how to effectively assign tasks to team members to increase productivity?
As a leader in the workplace, it is essential to ensure that everyone in the team gets the appropriate amount of work. Sometimes, it's tempting to give an employee more tasks than others, especially if he/she finishes the tasks faster. But keep in mind that as managers, you must be fair. You must learn how to effectively assign tasks to your team members.
Although it may seem like a simple management function, assigning tasks to your team is actually challenging. As said by Liane Davey, cofounder of 3COze Inc. and author of You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done , You are “juggling multiple interests” in the pursuit of optimal team performance.
Task distribution among various departments might vary from person to person. For efficient delegation, it is vital to consider guidelines while distributing duties to team members.
Tasks that are delegated effectively move your people, projects, and the entire business forward. It increases management and staff trust and accountability, helps in refining and teaching new abilities, enables personnel to become acquainted with various groups and areas of employment, and is an excellent foundation for performance reviews, etc.
How do you assign tasks to your employees?
Assigning tasks is typically perceived as a time-consuming activity that focuses on removing items from task lists in order to keep the project moving forward. Task assignment, nevertheless, ought to be a more employee-focused procedure that calls for extra commitment and work, which produces excellent outcomes.
Here are some tips to effectively assign tasks to your employees:
- Delegate Positively. Don't just throw work at someone and expect them to deliver when they might not be qualified for that particular assignment. Maintain a mindset of doubting every assignment you gave and go over your personnel roster to see whether anyone else is capable of completing it as effectively as you can. They will be more likely to believe that they can do the assignment in the manner that the leader desires if they have a positive outlook. Employees won't feel inspired to start their assignment if you adversely assign them or have doubts about their competence. A little encouragement will make their day happier and encourage them to confidently do the tasks given to them.
- Set Clear Goals and Objectives. To understand how your team performs, you should set clear goals and objectives before entrusting them with any responsibilities. When goals and objectives are not defined, it'll be harder for your team to see the big picture and perform tasks in a particular manner.
- Assign the Right Task to the Right Employee . This is the key to productivity. Who has the most expertise and experience should be given priority, but don't give that individual too much work. You should also think about who needs to develop their sense of responsibility. Also, take into account the passage of time and their eagerness to seize the opportunity. To do this, the manager should create a delegation plan that considers the various skill sets of each employee and assign tasks that are properly suited to each individual. On the other hand, when a task requires an extraordinary employee and there is a talent shortage, the leaders themselves should do the assignment in an emergency or without a workforce.
- Obtain Inputs from Your Team and Set Up Meetings if Possible. Get suggestions from your team on what should be modified, who you could include, and how outcomes should be defined. Engage with the specific managers of the sub-teams if you are in charge of a large team or organization. A meeting with the entire team is necessary before assigning tasks to team members. You may obtain a clear picture of who is responsible for what and how purposefully they can do the assignment. Getting suggestions from your team members ensures that each of them will contribute to the task's accomplishment.
- Conduct Training and Supervision. A project's completion necessitates the blending of various delegation techniques, a high degree of team member commitment, and effective planning and execution. It is essential to teach the team members and meet with the team every day in order to produce a skilled workforce. The training includes free access to resources for developing skills, such as courses from Upskillist , Udemy , or Coursera . Following the training phase, the work must be supervised by a professional to ensure that the team learned from the training provided. Before and throughout the task assignment and execution among several team members, training and supervision are equally crucial.
- Communicate Constantly. It doesn't mean that when you're done delegating the tasks, everything's good. No, it doesn't work that way. Constant communication is also the key to unlocking productivity. You need to collaborate with your team. Professionals at work must keep a close watch on their team members to learn about any challenges or issues they may be having. For the task to be completed and the status of each team member to be tracked, communication is essential. Following up on tasks you assign to your employees helps them manage pressure and boost job productivity since problems like stress and pressure may tangle them and slow them down. Employee burnout is a result of micromanagement, which is not a good concept. It is best to let staff go free by following up casually.
- Know who to Handover Authorization and Control. Decentralized power relieves employers of job management. Make sure to provide your staff some authority when you delegate tasks to them using management apps such as Trello , Asana , Edworking , Slack , and the like. Employees become empowered and responsible for completing tasks as a result of the control transfer. Giving them too little authority can cause issues because they lose interest in their work while giving them too much control might overwhelm them and cause them to forget basic responsibilities. The key to the team's success is giving each member the authority they rightfully deserve while also soliciting input.
- After the project, assess the results. Ask yourself how you as the manager could support the success of your team members more effectively. Give constructive criticism and accept it in return.
The most vital phase in job completion is assigning tasks to team members. Due to the frequent mistakes made while delegating duties, it is imperative to use management tools when giving your team responsibilities. Project management solutions provide better work allocations by incorporating features like marketing automation. Employee development and time tracking are made easier by the task assignment guidelines, which also help keep workers interested.
Allocating Vs. Delegating Tasks
Now that you've learned about some tips to properly assign tasks, you may also have questions like, "what's the difference between allocating and delegating tasks?"
As stated by Abhinav in a published article on LinkedIn, "The imbalance of responsibility and accountability is the main difference between Delegation and Allocation." What does it mean? Delegation gives a real opportunity for your team to upskill, grow, and develop. Allocating tasks is merely assigning tasks without the goal of helping your team grow.
Although assigning tasks has its merits, delegating tasks offers significant advantages in terms of employee growth and engagement. Because delegation when done well delivers diversity and other intrinsic motivational incentives that make work so much more meaningful, it will be even more rewarding for the manager and team members.
Task Tips and Best Practices
In order to accomplish our objectives and SMART goals, we define a particular number of tasks that we must do each day. We frequently take on more than we can handle in the fight to remain at the top of our game and maintain our competitive edge.
Even while everything appears to be of the utmost importance, something is off in your struggle to finish everything while maintaining your composure. Some of us have a lengthy list of things we want to get done before a given age or period. Others devote so much effort to honing a particular skill that by the time it shines, it is no longer relevant.
Time management and balancing workload are not just skills of project managers or superiors. In reality, these abilities should be embraced at every level, particularly when working in a team. Research by Cornerstone found that when workers believe they don't have enough time in the day to do their jobs, work overload reduces productivity by 68%. What tips and best practices should you do so you don't only allocate tasks but delegate them effectively?
- Prioritize. Make a to-do list according to the order of priority. Even if to-do lists are classic, they are still more efficient and effective than ever. People used to keep handwritten notes for ideas and tasks back in the day. There are smart to-do lists apps and software that provide notifications and reminders prior to the task's due date.
- Maximize productivity and minimize procrastination. T o start, delegate the tasks to the right people. Don't do it tomorrow or the next day. Do it today. Having a lot to accomplish may be stressful, which is sometimes worse than the actual task. If you struggle with procrastination, it's possible that you haven't come up with a good task management strategy. You might express your lack of starting knowledge by procrastinating. It could not be laziness, but rather a matter of setting priorities.
- Be motivated. Procrastination and a lack of motivation are closely correlated. When you lack motivation, you tend to get distracted. If you want to meet milestones and deadlines, be motivated.
- Delegate and be involved. The reality of being overburdened can have a negative impact on productivity if it is not properly managed. At the end of the day, we're still just humans. When it comes to having patience, resilience, working under pressure, or finishing a task quickly, each one of us possesses a certain set of skills. So, delegate the right tasks to the right person in your team, and don't just stop there. Be involved. Leaving the stadium just because you're done delegating is a big no. Keep in touch with them and follow up on the progress of the tasks assigned.
Task Vs. Subtask
Tasks and subtasks are quite similar. The only difference is that a subtask should be completed as an element of completing a larger and more complex task.
For example, the task is to increase your company's social media presence. So, what should you do to accomplish those tasks? That's when you have subtasks such as creating optimized posts and content on various social media platforms, scheduling them, interacting with your audience in the comment section, etc.
The additional stages that make up a task are called subtasks. They are essential while working on large projects with a wide range of tasks. In some task management tools, You may create as many subtasks as you need in the task view, but you must first choose the parent task before you can create a subtask.
A significant aspect of a leader's duties is delegating assignments to team members effectively. The secret to a manager's team functioning like an efficient machine is wise delegation.
Because of delegation, you won't have to spend hours on work that someone else can complete more quickly. Trying to handle everything on your own can quickly wear you out, regardless of your knowledge or expertise. Effectively delegating tasks enables you to keep on top of your own work while assisting team members in acquiring new abilities and developing a sense of comfort with taking ownership of tasks.
Proper delegation of tasks also provides managers and team members with a learning opportunity since it enables everyone to build trust and become accustomed to exchanging comments and showing each other respect and appreciation.
Less is more when attempting to boost your team's output. Your team may become burned out if you try to increase their production too rapidly. In contrast, if you're too aggressive, your team can lose interest in their work and productivity might drop. Keep in mind that everyone will be more productive if they are part of the decision-making and execution process.
If you want to delegate tasks with ease and convenience, go for Edworking . This management tool lets you assign tasks and oversee your team's progress in a specific task. You can also conduct meetings to meet your team.`
Know that productivity greatly matters. With the right knowledge of assigning tasks to your team members, you can maximize productivity. Thus, achieving the goals and objectives of your organization.
