and direction.
- Are there tasks you be delegating? Identify tasks do not require your expertise and also hard to be automated. Tasks like setting appointments, paying bills, taking meeting notes, or bookkeeping are some common examples. You can offload these tasks and delegate them to someone with the right skillset.
- Are there tasks that you wish you can do better? Identify tasks that require a specific set of skills (e.g. Website development, SEO, Graphic Design, Content Writing, etc). These tasks can be delegated and potentially for a greater output than if you were to do it yourself.
- What is my expectation if I delegate these tasks? Clearly outline what you expect to achieve by delegating each task. Define specific goals, deadlines, and desired outcomes. This will help your virtual assistant understand their responsibilities and prioritize tasks accordingly.
Choose the Right Virtual Assistant to Hire
Once the list of tasks to be delegated has been finalized, the next step is to identify what type of assistant you need. Below are a set of questions you can ask yourself to further understand your need:
- Type of Virtual Assistant: Are you looking for someone specialized to help you take your current output to the next level? or a generalist that can help you with a spectrum of activities?
- For general business-related tasks, hire a virtual administrative assistant to help you with time-consuming tasks such as data entry, booking meetings, taking meeting notes, file management, email management, etc
- For tasks that require a specific skillset, hire a virtual specialist to improve your website’s SEO performance or help you with creative designs or video editing.
- Part or Full Time Hire: Decide whether you need to hire a full-time or part-time assistant, or a freelancer. Ask yourself this question:
- Are the tasks part of a project or just day-to-day activity? Is the workload consistent throughout the week?
- If the workload varies from time to time or the tasks are for short term projects, then part timers are more suited. Full time hires are more suited for consistent day-to-day activities.
Delegate Correctly to Set Yourself Up for Success!
By following these guidelines above, you can now effectively delegate tasks to virtual assistants and free up your time to focus on higher-value activities.
