Permanent Delegation (How to Increase Time in the Day)

By guest blogger Bernd Ruffing, Management Consultant & Process Painter.

In the February issue of Markt und Mittelstand I discovered an interesting article. The article “Desire for More Free Time” explains how entrepreneurs yearn for more time for family and private life, but in reality rarely manage to implement it.

What the Entrepreneurs Do

The report identifies three measures that entrepreneurs use to balance their work and private lives:

1. Only 20% think that having private goals also provide more time for themselves.
2. 55% try sports and physical fitness. It is well established that this is a great way to provide the mind and body with the necessary energy. After exercise, many find themselves to be more productive, which I can personally attest. But does this really provide more time for family.  I would assume the opposite, since the sports share usually comes from the private-time account and not from the working hours.
3. While 59% try to delegate tasks.

The Delegation of Tasks

This is the point that gets my attention. It is at this point that I would really like to know how respondents do that. Simply telling someone what to do can have many different consequences, including some that are less than desirable. For example:

• They come back with questions because they do not know something. In this case, delegating may actually mean more work than doing the job yourself.
• The task is done, without questions, but the result is not really what you have imagined. The means rework, which costs time and energy.
• The task is delegated but not the authority.  Therefore the entrepreneur himself is required to control the execution of the tasks.
• The employees change, so you must delegate the task again.

Process Management Can Help

Process management aims to precisely define and document who does what when and how. Responsibilities can be clearly defined by the underlying strategy, always considering the framework conditions and interactions. This can be called “permanent delegation.”  Once defined, you do not have to redistribute the tasks each time. Through appropriate classifications of processes, the entrepreneur can also identify which processes are well suited for delegation. Additionally, the one responsible for performing always has a fitting description of the work and tasks to be completed. A win-win for entrepreneurs and employees.

Conclusion: More Free Time through Process Management

Process management offers entrepreneurs opportunities to more effectively manage their own time. The permanent delegation of tasks and responsibilities by organizing the processes is just one example. Another wish of the entrepreneurs, which is mentioned in this article, can also be met: “… take complexity and extra workload out of the job.” Yes, I will say it again. Process management is an all-purpose weapon.