How to give assignments to team members
Last updated on: March 1, 2023
The project has been divided into milestones, goals and objectives broken into tasks, and now it’s time to assign them. But as you open the project management platform, you’re faced with the unflattering process of wording the tasks, and choosing whom to assign them to.
Well, in this article, we offer advice on how to make that jumbled first moment a little clearer. There are actionable tips, learning the difference between allocating and delegating tasks, and suggested criteria on how to choose the best person for the job.
For a more precise overview, here’s a table of contents:
Table of Contents
How do you assign employees tasks?
We normally think that assigning tasks is a time-consuming process that focuses on clearing out task lists to keep the project going. However, task assignment should actually be a more employee-oriented process that requires additional dedication and effort, which yields incredible results. But what do we mean by that?
Properly assigned tasks push your employees, projects, and the overall company forward. Here’s how.
- They strengthen accountability and trust between managers and employees;
- They help teach new skills and perfect old ones;
- They allow employees to get familiar with other teams and avenues of work;
- It becomes easier to make project estimates;
- Makes for great bases for performance reviews, etc.
The list could go on, but we’ll stop there for now.
Of course, such long-term benefits don’t come without some proverbial blood and sweat in the planning stage. Let’s take a look at the general ideas on assigning employee tasks, and specific steps you can take.
Motivation comes from knowing the bigger picture
When we talk about the bigger picture in project management, we talk about each team member’s task affecting their peer’s down the line. Since all tasks are usually small pieces of the puzzle, it helps to remind employees how their work contributes. For example:
- A high-quality draft can make a great foundation for the final version, and it can be completed more quickly.
- A well-prepared presentation can shave time off unnecessary questions and additional email inquiries.
It comes as no surprise that people work better and are more productive, when they know that their work has an impact on the company level.
And so, when you assign tasks, try to emphasize how they fit in the bigger picture. Simply saying: “ You doing X will help with Y and Z ” and how it reflects on the project as a whole will let an employee know that the task they were assigned is important.
Get your employees excited to commit
Telling people about the bigger picture and showing them what’s possible can only get them so far. It’s enough to ignite the initial spark, but for them to fully commit to the task, you need to define what that task entails.
They should be able to picture how to go about the work, what skills to use, and how to reach the desired result. The clearer the instructions, the more motivated they will be to work.
Simply put, give directions on how the task should be done, and make sure they understand. You can’t read each other’s minds, so it’s important everyone is on the same page.
Ask for task transparency
One of the best practices a company can employ is transparency among coworkers.
This is achieved by having everyone input their tasks for the day in a timesheet. The purpose of timesheets is to get an accurate idea of what everyone is working on at any given time.
When people know who works on what tasks, it’s easier for them to know if a person is available or busy, how far along they are with a task, etc.
So, when you give assignments to employees, label them with deadlines. Alternatively, you can ask for employees’ assessments on how long the work would take them, and use those timeframes.
Source: Clockify team timesheet
Timesheets are a great way to keep an eye on tasks and the people doing them. You get to:
- see who struggles with what (helps assess people’s skill sets);
- who burns through their workload and is available for additional tasks;
- whether your time estimates need correction;
- identify any wasted time.
💡 If your employees are insecure about keeping public records of their tasks, here are a few resources that can help:
- How to create order in your daily work tasks
- How to be more efficient with your tasks
Keep a crystal clear timeframe
While we’re discussing timesheets and deadline transparency, it’s important to mention that the times you set for task completions need to be clear-cut.
As we’ve mentioned, the safest way to assign deadlines is to consult the employees. They are better at assessing how long it will take them due to the tasks’ difficulty, overall deadlines, the standards that need to be met, and the skill required to complete it.
When they get a say in how long they should be doing an assignment, people tend to feel more accountable for the whole process. They will do their best to finish in time, since they actively participated in setting the deadline.
Set very clear expectations
Assigning a task should always include your (the supervisor’s) expectations pointed out. For example:
- Does a logo pitch need as many drafts as possible, or just a few finished pieces?
If you ask a designer to make some drafts for a logo pitch, you must specify the kind of quality you’re looking for. Explain whether you are looking for some sketches and drafts for a brainstorming meeting, or if you want clean, presentable pieces to show.
Additionally:
- How many pieces should the designer do?
- Is there a specific color palette they need to follow?
- How important is the task? Is this the day they finally decide on a logo, or is it still in the brainstorming stage? (decides on the quality of the work itself)
Assigning the task using the above questions, you help the designer understand how much effort precisely they need to invest. They become more motivated with clear instructions, as they know what is expected of them. There’s no fear of having their work criticized for something that wasn’t communicated in the beginning. And on your end, it prevents breached deadlines or subpar results.
Avoid creating dependency by being less involved
It’s not unusual for employees to ask their supervisors for their opinion on a certain task, or their performance.
The problem arises when a supervisor makes themselves too involved with the process. When they feel like the project might fall apart if they don’t have their eyes on every moving part all of the time. And when you have, say, 20 people waiting for that person’s approval, advice, or consultation, the workflow runs into a gridlock.
And wait time is wasted time.
Plus, people lose motivation, patience, and grow frustrated, as they could be doing other things.
So, learn not to jump in every time people call for your aid. Assign reliable people who can address smaller issues, while you handle the big picture. Learn how to expend your own energy where it is needed more.
For example – making a pitch presentation for potential investors keeps getting put off because one person needs you to check a client email they want to send, another wants your signature on a form, and the third wants to ask something about employee feedback that’s coming up.
In order to not be stretched thin, and have your time wasted on menial tasks, here’s where you can start:
How to mitigate the risk of being over-involved when assigning
- Remember that you match tasks to people
Which means that, by matching the right people with the right tasks, your involvement will be minimal. Take time to carefully choose who gets to do what. What is the point of assigning tasks if they can’t be done without you?
- Have a 10-point scale to judge the importance of items
How important are certain aspects of your leadership role? Are you absolutely necessary in every meeting, or during every call? Which tasks need your approval, and which ones can be approved by someone under you?
Rank these items on a scale of 0 to 10, based on their importance to you and the project. Top priority tasks should get your undivided attention. And what can be delegated, should be.
- Analyze your schedule
Your energy and time are needed on a much broader scale. The best way to spot if you’re wasting time being too involved is to look at your schedule. Identify how much time you’ve spent on low-priority items, and assess which issues could’ve been solved without you.
- Take into account priorities and deadlines
Step in only when absolutely necessary. You are in charge of things getting done on time, by people most qualified for assigned tasks. Determine what your priorities are for each project, and concern yourself only with those issues, unless there is a risk of breaching a deadline.
- Formulate a list of dependable people
If you know your employees (or team members) well enough, then you should be able to single out those who are more dependable and ready to take on a little more responsibilities. Write out the reasons how they could help by getting involved on low-priority items instead of you. When the time comes, rally them and present them with the idea, keeping in mind that this solution helps push the project forward. When authority is delegated to several people, there’s fewer chances of a hold-up in the workflow.
This also falls into the realm of task delegation , which we’ll get into later.
How do you decide what tasks to assign to which employees?
1. assign based on priority.
Naturally, some tasks will be more important than others. When you break down a project into tasks , spend some time assessing their priority level.
High-priority tasks should be the first on your list to allocate. Whether it’s because they’re time-sensitive, or require more effort and dedication.
Low priority tasks can be allocated as fillers to the first available person.
2. Assign based on employee availability
Another factor to consider when assigning tasks is who is available at the moment.
As the project moves along, new tasks will be added. You will have to allocate new work, but odds are you won’t always be able to pick who you want. Especially if a deadline is approaching, the person with the smallest workload should be your first choice.
Overloading an already busy individual just because they’re more skilled or you have faith in them the most puts an unnecessary strain on them. It’s cause for frustration, poorer results, and decreased productivity.
And as we’ve mentioned, if you have a timesheet with an overview of all the tasks and employees working on them, it’ll be much easier to spot who is free and who isn’t.
3. Assign based on employee skill level
High-priority tasks should go to employees with more experience in a given field or skill. However, you should occasionally give such tasks to other employees as well, to help them grow and become just as dependable. Giving people challenging tasks that can boost their experience is essential to productivity and morale.
Not to mention you get to have multiple high-skilled employees.
Low-priority tasks can be assigned to anyone, despite their experience level. They’re a good opportunity to practice, pick up new skills, or get smaller tasks out of the way to make room for more important ones.
4. Assign based on preference
Last, but not the least, preference can also play a big part in how you assign tasks.
It’s a given that some employees will prefer certain tasks over others. So it could be good to assign tasks at a meeting with the team. As you discuss priorities, deadlines, and availability, ask them which tasks they would like to work on.
If someone shows interest in a specific type of work, they should (with some consideration), be allowed to take it. After all, people are more productive when they’re assigned to something they find new or exciting.
Note: Apply this rule with caution. Letting people do only the tasks they want can stunt their career growth. Getting out of our comfort zones and occasionally doing tasks that we don’t like is how we develop and learn. So, don’t forget to document assignments as you hand them out, to spot these potential issues early on.
Allocating vs delegating tasks
While semantically similar words, delegation and allocation in terms of tasks are two different things.
When you allocate tasks , you are assigning tasks without giving the employees much authority, challenge, or room to grow. It includes you keeping all of the responsibility – writing out the tasks, making deadlines, providing resources, tools, etc. These are usually recurring tasks that can become repetitive.
