How to Effectively Delegate Tasks to Unlock More Resources

We work with businesses across Doncaster and beyond, and see the same pattern time and again: owners trapped in the day-to-day, unable to focus on growth because they're drowning in tasks they should have entrusted to others and delegated months ago.

The types of tasks involved usually, but not exclusively, fall under the digital marketing, printing, and website admin umbrella. The truth is that when spending time handling work that someone else could capably and reliably do, or even that technology could automate for you, you’re not able to dedicate enough resources to leading your business. If anything, you’re missing vital growth opportunities and risking your business’s future. 

Why do business owners struggle to scale and delegate?

Here’s a brutal statistic that virtual assistant specialists Time Etc, know all too well: 79% of entrepreneurs work longer weeks than anyone else in their team. Yet only 33% of businesses survive beyond a decade. 

These statistics aren’t a coincidence. It’s a business truth that trying to do everything yourself generates far less than the intrinsic and real-world value of the one thing you can’t ever get back: your time. Virtual assistant services are built on the very premise of how outsourcing can be a smart financial and value-driving business decision.

When you won't delegate, you become the bottleneck. Strategy gets postponed. Opportunities slip past. Your team can't grow because you're micromanaging every detail, and as you become exhausted, your decisions get worse, not better.

Further research from Gallup shows that leaders who delegate effectively generate 33% more revenue than those who don't. This suggests that entrusting tasks to others, despite being challenging for many business owners, must be done if a business has any hope of growing and becoming more successful.

So why does delegating tasks feel like an impossible mountain to climb for many entrepreneurs?

• "No one can do it as well as me." 

A valid concern. After all, you built your business; you know the standard you want to set for your customers or clients. However, clinging to that sentiment will cap your business at whatever you can personally handle. Every major business has had to get past this obstacle.

• "I don't have time to train someone." 

This is a somewhat flawed justification. Yes, delegating tasks requires you to fork out time and sometimes money, and it won’t miraculously change overnight. However, once you train someone successfully, there’s a high chance you’ll never have to do that task again, which is a priceless benefit. Start small by delegating the most time-consuming, arduous tasks first, rather than everything all at once.

• "It's too expensive to hire." 

A fair concern for business owners confined by tight budgets and regulatory red tape. However, consider this: if hiring your first member of staff or a virtual assistant frees you to focus on long-term strategy, sales, marketing, or growth activities, that newfound capacity can generate far more than it costs. For SMEs especially, that additional flexibility and freedom can feel like a huge weight off your shoulders.

Three levels of delegation

Not every task requires the same solution. The smartest approach matches the task to the right method.

1. Automation

Automation is an accessible, low-cost, and flexible option. It can be as simple as deploying live chatbots for initial customer enquiries on your website, automating your accounts receivable/payable and bookkeeping, or deploying a user-friendly project and task management system to keep your client work more organised. Thanks to recent advances in AI, automation now handles more complex tasks than it once did, and with remarkable precision. 

If you’re able to automate the routine processes that eat up valuable hours, why wouldn’t you? This is where AI consultancy services become useful, which we at Artemis have invested heavily in. We help our clients make AI practical for them, helping them integrate it seamlessly into their day-to-day operations to drive growth and streamline workflows.

2. Outsourcing 

Outsourcing works for specialised tasks that don’t require the commitments of hiring a full-time member of staff to work in-house. Many business owners outsource accounting and bookkeeping, but this can extend to include marketing functions like social media management, graphic design, SEO, sales, and business development activities, and customer service or administration processes. Any work that you’re either not passionate about or that distracts you from your core business would benefit from being outsourced. While this may cost more than an in-house automation solution, it’s still often more cost-effective than hiring staff, as you only pay for what you require.

3. Hiring Staff

Hiring staff makes the most sense when you need dedicated in-house resources and capacity. Ultimately, there are costs of a person’s salary, tax contributions, training, equipment, and more, the majority of which are legal requirements. However, there are numerous tax allowances and relief options available to SME business owners to help those initial, and very valid, cost worries. Furthermore, an investment in your team is an investment in your business, as they offer control, continuity, and peace of mind. Having other people alongside you as you grow your business can provide complete reassurance that your company is in safe hands.

Mastering the art of delegation

It’s one thing to recognise when you should delegate. Doing it well is a completely different matter.

Delegation isn’t about finding whoever’s free to complete the task; it’s about choosing the right person based on their skill set and appetite for challenge. Or, if that can be achieved with the help of a smart application, program, or algorithm, then that works too, but will require your oversight and supervision.

Hand over any responsibilities with complete clarity and transparency on the outcomes you want, but provide leniency and autonomy to your team members (whether in-house or outsourced) on how to get there. Make sure to document instructions and processes, and provide feedback without excessive micromanagement and hovering. Check in and support in proactive and non-invasive ways.

Remember that you don’t need to overhaul your entire operations at once. Pick one or two significant tasks that consistently eat away at your time, and delegate accordingly. Once you see it working, consider delegating another task.

When executed right, your time will increasingly become less stretched, you’ll improve your work-life balance, your business KPIs will become more attainable, and your team (if you hire in-house) will develop new skills, attributes and, most importantly, confidence. Scaling upwards isn’t exclusively about working harder, but smarter. That can only happen with the one thing many business owners never master: letting go when needed.

If you are unsure which digital marketing tasks to delegate or how to make AI or automation work for your business, consider reaching out to Artemis today. Through our SEO and AI consultancy services, we help businesses identify the opportunities preventing them from achieving sustainable growth, implement solutions that work, and train you to use them effectively, allowing you more free time to focus on what matters most: growing your business.