Hi ,
This is really great printing right away
Thanks.
Hazel

Thanks for a great list. It's too easy to want to get started with a client and not have a basis for what is expected, from them and yourself.

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Alicia Granda | A Grand Assistant | Virtual Assistance for Professional Individuals | AGrandAssistant.com

The program Organisemee is great for this because you can even select who to delegate to. That way you know exactly who to follow up with and when!

-Zachary
@DetailedVAGroup

What a great article. Sometimes it is just a lack of leadership skills that cause many problems.

Originally Posted by bsetc

(*NOTE: This is a great article to post on your own site or blog so that your clients can figure out how to help in delegating work to you!) In my profession as a virtual assistant, I am in the front of the delegating lines and I see firsthand what works and what doesn’t. Oftentimes, new clients will ask me to coach them a bit on delegating work to our company and I am always happy to do so. If you are currently delegating work to others or you may do so in future, here are five ways to make your delegating experience more effective. (1) Set Deadlines This often gets overlooked but it’s the most important part. If you need something back by week’s end, specify that when you delegate the task. Although your virtual assistant may be a magician when it comes to getting your work done, he/she is not a mind-reader. They need to know, from you, when you need the work done. (2) Prioritize If you are giving your virtual assistant many tasks, let him/her know which item needs to get done first. One of my own clients will often note when something takes precedence over the rest of the work she’s delegated to me. This helps me to know what she needs back quickly and what can wait until closer to the set deadline. (3) Be Clear When you delegate something, be clear in your message. It may be something that is easy for you to do because you’ve done it often but you’ll need to remember that when delegating items from your business, they may not be things that others are as familiar with. So, be clear and be available if/when your virtual assistant makes requests for items he/she needs to complete the task. (4) Check Skills First Too often I’ve seen people delegate out a task to someone that went above their knowledge level. When this happens, the person may take longer than expected or may have difficulty with the project. A lot of people want to please their clients so they may hang on to a task thinking, “I’ll learn this and get the work done” but that only delays progress. Check with the person first to make sure he/she has the skills required to complete the task. (5) Give Advanced Notice The last tip I’ll give you is to make sure you are giving enough notice. If you delegate a 5-minute project in the morning and want it done by day’s end, that may be okay for that person’s schedule but if you drop a full blog-design project in their lap and request it back within 24-hours, that may not always suit their schedule. It is better to give as much notice as possible so that you both benefit. Want to Use This Article on Your Website, Ezine or Blog? You Can! Just Include the Bio Below… Erin Blaskie is a virtual assistant and the owner of Business Services, ETC. Erin supports business owners with their daily operations - helping them fr*ee up their time so they can get back to doing the ‘life’ stuff or focus on the revenue generating items. Feel fr*ee to contact her via her website at http://www.bsetc.ca.

Valuable Articles with great tips! Love it Erin.

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Jessie DSouza
www.vibrantaceva.com

Thank You Erin for the great list. This is one I will definitely be using to get people to delegate to me as well as for me to delegate to others. Thanks again!

Great article Erin! It's hard for some people to let go, but it once they figure out how much it will benefit them they wonder why they waited so long.

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Gina Cozza
Invisible Business Solutions

Thanks for the tips. These should be common sense but I guess we can forget sometimes.

I find it very hard to letting go as well. It's so easy to just do it yourself because you know it will be done the exact way you want it done. If you have a good team and establish clear direction and set expectations, delegating should go smooth.

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Melissa

Thanks for a reminder of how to stay focused. Prioritizing is always the hardest one for me.