When you delegate tasks , you allow for some of that responsibility to fizzle out from your fingers. All you think about are the objectives, while letting the employees figure out the details and means to get there.
However, that doesn’t mean delegation is right and the allocation is wrong.
Task allocation has its own place. It is just as important, as a lot of tasks come down to repeated processes that are still vital to the project progress. Task delegation is just a good opportunity for employees to learn, challenge themselves, and assess their skills and performance.
When should you allocate tasks?
Management and BizDev consultant Artem Albul shared his concept on task assignment, which he dubbed an “algorithm”. He emphasized how these criteria are useful only and only when you wish that employees perform the tasks based on your guidelines and instructions (aka allocation).
Here is how Albul broke down the algorithm:
Source: Artem Albul, TWA Consulting
As we can see, task allocation, while the more “controlling” of the two, also gives in-depth instructions and asks for confirmation on task clarity. A lot of it comes down to everyone being on the same page, leaving little to no room for misinterpretation (but also creative freedom).
How should you allocate tasks?
With all that we’ve mentioned in the previous section, here’s how your task allotment could look like, step by step.
- Break down your project
Detail out the goals, objectives, and some individual tasks (not all, be careful not to start micromanaging). Place the most important deadlines.
- Prioritize tasks and sort them
It’s important to know what tasks need to be done faster/better, to properly allocate your resources and manpower from the start.
- Make a list of teams and team members
Assign team leaders (if you don’t have them), and alternatively, ask for their input on individual employees skills, for a more informed decision on who gets what.
- Schedule a meeting
Make a meeting with the team leads and go through the points above. Assign tasks according to each team’s availability, interest, and skill required to successfully push the project forward.
- As team leads – assign tasks further down the pipeline
- Track task completion and make necessary changes along the way
Whether it’s pushing deadlines, reassigning tasks, or shifting around resources. This is perfectly fine and expected, so long as it doesn’t happen on every task you’ve assigned. Then, it is an indicator of poor pre-planning.
- Offer feedback and write performances
Don’t forget to track the progress and make notes of important details that might help the next task allocation/delegation process. It’s also a useful piece of information for the employees on what they need to improve on.
Allocating tasks is somewhat more complicated than we want it to be. But, this kind of thorough research and preparation will make projects run more smoothly. Employees will also be more satisfied with their work, and there will be less hurdles as deadlines approach.
When should you delegate tasks?
Delegation is a great practice in trust for both the employer/supervisor and the employee. The employer learns how to give away some of their control over the process, while the employee learns how to take more accountability for their work.
This lets you focus on big-picture aspects of your job, since you deal less with assignments that are low-priority for you. You save time and energy, while helping others move up in their careers.
How do you effectively delegate tasks as a leader?
As we’ve mentioned, delegating includes more employee independence. There are some additional components which make this type of task assignment more appealing than allocation, with great opportunities for growth.
Focus on delegating objectives instead of actual tasks
When you delegate, you focus on the objective that needs to be done. You shouldn’t give employees a “color by numbers” instruction on how to complete a task.
Communicate clearly what the end result should be and what expectations you (or the higher-ups) have. Leave the means for reaching that end goal to the employees themselves. Because how you solve a task may be completely different to how they will. And that is perfectly fine, so long as the result is the one you are looking for.
Keep the objectives challenging
When the objectives you’re delegating are too easy, chances are the person will either procrastinate, or feel like you don’t trust them enough. And if they’re too difficult, they get frustrated, anxious, and begin to panic.
It’s a good idea to be aware of an employee’s skill level, so you can gauge how much challenge and responsibility they can take on. For them to be the most productive and achieve great results, they need to enter “the state of Flow”.
Source: Optimal Experience , M. Csikszentmihalyi
💡 We’ve discussed the state of Flow in more detail in an article on time organization.
Encourage discussion and feedback
Let employees voice their opinions on the topic.
They should ask anything about the task, the goals, or the overall impact their work will have on the later stages or others’ workflow. It means they are interested in the task, and getting involved.
And if they aren’t asking questions themselves, you can always nudge them into proactivity.
- Is there something you’d like me to clarify?
- Do you already have any ideas on how to go about the task?
- Is the time we agreed upon enough for you?
- Will you need other resources, tools, or support?
- Do you see any problems or risks?
Questions like these help them feel valued, their efforts acknowledged, and let them know you care about the task and how well they perform. Just be careful not to overdo it, or you’ll start to look like a micromanager.
Give employees free rein, but offer support
Speaking of micromanaging, delegation means you let people problem-solve their way out on their own. There should be no reason for a manager to step in and control or supervise any step of the process, unless absolutely necessary.
However, what you should do is let them know you’re available for any advice should they feel stuck. Just because employees get authority on a certain task, and are left to their own devices, doesn’t mean the project has to suffer until they pull themselves up.
From time to time, ask them if they need anything from you, and make sure they know you’re there for any kind of support, consultation, or mediation. ANother good practice is to also give them additional learning opportunities – such as training, conferences, courses, etc.
Delegate objectives that move people forward
Choose assignments that boost the skills and employ all of their experiences, instead of something that simply needs to be done. For example:
- Tasks that require they brush up on their team communication skills;
- Learning how to allocate smaller tasks;
- Supervising others’ work and doing quality control;
- Learning to work with a new tool;
- Holding a meeting (or more), etc.
Find out which skills your employees may want or need to develop, and then plan your delegations accordingly. You want them to complete the task while having learned something new at the same time.
How to choose who to delegate to
Paul Beesley, senior director and consultant at Beyond Theory proposed a nifty checklist for when you’re choosing an employee to delegate to. It’s meant to simplify and speed up the process.
To successfully complete the delegated task, your chosen employee needs:
S – the skill to perform and complete a task
T – the time to complete the task, and if needed, learn the required skill
A – the authority to handle everything concerning the task
R – the necessary level of responsibility
R – the recognition for successfully completing the task
This list is a set of important criteria that should be covered when you consider who to assign to a specific task. However, depending on your niche, type of service, company size and the project at hand, the criteria are likely to change. And it should accommodate your needs, not the other way around.
Common task delegation mistakes to avoid
With all being said, there are some common mistakes managers and employers make, sometimes without even realizing it.
- Being too vague concerning deadlines (using: as soon as possible, when you get to it, I need it by yesterday). It creates unnecessary pressure.
- Being unavailable for questions and concerns. While you shouldn’t micromanage, you should still be present for support if an employee feels stuck. Ignoring them or handing them over to someone else could cause distrust. However, if you are usually swamped with work, set consultation hours each day or week.
- Having unclear directions. Specifying the allotted time for task completion and expectations should be the bare minimum when delegating tasks.
- Not providing feedback. No feedback is worse than bad feedback. Employees need to be aware when they’re doing good work, as well. In one company I worked for, the mantra was: “If no one is complaining about your work, that means you’re doing good”. And while it sounds like sound logic, it actually caused a lot of frustration. We were left directionless, and simply “floating” from task to task, never knowing if any of them had a positive impact on our performance.
- Not listening to employees. Take into account how they feel about a task or the objective. Let them give you feedback and if there are potential problems from the get-go.
- Assigning other people to the same task. If you notice a person struggling, the first instinct should be to ask them how they’re faring, and if they need any help. Some managers tend to assign other employees to help them without consultation, which leaves a sore taste. The employee will feel even more incompetent and will be less likely to take on a similar task in the future.
- Assuming people will know what you mean. This is one of the biggest problems. When you’re formulating a task, be as clear as possible about the goals and expectations. Oftentimes managers think that these things are implied, but the truth is – no one is a mind reader. To avoid having information misconstrued or misunderstood, communicate clearly and directly.
There could be more mistakes, especially for every different field and industry. If at all possible, identify the most common ones, made either by you or your peers. Note down all the instances where certain tasks weren’t up to par, and see what you could have changed in your assignment process to fix it. Maybe there wasn’t enough time or resources, you were unclear, or the employee wasn’t ready for such responsibility. Use the same procedure in all future task delegations. It’s the only way to learn and make the process quicker.
To conclude
Task assignment should be a very careful, thought-out process. It’s not just about reaching milestones in time. It’s about helping employees learn new skills, feel more satisfied with their position in the company, strengthen the trust between you and them, and ultimately help you refocus on the big picture.
By following the advice we’ve gathered, you will be on the right track to make some effective, healthy long-term changes to your company.
✉️ Have you found these tips helpful? Is there something we could have covered in more detail? What are your experiences with assigning tasks?
Send your answers, suggestions, and comments to [email protected] and we may include them in this or future posts.
Marijana Stojanovic is a writer and researcher who specializes in the topics of productivity and time management.
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Delegate to Develop: Effective Ways of Assigning Tasks to Improve Employee Performance
Table of Contents
Guideline for Assigning Tasks to Team Members
Assignment of tasks is part of daily office life for meeting organizational goals. When the project manager delegates work to the task receiver, the receiver reacts to the delegated task.
Assigning tasks can differ from person to person concerning different offices. For this reason, it is necessary to look into guidelines when assigning tasks to team members for effective delegation.
Assigning tasks is one of the processes of major importance in an organization. When the members fail to assign tasks legitimately, you cannot expect good results from the delegated task.
Assigning tasks requires understanding, direction, focus, and answerability to doubts within a certain time with a step-by-step guide.
The biggest secret lies in the task assigner and task receiver’s understanding of the delegated task.
