Managers often say they can't delegate their work because they don't have the time to train someone else, or are they simply afraid to do so? Elizabeth Mills looks at how employers can lighten the load
We all know what delegation means, but actually doing it is something else. Managers are often reluctant to let go and delegate work. Can you relate to any of the following, as reasons for not wanting to delegate?
Prepare:
Match skills:
Meet with the employee:
Set objectives with criteria:
Test competency:
Delegate the task – not the process
Document it:Document the structure detailing the apportionment of work and make it available to all employees
Test it:
Delegating the compliance functionThe sheer volume of work to get ready for the 14 January 2005 can seem daunting. There are ways that you can deal with this effectively, but which route should you take? You may have passed on responsibility for getting the company compliant to someone who is more hands-on with the day-to-day procedural aspects of running the business. Or, as the principal/director, you may have done the complete opposite and taken it on yourself. And, as a result, you are the only person involved in setting up the procedures and disciplines required. While you need to take the route that works for your firm, as the company's principal/director, you should be involved in how your company is becoming compliant and proving compliance. Otherwise, how will you be able to fulfil your obligations under the Apportionment and Oversight Control Function (CF8)?'Apportionment' does enable you to distribute the work, but it does not mean you can dispense with your responsibility. And if we consider 'Oversight', how can you supervise and control compliance if you do not know what is in place to review it?It will be difficult to demonstrate compliance to the Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Controls (SYSC) sourcebook if you have no clear role in your firm's compliance. If the whole structure and compliance undertaking is being run by one individual, what happens when that person is absent from work in the short or medium term or indefinitely? After all, there skills will be marketable. If as principal/director you decide instead to take full responsibility for all the compliance-related work, this too can have its pitfalls. However, if you are the only person who understands compliance, the firm is vulnerable when you are not there. And if your people haven't 'bought into' compliance, your job will be even harder. You will also have little time left to secure new business or manage client relationships. The compliance work you are doing now is just the beginning and your workload will increase when FSA regulation starts next year.So what is a good balance? This does depend on your firm but, for compliance to be an integral part of your business, this task shouldn't fall to just one person.Unless you have plenty of spare time and no clients to see, which is unlikely, you can't expect to be a jack of all trades and a master of them too.