Why is Assigning Tasks to Team Members Important?
Every team is strong when members work together with trust and team spirit. The different types of tasks need division and distribution and knowledge of the capacity of each team member .
Here are some reasons why task assignment is important for assigning tasks to team members:
1. Improvement in Project Efficiency
Tedious tasks are divided among different team members, then the overall efficiency of the team increases.
Without task distribution, the project is unmanaged and vague without effective delegation.
2. Improvement in Project Productivity
When the correct tasks are assigned to team members, each project sector is looked after as responsibilities are divided.
This situation aids in enhancing productivity from every member’s side to complete the task with time management.
3. Highly Developed Morale
Assigning duties to each individual makes them happy, accepts responsibility, and works confidently to reach better goals for delegating effectively.
Project management software with a project management tool helps the project manager assign tasks to team members.
4. Habit of Consideration
The Duties assignment teaches the whole team to consider different situations while completing a project.
Each member earns to support the other, building a stronger team for better outputs and delegating effectively.
Some Guidelines to Assign Tasks To Team Members
A team lead cannot assign tasks to team members without proper planning and experience and the habit of providing feedback .
Task assigners need a good experience of previous task assignments, and the new members can showcase their ability in different types of tasks.
Another major concern is the impact of employee engagement , for which task holders need interest and passion to continue the work assigned. Some guidelines for assigning tasks to team members are:
1. Assign Tasks Positively
Assigning tasks to employees requires positivity and when you ask them to do a certain task, provide them with details.
A positive attitude will help them know that it is possible to conduct the task in the way the leader wants them to.
If you assign common tasks negatively or doubt their capability, employees will feel demotivated to begin their task.
A hint of positivity will brighten their day and make them complete assigned tasks with full confidence.
2. Be Clear of Goals and Objectives
Before assigning any duties to employees, the assigner needs to know the work’s goals and objectives to know how employees perform. Task givers need to understand what they want and expect from the work process.
When goals and objectives are unset, the task giver is confused due to lack of vision and cannot command the task completers to do a role in a certain way. The task providers need to set clear ways and methods with proper delegation strategies.
3. Right Task to Right Employee
Allotting the right task to the right employee is the key to productivity and needs a step-by-step guide.
But before dividing and designating the work for employees, the role provider needs to know the type of each employee.
The leader should build a delegation strategy including the different capacities of different employees and give duties that fit the employees perfectly .
When a task demands an exceptional employee and a lack of talent, the leaders themselves should conduct the task without a workforce or emergency.
4. Get Ideas and Hold Meetings
Before giving away responsibilities to team members, a discussion with all members is essential.
The team lead can ask each employee to express their assigned duties and get ideas via unlimited access to team meetings.
After attending the meeting with employees, you can get a vivid idea of who is responsible for what and how deliberately they can finish the task.
Getting ideas from employees assures the lead of the task completion from every team member’s side.
5. Communicate Efficiently
There are situations in which employees may let go of duties given. The reasons may include lack of employee engagement , absenteeism, and presenteeism.
When assigning tasks, you should figure out how to deal with lazy employees. Project management tools allow proper communication between team members.
Communication is a great way to improve employee engagement and advise lazy employees to know how employees perform.
If you wish to change plans in the middle of a project process, you can re-explain the team members. Communication also decreases the chance of conflict in an organization.
6. Mark Deadline with Timeline
The best way to finish a work in a team is by properly planning the entire resources like cost, time, and workforce.
When you make a timeline and ask others to conduct work, you can give them deadlines—management software helps track employees’ time.
When each employee finishes the task at the right time, the project takes off smoothly. Assigning tasks with deadlines to follow a timeline is a very good organizational practice that helps in reducing organizational risks.
7. Track Progress and Ask Feedbacks
After task distribution, you cannot just throw tasks away and let the employees handle everything else.
Proper task assigning also includes getting feedback from employees during work processes and tracking their progress.
Tracking productivity with different tools is an easy process. Productive employees yield better results and complete tasks on time.
So it is essential to stay in touch with employees’ progress and know their situation while working.
8. Train and Supervise
Completing a project requires the fusion of different delegation skills and a high level of dedication from team members with proper planning and implementation.
For producing a skilled workforce, there is a necessity to train the team members and meet the team daily.
The training includes unlimited access to skill-enhancing resources like courses from Udemy or Coursera.
After the training phase, the work conduction requires supervision from the expert to check up on the application of skills learned via the project management tool.
Training and supervision are equally important before and during the task assignment and completion among multiple people.
9. Follow up to Stay Connected
It is essential for work professionals to follow up on their team members to get notified of the obstacles and problems faced by the group workers.
It is important to stay connected with each member to check on work progress and complete the task.
Issues like stress and pressure can tangle the employees and slow them down, so following up on common tasks helps them cope with pressure and increase work productivity.
Micromanagement is not a good idea as it leads to employee burnout. It is better to set employees free by casual follow-ups.
10. Authority and Control Handover
Decentralization of authority relieves an employer for managing tasks. When you assign duties, make sure you allocate a certain amount of power to the employees via management apps.
The control handover makes employees empowered and responsible for finishing tasks.
Providing very little power can result in problems as employees lose interest in the work while giving too much power can overpower employees, making them forget basic duties.
The strength lies in giving enough power to each member that only deserves it and providing feedback.
11. Respect and Support
Every employee in an organization deserves equal respect and support. Each role has its significance, and without equal respect from the employer’s side, it is impossible to reflect the same behavior from the employee’s side.
Respect is mutual, and when working, it is important to let go of judgments and unnecessary assumptions about each other.
Acceptance is a way to help each other during any technical, moral, emotional, or skill-related difficulties.
Supporting and working along in a team is a great idea for completing a task. The task assigner is responsible for setting such a culture, keeping in mind the importance of time management.
12. Learn from Last Project
Before planning for the upcoming project, it is essential to reflect upon the past projects and learn from the delegation’s mistakes.
Leading other team members requires experience and, more than that demands the idea of accepting mistakes and learning from them while assigning responsibility.
When you assign new team members, use the same strategies and ideas you did in the previous project.
If there were errors in the previous try, assign tasks to correct the previous ones and accept the changes as a stepping stone for success.
13. Evaluate Project Post-Assigning
After all, employees are done with their tasks, and it is time for you to evaluate the quality of work and check if all the criteria are fulfilled. Sometimes some tasks are incomplete, and some are full of bugs.
You will have to re-assign the same tasks to members due to lack of perfection and inefficiency to deliver proper output by tracking time.
It is better to analyze the task output and ask the responsible person to fill gaps in the work provided.
14. Brain-map to Assign Tasks Again
All projects have different tasks and require different approaches to reach goals. Task assigners must detect which approach is better for a certain project, i.e., which methodology to follow, like the agile model or the waterfall project method .
The research for the new project includes ideas for task division and finding the best employees.
The leader needs to brainstorm accordingly so that the newer ideas are included. The foremost task of assigning tasks to others runs smoothly for the overall conduction of the project in a directed and glorious way.
Some More Guidelines for Task Assignment
Team members require extra care and a lot of patience to understand the objective of common tasks and delegation strategy.
When conflict arises, it is upon the person to solve the matter. Soft skills with proper guidelines help assign employee tasks and remedy conflict resolution.
Some other guidelines for assigning tasks to team members are mentioned below:
15. Focus and Direction
After tedious tasks are provided to every team member, it is important to know where each member is heading with their duties.
In the first place, the task giver should have clear ideas of responsibilities and follow directions.
Secondly, it is upon the task to stay focused and move in the correct direction of task competition.
The team leader’s responsibility is to guide the employees in the correct direction so they don’t lose focus and get distracted by unnecessary things during office time.
16. Avoid Stressing and Pressure
When you distribute tasks, ensure you don’t stress employees without beginning the task. Complications during task completion are common, but a good leader does not pressure the employees for task assignments.
You must understand the situation of employees and take steps accordingly. Working under stress and pressure may decrease workers’ productivity as they cannot deal with such complications . This situation hampers the employee’s well-being and wellness.
17. Be Answerable to Doubts
Questions can arise anytime regarding the task completion, and it is upon the task provider to clear doubts and queries of the seekers.
When you fail to deliver the correct answer or provide what the employees are seeking, that may harm the process of task completion.
As team managers, it is upon you to remove the veil of doubts from their minds in the bigger picture, so they conduct the work with dedication and enthusiasm .
It is bad to leave employees confused as a confused state is a dormant state that hampers the speed of work completion and demotivates multiple people.
18. Honest Feedbacks to Employees
Speaking softly and not hurting others is a good virtue, but there are times when you have to act abruptly and state the employees’ mistakes.
It is essential to give honest feedback to employees who need to work on their mistakes.
If you don’t give them honest feedback before assigning tasks, there is no hope for completion. Honest feedback helps employees rise in their respective works and provides a great chance for improvement in their careers.
19. Do Not Assign Same Task to Different People
Assigning the same task to different people is a waste of time and resources unless you want to compare the results of two task receivers.
It is better to plan the task division than mess up assigning tasks to team members at the last moment.
Healthy competition between the team members is a good idea but make sure you don’t hurt the feelings of any of them.
Working and learning are part of every employee’s journey, and it is important to keep them interested in any task.
20. Listen to Your Employees
When you assign tasks, it is equally necessary for you to listen to your employees. Some employees may not be sure about a certain task and can ask you to switch tasks with other members.
So it is needed for the team leader to understand each member and listen to them from the beginning of a task to the end of a work assignment.
Assigning tasks to team members is the most important step for task completion. Delegation mistakes are common while managing tasks, and so it is important to take help from management apps while assigning responsibility to employees.
Marketing automation and other features are provided by project management tools that help in better task assignments.
The guideline for task assignment helps in employee development and setting aside time tracked; employees remain engaged.
Samir Luintel
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Aug 12, 2019
People Management Basics: How to Assign Tasks to Your Subordinates
Why a manager should know how to assign tasks to subordinates, can competent task assignment skills help grow a unicorn.
Perhaps every startup founder wants to grow a unicorn. But how to do that? What to focus on? Should founders and managers focus on basic people management skills, for example, on competent assignment of tasks?
Seems like these days founders and top managers are focused mostly on opportunities that arise from innovative technologies, such as: digitalization, artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, IoT, augmented reality, and so on.
Will it help their startups to become unicorns?
No doubts, new technologies bring a lot of business opportunities, competitive advantages and dramatically change our lives.
What do world-class management scientists say?
However, the research of Sloan School of Management, Stanford University and Harvard Business School professors (published in the September–October 2017 issue (pp.120–127) of Harvard Business Review) shows: « it doesn’t matter how brilliant its strategy is, if a firm can’t get the operational basics right ».
« it doesn’t matter how brilliant its strategy is, if a firm can’t get the operational basics right »
They studied 12,000 firms in 34 countries and discovered that good operational management correlates with strong performance , as follows :
- +25% faster annual growth
- +75% productivity
They also have discovered, that:
- Only 6% of firms have exceptionally good management
- Management quality is significantly higher in organizations where the CEO is more dedicated to employees, than to external stakeholders
- Achieving operational excellence is still a massive challenge for many organizations
- Competent management is not easy to replicate. Mainly due to resistance to organizational change
My experience working with managers in more than 20 countries
It’s hard to measure exact percentage of managers who assign tasks improperly. Because each manager may assign dozens of tasks every day. Some may be assigned correctly, some may not. It is difficult to collect consolidated statistics for a region or country.
However, according to my experience, the number of incorrectly assigned tasks is much greater. And the percentage of managers who do not know how (or do not want to spend time) to assign tasks to subordinates correctly also significantly exceeds the percentage of those who do this properly. In terms of figures, I witnessed how incorrectly assigned tasks led up to 6-digit losses for business.
That is why I am convinced this topic worth attention of managers of any level and experience.
Main Misbelief Among Managers’ When They Assign Tasks to Subordinates
Some managers stay under the misbelief that subordinates must follow their instructions. Just because: “I am your manager, so you must do what I said.”
I think this delusion exists because some managers do not want to take into account the simple fact that people are not robots. People tend to have free will and their own opinion, based on their experience. Thus, they are not willing to blindly follow instructions with no idea what they are doing and why. They may not admit this to their manager directly, but may quietly sabotage her/his tasks. Thereby, you as a manager and leader must sell your idea to subordinates, persuade them to follow you and your instructions, explain why and what you expect them to do, giving employees a certain freedom of creativity in choosing the way to accomplish an assigned task.
Assign or Delegate?
On various online learning platforms and in popular business media you may encounter some articles on management where “to assign” and “to delegate” are being used as interchangeable synonyms. Whereas these concepts are not indeed identical.
The main differences between “to assign” and “to delegate” concepts in management
Thereby, delegation is a broader concept, which includes:
- Granting of authority and resources
- Creating responsibility
- Assignment of tasks and duties
Thus, delegation is the distribution of authority (responsibility comes from authority) and resources to your subordinates, while they accept accountability to you for their performance.
Basic Algorithm of Assigning Tasks to Subordinates
If you would like your subordinates to accomplish your tasks in strict accordance with your instructions, you must assign the tasks by following these 5 stages.
Basic algorithm of assigning tasks to subordinates
¹ In this article, obviously, I can share only general recommendations. If you are looking for exact step-by-step action plan relevant to your unique situation, I would advise you to engage a personal mentor or coach . Thus, you will get recommendations that suit your particular case.
Key Skills for Successful Implementation of the Algorithm in Managers’ Daily Work
As you can see at 3 stages out of 5 a manager should ask the right questions and listen to the answers . However, according to my experience, some managers are confident that: “Listening is what a subordinate should do. And a manager should give instructions and orders.” This is a widespread errancy. In reality, active listening skills and ability to ask the right questions are among the most important competencies of a manager. It may take years to develop these vital skills if a manager will decide to learn the hard way. Still, there is an easier and shorter way, but it will require investment in training under the guidance of a mentor or a coach.
Important Recommendations Regarding Assigning Tasks to Subordinates
The algorithm above is a necessary base. However, in addition to this base, there are several important recommendations that may significantly affect the success of a task. So, I would recommend every manager to take the following into account when assigning a task to a subordinate:
- Availability of resources (money, time, people, technology and information) to complete the task. If the resources belong to another employee or manager in the company, then you need to coordinate with him the transfer of the required amount of these resources to the task performer.
- To discuss a problem is much better than to give an order . Modern competent leaders never order. Because it’s not effective. The main problem with orders is that an employee does not know why and who needs the result of his work. It demotivates. In addition, orders do not allow the employee to analyze the situation, show initiative and take responsibility. Therefore, the employee will not be focused on the result. Moreover, if something goes wrong, the employee will not try harder and will not take the initiative to remedy the situation. In the end, the employee does not develop, so does not the company. Thus, the manager with his own hands (orders) destroys motivation of subordinates, blocks professional growth of employees and suppresses company development.
- Leave plenty of space for initiative . Safeguard the opportunity for employees to find their own creative approach to achieve the task goal. Encourage initiative. Never ever go in for micromanagement .
“Never ever go in for micromanagement”
4. Ask employee open-ended questions . While discussing a problem or a task objective with your subordinate do not give ready-made solutions. Instead ask open-ended questions, for example:
a. How do you plan to solve the problem (achieve the objective)?
b. What approaches, in your opinion, can be applied to solve the issue (fulfil the task)?
c. Which approach do you prefer?
d. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?
e. Which potential risks may arise?
f. What help do you need from me or other colleagues?
This is a great way to raise your authority among subordinates, because thereby you demonstrate trust, allowing your team to analyze the problem, as well as to assess risks and choose their own action plan to solve the issue or to achieve the objective. Moreover, in this way you as a manager develop your own coaching skills.
By the way, in some cases, when the cost of a mistake does not exceed a value of a lesson learned, you can consciously allow an employee to make the mistake. Sometimes these lessons are the most effective way to teach and learn. And sometimes it is cheaper than conducting a master class with an external coach.
A manager who allows his subordinates to learn by making mistakes in a controlled environment is a priceless diamond. If you are lucky enough to work alongside a manager like this, her/his lessons will become, perhaps, the most outstanding experience in your professional career. Do not miss the opportunity to become such a leader for your own team .
“A manager who allows his subordinates to learn by making mistakes in a controlled environment is a priceless diamond. Do not miss the opportunity to become such a leader for your own team”
5. Performance control . Inform the employee how you will control the execution of the task. Will there be an intermediate control? What report form you need? If in written, in which format?
6. Be positive and polite with subordinates. Negative or arrogant tone of speech, increase in voice or shouting, insults and threats when assigning tasks to employees are all signs of manager’s incompetence. Tasks that were assigned in such a way will not be performed well, and the team will not be highly productive. If you notice such destructive behavior in yourself, then you need to develop your self-control and people management skills. It’s too early for you to manage a team.
7. Provide feedback . Do not forget to thank your subordinate or team, if the work is done really good. Recognition of merit (even with the ordinary “thank you”) is important for strengthening your authority and influence as a leader. In case your team or subordinate failed, provide constructive feedback. Find out an 8-point checklist for a manager on how to deal with employee mistakes in my article “ People Management Basics: How to Deal with Employees’ Mistakes .”
Common Mistakes in Assigning Tasks to Subordinates
If you do not follow the algorithm and important recommendations when you assign a task to an employee, then there are very small odds that your task will be done according to your expectations. Each of the common mistakes comes from breaking the algorithm or recommendations described above.
Here are the most common mistakes that I have encountered consulting managers:
- Using orders and instructions instead of asking questions and listening to answers
- Asking closed-end questions
- Assumption that subordinates should guess what you mean
- Ignoring SMART criteria
- Assigning a task completely ignoring one or more stages from the algorithm above
- Replacing specific deadlines with indistinct terms, for example: “quickly,” “urgently,” “when you have time,” “need to be done yesterday”, etc.
- Providing no examples and clarifications
- Not discussing alternatives
- Not answering employee’s clarifying questions. As well as providing formal or aggressive answers, for example: “Because I said so!”
- Ignoring well done work
- Asking another person to fulfil the same task
Modern Mass Propaganda of Managerial Incompetence
A very good example of how managers should not assign tasks to their subordinates you may find in the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006).
In this movie you can find 10 out of 11 common mistakes I mentioned above. And the consequences of assigning tasks in such a way are very much softened in the movie. In real life, you would not be able to complete a single task assigned to you in such a way.
Unfortunately, there are too many bosses who assign tasks in a way depicted in “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006).
In my opinion, this movie is a good example of modern mass propaganda of managerial incompetence (you may read more about this problem in my article “ Why Develop Your Managerial Competence, When You Can Just Throw a Chair in Subordinate’s Head? ”).
Sadly, our society underestimates the power and menace from such managerial incompetence propaganda. As a result, we may admit an increase in the number of managers who do not know how to assign tasks to subordinates competently. Or even worse: some managers know it, but nevertheless are convinced that this knowledge is useless.
Conclusions
I strongly believe that despite of all the difficulties the number of competent managers will grow thanks to the hard work of many management scientists and practitioners around the world. Therefore, in particular, more tasks will be assigned competently. And this, in turn, will lead to:
- more satisfaction from work
- healthier environment in your team or company
- growth in the quality of work
- increase in labor productivity
- decrease of losses from managerial incompetence
To my mind, all these positive changes will result in noticeably enhanced advantages and key business indicators of every company.
Besides, according to the research of leading business schools and universities I mentioned above, leaders who have focused on strengthening their managerial competencies (i.e., assigning tasks to subordinates, building a competent salary policy , dealing with employees’ mistakes ) increase chances for their companies to get +75% productivity and +25% faster annual growth.
About the author:
- achieved outstanding results with more than 13 products and services in 7 industries ;
- conducted international business development in India, China and over 20 EEMEA countries ;
- managed products of more than 30 world’s leading brands : Google Chromecast, ZTE, NVidia, AMD, Samsung, Kodak, PocketBook, Sapphire, BlackBerry, Casio, ASUS, Gainward, Palit, Leadtek, PNY, TP-Link, Netgear, Tenda and others.
Discover more on LinkedIn or on TWA Consulting .
The article originally published on TWA Consulting blog on July 30, 2019.
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Home > Assigning Tasks: How to Delegate Effectively
Assigning Tasks: How to Delegate Effectively
Catherine Heath
- December 21, 2022
In a Nutshell
Table of contents.
There are some customer service superheroes out there who seem to be able to complete all the tasks themselves. But the reality is that most of us need to learn the skill of assigning tasks to others, especially if we are in positions of responsibility in busy customer service teams. This is to ensure that no single person is burdened with the workload, or high-performers are being unfairly assigned a larger proportion of the work available.
Assigning tasks is essential for high-performing customer service teams that must juggle multiple priorities.
Anyone who has any experience working in a customer service team understands task assignments, which helps you to get projects completed, customer queries solved and objectives fulfilled. It’s naturally much quicker and more efficient to have multiple employees working on different tasks that make up a project, utilizing their unique skills and experiences to come up with creative solutions.
See for yourself
Without assigned tasks, projects would never get completed because teams are not working to their full capacity. Some customer problems could never be resolved because they require the contributions of different customer service representatives . Assigning tasks needs to be deliberate since it requires the coordination of multiple members of a team.
What is task assigning?
Task assigning means allocating and delegating tasks to members of your team for effective project management. The task assigner is aware of the various strengths and weaknesses, skills and experience of individuals and can assign them tasks in pursuit of greater productivity.
You need to be able to break down projects into component parts so that each individual may contribute to the greater whole. Usually, you will use task tracking or project management tools that can help your team manage their assigned task, and can even offer customer service automations that make assigning tasks easier.
When assigning tasks is implemented effectively, each team member knows who is responsible for what and when tasks are due. This helps prevent conflicting priorities. Each task must come full circle, with each assignee receiving constructive feedback on how well they have completed the task.
Even if you assign a task to another team member, they are still reporting into the task owner for approval.
The importance of efficient task assignments
Efficient task assignment means that customer service teams can work to their full productivity, since each team member understands what they are responsible for. Your task description can break each task down so service reps fully understand the steps they need to take to complete the task, and have access to the resources they might need to be successful. Employees perform better when they are trusted with tasks that help them stretch and grow.
The entire purpose of a team is to enable different employees to work together effectively and create outcomes that are greater than the individual contributions. Customer service teams that have a plurality of perspectives from multiple people are more creative. A diversity of perspectives contributes to more creative solutions as people with different backgrounds collaborate together.
Projects are completed much more quickly when you have multiple team members handling all your employee tasks, instead of one person trying to do everything on their own. Task assignment means team members who have both the time and experience necessary to complete the task can all have a role to play.
Effectively assigning tasks to individual team members gives them a chance to stretch themselves and engage in more professional development. New tasks give more junior customer service reps the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone, and complete different types of work that may otherwise not come across their path.
There are many benefits to task assignment, not least because it allows the entire team to share the workload.
The difference between assignment and delegation
While they might at first glance seem to be similar, there is a big difference between task assignment and delegation. Assignment means you assign tasks to a team member and explain exactly how you want things to be done, with clear-cut instructions. Delegation means you are transferring responsibility for the task to your assignee and giving them more autonomy for how that task gets completed.
Assigning tasks is often repetitive but it nevertheless contributes to the overall completion of the project. A delegated task is more free and gives your team members the opportunity to grow as they figure out how to produce the desired results. Task delegations are based more on outcomes than specific instructions, with the employee figuring out how to complete the task on their own.
Although task delegation is more autonomous, it nevertheless still requires support from the manager to ensure that the employee has adequate direction. Delegating a task doesn’t mean the manager no longer has anything to do with it, but simply that they are trusting their assignee to take ownership.
Choosing whether or not to assign or delegate a task means understanding the complexity of the task to be assigned.
How to assign tasks to team members
Try to remove yourself from the approval process.
When a supervisor assigns tasks to employees, they themselves can become a bottleneck as service reps turn to them for approval during every stage of completing the task. When multiple team members are waiting for sign-off from the same customer service manager, you find that you haven’t actually reduced your workload and you end up micromanaging your assignees.
When managers are too involved, projects lose momentum as the individual contributors end up waiting around for approval when they could be spending their time on more productive tasks. Customers are kept waiting as individual queries can’t progress without the authority of a manager.
In order to avoid this problem, you can select a group of dependable people who are responsible for the approval process. Delegating responsibility means that you can be more hands-off in the task completion process, while being assured that the work is being completed to a high standard. Schedule regular team meetings to go over the progress of each task and keep your eye on the ball.
Effective teamwork only happens when customer service supervisors feel secure enough to let the task go.
Make your expectations explicit
Unfortunately, we can all fall into the trap of assuming that other people are mind-readers. In reality though, if you don’t give clear instructions to your team members then you’re unlikely to get the result you want. You need to look at your task titles and outlines from the perspective of an outsider in order to formulate clear instructions.
If you want to better formulate tasks for your team members, break the task down into steps and give time estimates for each step. The more information the better, if you want to empower employees to complete tasks on their own. When employees are informed, they don’t have to waste time referring back to you for more clarity.
There’s a fine line between clarity and micromanaging. Once you have assigned the task, don’t keep pestering your service rep to check whether they are doing it right. If you’ve given clear instructions, they should be able to complete the task to the best of their ability.
At the same time, ensure that your employee knows they can always turn to you for help during the task, to guard against failure.
Set an objective time frame for completion
When employees are assigned tasks, they need to be made aware of the deadline for completion or the task could run on forever. It’s not enough to vaguely say “As soon as you get to it” because some critical customer issue is bound to come along.
It’s best to actively involve your customer service reps in their time frame for completion, since they are the ones who know best how long it will take them to finish certain tasks. When employees are involved in setting their own deadlines, they are more accountable and more likely to make an effort to meet it.
If an employee is aware of a deadline, they can let you know if competing priorities have materialized and whether the deadline may need to be reevaluated. It’s best to flag these issues as soon as possible, before they affect the overall progress of the project.
Without hard deadlines, projects will never get finished as every step gets continually put off until tomorrow.
Hold your employees accountable
When assigning tasks to employees, make sure that they can account for their working hours somewhere that is publicly accessible to the team. You can use time tracking software that will help other team members understand exactly how someone is progressing with their task and hold that individual accountable.
If employees are held responsible for their tasks, the project is much less likely to get derailed since you as the customer service manager can become aware if someone is falling behind. If your employee’s current progress looks like they might not meet their deadline, then you can ask them if they need extra help or support.
Tracking your team’s performance can also help you identify the high-performers and who might be available for extra work. You might also see when team members are spending time on unnecessary tasks that don’t contribute to the progress of the project. Teams will be more efficient when they know exactly where time is being spent.
If you don’t track your team’s hours, you won’t have visibility into your projects and their rate of completion.
Assign tasks to the right person
There are several reasons why you might choose a particular person to assign a task to, starting with their relevant skills and experience. When assigning tasks to someone, you want to know that they have the right capabilities to complete the task without too much support from the manager.
Secondly, you want to know that the person you assign the task to has enough time to complete the task. It’s no good assigning tasks to someone who is already overburdened with customer tickets and won’t be able to give your task the due care and attention.
Thirdly, you might consider assigning tasks to someone who is in need of development opportunities. Perhaps there might be someone more skilled for the task out there, but you want to give this service rep a chance to learn new skills. In this case, you can assign the task while offering extra support for their professional development.
Multiple factors come into play when it comes to deciding which person to assign a task to, so make sure you give each one enough consideration.
Relate each task to a wider perspective
When an employee is assigned a task, it might seem insignificant and menial which will cause them to lose motivation. In order to keep employees excited about completing tasks, relate it to the wider perspective and explain how it helps to meet overall objectives. No task is too small or you wouldn’t be including it in your project in the first place.
Showing employees how their work has an impact influences them to become more committed to the task. Employees are more engaged and happier at work when they understand how their contribution has a place, and that they are improving the lives of others in their team or of their customers.
If you can’t see how each task fits into the bigger picture, then perhaps it shouldn’t be included at all. Every task should advance your goals and contribute to the progress of the project.
If it’s not clear how a task fits into the broader picture, try to imagine what would happen if that task was left incomplete.
Offer feedback on tasks
Every customer service rep needs to understand their performance, whether the feedback is positive or negative. If an employee has no feedback, they have no idea how their work has impacted the team or whether their task has been successful. Without feedback, employees can’t improve and become more productive members of the team.
Providing your service reps with feedback means they can move onto progressively harder tasks that help them with their development. Even negative feedback can provide motivation to improve as the employee understands exactly what they did wrong with the task.
While providing feedback does take some time on the part of the customer service manager, it’s the only way that your team members can become more effective, able to take on more complex tasks that would normally go to more senior members of the team.
Be sure to phrase your feedback constructively to avoid demoralizing the team.
Wrapping up
Customer service teams that master the art of effective task assignment are more productive, more creative, and have better solutions than their counterparts who can’t assign tasks. In an efficient customer service team, everyone should know what is expected of them and how their work contributes to the whole.
There are certain projects that could never be completed if they weren’t broken down into individual tasks, especially those of a certain size and complexity. As soon as your team grows bigger than one or two people, you need to make use of the ability to assign tasks to achieve your goals.
Task assignments should be clear, detailed and accountable, with hard deadlines for completion.
Effective teamwork means you can accomplish more than you could as individuals, and assigning tasks is a big part of working together. With transparency and accountability, managers can monitor how everyone is adding to the project.
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How to Assign Tasks to Team Members
- Employee Management Tips
- January 20, 2023
- By Traqq Team
Productivity is the ultimate aim of every task. This is why we dedicate so much time and effort to measuring how efficient we are. Even so, there is a limit to how far one person can go on any task. For more people, most of the time, things can be done easier and faster.
However, teamwork is not just having more than one person involved in a task. Effective teamwork requires deliberate management . Each person has their tasks and deadlines. Project managers must ensure that these goals flow organically towards the same goal.
This is why you need to know how to assign tasks to team members. As former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca said,
“Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can’t miss.”
Most effective task management strategies are complex, but you can learn the mechanics. Eventually, you will find assigning tasks among team members less difficult. What’s more, you will be confident that the project will be completed effectively.
Advantages of Effective Task-Sharing to the Organization
Sharing tasks is the main reason why teams are formed in the workplace. Ad hoc teams and entire departments spread work and roles among members. Some teams split a single task for each person to handle. Others have each person handling different tasks that all add up to a single project.
With teams, it becomes true that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Here are some of the advantages of sharing tasks in an organization:
The most obvious advantage of task sharing is speed. This is easy to understand. Five people working on different parts of the same project are faster than one person doing the same thing. Although this depends on the task, the advantage is there most of the time.
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Let’s say you’re running an analytics company. When you have some people to collect data, some to analyze, and other employees to present the results, you finish tasks quickly. So, teamwork saves you a lot of time.
Diversity of Perspectives
An advantage of teamwork is the diversity of perspectives. This can manifest when employees brainstorm and collaborate. Even if every member of your team is within the same age range or went to the same school, they cannot see things the same way.
In Pulling Together: 10 Rules for High-Performance Teamwork , John J. Murphy said that “each individual has unique gifts, and, talents and skills.” When you put people from different backgrounds in a team and set tasks for them, the company will reap the benefits. No matter how difficult a problem is, two people have a higher chance of solving it than one person.
To get the most from your team, you can consciously vary its makeup. An all-male or all-white team may hold less appeal for this reason.
Sharing tasks effectively lets your employees unleash their hidden creativity. The results might surprise you. When you give workers jobs that fit their passion and/or specialization, you open the door to off-the-cuff ideas that can change the business forever.
Don’t take our word for it. Just ask the former Sony CEO, Ken Kutaragi. His initiative as a junior staff member led to the eventual development of the iconic PlayStation. The PlayStation lineup is of course an integral component of Sony’s business. What would have happened if Kutaragi had been stuck in catering or finance rather than digital research?
Sometimes, teamwork is not only about productivity. Any organization is made up of people, and each person has their role in the business, as well as preferences and experiences. Indeed, teamwork keeps the morale high. A core part of maintaining teamwork is sharing tasks in a way that keeps everyone happy.
Research has shown that people are generally happier in the company of others. They become even more satisfied when they don’t feel eclipsed by their comrades. Sharing tasks effectively gives everyone something to do and transforms the simple act of collaboration into a morale-boosting exercise. Cooperation and collaboration can become a factor that preserves determination and vision in your organization.
It is due to this advantage that ‘team spirit’ is a thing. Do you want team spirit? Well, get a team and give everyone tasks that reinforce positive collaboration.
Shared risks
Sharing tasks effectively gives the organization a cushion against failure. With more eyeballs on the goal, missteps can be quickly pointed out and corrected. One person doing all the work is not ideal. With a team, there’s more of a safety net.
Why You Should Assign Tasks Effectively to Team Members
Now that you know that teams are important and teamwork is a reliable key for productivity, why should you be intentional with assigning tasks to your team?
Clarity of purpose
Having clarity of purpose in your organization means that your employees can see the big picture. It means that they are on board with the vision and objectives of your organization. This is a prerequisite to quality corporate performance. You can implement this clarity of purpose by regularly assigning tasks to team members.
A typical organization has a number of objectives per time. Tasks are naturally built around these objectives. The more tasks are performed, the more objectives are met. Similarly, team members get a better grasp of the goal of your organization when they perform these tasks.
Also, assigning tasks gives you the opportunity to remind your employees of the vision and operations of your organization. It gives you a reasonable avenue to reiterate this vision and objectives.
Sense of responsibility
Employees that are involved with tasks feel a greater sense of responsibility than others. Assignments help employees get a better feel of the organization’s relevance in the industry. This helps them understand that they are part of something big or have something tangible to work towards.
This sense of responsibility stimulates your employees to take leadership roles. This shared leadership is good and can help fill the gap of task management in your absence. This is important when you have employees who may slack off in your absence. Those with a sense of responsibility would keep them on their toes.
Track Team Productivity and Performance
Tasks are like exercise sessions: the more you do them, the better you get at them. Assigning tasks to team members improves their efficiency. It’s like programming—the minds of your employees get used to dealing with these assignments and they get better and better at it.
Teamwork efficiency is dependent on many factors. However, knowledge and familiarity are at the top of the list. You may pay for hours of training to get your team members accustomed to working together. However, you should consider creating a long list of tasks that will get them practicing.
As far as we know, practice makes perfect. So, assigning tasks will help get your team into shape—and keep them in that shape.
Employee motivation
Many employers do not consider employee motivation as part of the performance recipe. In reality, it is. A happy team member is far more likely to commit to work than one that is unhappy.
There is a significant difference in outcomes for organizations that encourage regular task assignments compared to those that don’t. The former leads to employees that are happy with what they do and know that they are important to you. The latter breeds workers who are often detached, indifferent to the job.
When you regularly assign tasks to team members, you motivate them to work. This sends a subliminal message that they are relevant to your organization. This would fire up their potential and keep them focused on the job.
Anticipation
Assigning tasks to team members keeps them on their feet. The typical employee is likely more effective when they expect tasks. The prospect of assignments to come is a big boost to their morale and gives them a sense of purpose.
Anticipation is one of the drivers of workplace activity. Organizations with employees that are always up and doing have tasks scheduled for every member of the company. It is here that you find healthy competition among team members.
Team spirit also emerges when you regularly assign tasks to team members. Team spirit usually implies focus. Focus usually sets productivity in motion.
Greater risk-taking
Spreading tasks efficiently gives employees the impetus to take more risks in pursuit of team goals. Workers will be inclined to push the envelope when others are backing them up. If the onus is on a single individual, they will likely try to play it safe.
An enterprising employee will feel more confident to try new things. This might sound counterintuitive but it works. Other members of the team can cheerlead, provide expertise, and help to iron out kinks in ambitious plans. This can only be of benefit to the team and organization.
Now that you know that teamwork is important and that deliberate team management is beneficial, how do you assign tasks to employees? Are there effective task management strategies that can boost the efficiency of team members?
In his book, The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization , John C. Maxwell explained that there are many benefits to assigning tasks in teams. However, accessing these advantages requires you to know and do certain things.
Set clear objectives about the task
Before you go about distributing tasks among team members, you must set clear objectives. This looks like an obvious step, but it is something you can easily overlook. A task cannot be effectively and successfully carried out if there is no clear goal.
Imagine that you run a fashion company and want more investors. A reasonable strategy would be to have a fashion show where you show potential investors what you have and can do. The process leading up to this show requires team members. Some people will find the best location for the show, the suitable models for the clothes, ideal advertisement placement, and A-listers to invite.
The way each group goes about fulfilling their task will tie into your primary goal. The team assigned to woo possible investors will likely target people with a track record of investing in fashion and creative industries. Meanwhile, those in charge of location will also choose somewhere glamorous enough for the caliber of people you want to attract.
In this way, the main goal informs the kind of tasks allocated, who they are given to, and how they are carried out.
Know the members of the team
It is important that you know the members of your team. Everybody cannot do everything, or better said, nobody can do everything. When you know the strengths and weaknesses of your team, you will find that it is much easier to assign tasks to them without worrying.
As this is an important requirement for assigning tasks to team members, researchers recommend different methods to identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees. The concept of Belbin team roles is one example.
With this method, you can organize employees into nine classes:
- Resource Investigator
- Co-ordinator
- Monitor Evaluator
- Implementer
- Completer Finisher
Each of these team roles serves an important purpose for any task. It is difficult to find employees that do not relate to at least one of these roles. Using this method is like seeing the entire chessboard. This gives you control and helps you determine the value of each individual in the team.
Also, know your employees’ interests. Some of your team members might be passionate about that task. These are the ones you need to keep an eye out for. As Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki said, “passion is the beginning of success.”
Decide who will do what based on their strengths and weaknesses
You have to know the strengths and weaknesses of the members of your team. This way, you can assign tasks to employees and remain confident of their effectiveness.
Some people are better at one thing than they are at another. This is the biggest advantage of teamwork, after all. Everyone in your team, no matter how insignificant, can be useful. You must use what you have learned about your employees to meet every objective in the task.
There is a reason for job descriptions. This can also come in handy, but it isn’t overly important here. You don’t need to be strict about who used to do what. Some people may develop expertise or specialization beyond what you employed them for. Others may have reservations about what they do.
So, to effectively assign tasks to team members in this context requires you to know your team members enough to decide who does what. This helps you set up an index showing the value of your employees to each task.
Communicate tasks effectively
Now that you are confident that your team members are suited to the task, you have to share the goal and objectives. This is an important condition, and if you fail at this, you might not make much headway.
Imagine, again, the example of a fashion company. In this context, when you expressly explain the objectives of the task, your team members are not likely to mess up. If they end up bringing monks and nuns to your show, you can be sure that there was a communication gap.
In Dale Carnegie’s famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People , effective communication is presented as one of the foundations of influence and encouragement. You need both of these to effectively assign tasks to employees.
Be conscious of time
Timing is everything, and it is something you cannot do without. So, you must be conscious of time when you assign tasks to team members.
You can measure how much each person spends on a task. This will help you allocate future projects optimally. The most important tasks can be given to those who mastered blending speed with quality.
Pro Tip: Use a time tracker to monitor productivity
You already have a lot on your plate. So, you should find the most convenient way to measure productivity.
Traqq shines best in this area. This time tracker automatically records your employees’ work hours and even provides you with productivity reports.
Easy and Accurate Time Tracking
On the dashboard, you will see each person’s activity levels . This way, you can identify who’s struggling and who’s powering through their tasks. As a result, you can assign tasks to the right people and help anyone who’s falling behind.
Meanwhile, using deadlines to ensure that your team members complete assigned tasks requires you to be flexible.
You can keep your employees productive by using timeframes as task objectives. This means, instead of ‘contact investors in the fashion industry,’ you will be better off using ‘contact investors in the fashion industry before December.’ The second objective is more specific and specific objectives are easily met.
Keep yourself and your team members aware of the deadline for task completion. Make more than one deadline before the real deadline, if possible.
When you are conscious of time, you can easily follow up on your team members. This helps you stay connected after you have informed them of the tasks. Also, feedback from team members might help quicken task completion.
Follow-up is important because it lets you monitor the team. Also, it keeps you informed of the progress of the project and any help that team members need at any point.
During follow-up, you need skills of effective communication to get the most out of every dialog. This will not only boost the morale of your team members but also show them how much you value their input.
Use Task Management Tools
Technology has made things very easy. There is a tool for almost all the steps that you have learned so far. Some of these programs have to do with time management. Others can aid you in deploying surefire project management strategies .
You don’t have to be the only one using these tools. Many of these apps come with user-friendly versions. So, you can get your team members involved. If you can successfully use this to your advantage, it won’t be difficult to be more effective when you assign tasks to employees.
Useful Tools for Assigning and Managing Tasks
There are many tools out there that can be used to assign and manage tasks. As you can imagine, some of these are effective and others are not so effective.
Trello is one of the better-known tools that is designed to assist team leaders. It does a number of things, including planning, projecting, assigning tasks, and monitoring tasks. Trello is popular because it is lightweight and cannot be used for anything other than task management . In other words, there is little chance of distractions.
Podio is another good tool that was designed specifically to assist team leaders. One of the reasons it is popular is that it can be used alongside productivity tools like Google Drive and Evernote on the same platform. Essentially, it covers all the bases and even lets you communicate directly with team members.
Basecamp is another favorite task management tool in the corporate world. It became even more popular when working remotely became the convention. This tool also allows you to message your team members. It has an automatic check-in feature that allows you to assign tasks to team members and keep perfect track of who is doing what.
There are many, many such tools that you can use to increase your productivity. Some of these are specifically for assigning tasks in teams and project management .
Knowing how to assign tasks to employees is important and beneficial. The power of teamwork can be nullified when you do not know how to effectively assign tasks to team members. So, if productivity is your ultimate goal, then you must prioritize these tips for effective task management.
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How to Assign Tasks in Emails + Templates
Many business owners, managers, teachers and department heads will find that they have to send emails to ask someone to do a task. While it's easy to just fire off a quick email to get a task off your plate, many times this can backfire. (Many of you may have experienced that!)
It's important to think through what you need to include in an email that is giving someone a task before sending it.
Before we give you a few tips about how to send a task over email, let's look at a couple of what not to do!
What NOT to Do Example 1
Drop whatever you are doing. We have a new priority, start working on the new presentation. We need it asap.
Thanks, Betty"
What NOT to Do Example 2
I require the new prototype within the next few weeks.
How to Correctly Email to Assign a Task
Now, let's go over why these are not the type of emails you want to send to your team to assign a task.
While both of the emails above are short, they dramatically fail to provide any specific instructions that would be required to carry out the task. They also fail to provide a clear due date for the task or project.
In the second email, you will notice that it is addressing an entire team, without specific instructions to any specific team members, so it's unclear who is responsible for doing what.
Writing an email to assign tasks can be a bit tricky because it is easy to forget critical information or not clearly communicate expectations.
Below, we will go over some best practices for writing emails that assign tasks so that you can be clear and effective. T
Here are some basic guidelines to follow when writing emails to assign tasks:
1. Be Concise
The reason you're delegating a task is to save time. While you will want to include all the information needed to complete the task, you don't need to give irrelevant details. (We've all gotten those emails that are 12 paragraphs too long! Don't send one of those!) Simply explain what the task is, how it needs to be done, when it needs to be complete, and how.
2. Specify Who is Responsible
When addressing a group of people in an email, be specific about who's responsible for which task and which other team members are expected to contribute. If you leave it up to the whole group to get the job done, you may trigger the "bystander effect", where everyone assumes someone else is going to do it, and the task goes unfinished.
3. Give Clear & Specific Instructions
Set clear expectations. Don’t leave it up to the other person to decide what you are asking them to do.
One way to ensure you've given all the information they may need is to ask yourself, (if you didn't know what the task was) would you have all the information you needed to do an excellent and complete job. Once you can say yes, you've given thorough instructions.
4. Set a Clear Deadline
Always provide a due date for when the task should be complete. If you don’t, you run the risk of missing important deadlines or having to repeatedly follow up on a task that you needed to be done by a certain date.
General Email Template to Assign a Task
Hi {formtext: name=first name},
Please prepare GIFs for the first three social media posts on next month's calendar.
This is a {formmenu: name=priority; cols=20; top priority; default=standard priority; low priority} task{if: priority="top priority"} and should take precedence over other tasks.
Timeframe: {formtext: name=timeframe; default=5; cols=3} business days. Deadline: {time: LL; shift={=timeframe}D(skip=SAT, SUN)}. {else}, so consider working on it once higher priority tasks are complete. Try to aim for completion by {time: LL; shift=+2W}. {endif}
Email Template to Delegate Tasks While You are Out of the Office
Hi {formtext: name=first name; cols=8}, I’ll be out of office between {formdate: LL; name=date1} and {formdate: LL; name=date2}, so I’ll need you to cover some things for me while I am away. I need your assistance in: {formparagraph: name=task instructions; default= Communicating with the freelance writers, following up on content deadlines, and submitting the invoices to accounts ; cols=40; rows=5}
Please schedule a meeting for the two of us in the {formmenu: name=time; afternoon; default=morning; evening} of {formdate: LL; name=date3} and we can discuss this in more details before I leave? Much appreciated, Giovanni
Email Template to Assign a Specific Type of Task
Email template to help create a presentation, email template for a task with a deadline.
Hi {formtext: name=first name; cols=8},
I would like to ask you to work on something. Can you please {formtext: name=task name; cols=12} by {formdate: LL}.
The task is {formmenu: name=task1; a bit complicated; default=very simple to do}. Here’s what you need to do: {formparagraph: name=task instructions; default=; cols=30; rows=4}
I hope these instructions are sufficient. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best Regards, Robert
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How to Correctly Email to Assign a Task · 1. Be Concise · 2. Specify Who is Responsible · 3. Give Clear & Specific Instructions · 4. Set a Clear