The Importance of Delegation in Business

The Importance of Delegation in Business

The hardest skill for a manager to master sometimes is delegation. It is a skill that, at the root, is fundamental in the ultimate success in whatever endeavor one would encounter. Delegation is very important, especially in the business that I am in, the parcel industry. United Parcel Service is a multibillion dollar corporation where I am currently employed. Within its structure, without those who can properly delegate, it would be virtually impossible to manage its many processes effectively. It actually starts at the top of the chain, the corporate level. Within our corporate setting, we have different elements that are rolled up into what one would call a balanced scorecard. The scorecard consists of four major elements, business, people, turnover, and technology. Regional Managers role out the elements that is pertinent to their particular sector of the operation. These are delegated to those at the district level (managers). The hierarchy is as follows……Corporate, regional, district, division, center. I personally fall into the category under center management. The center manager rolls out tasks to the full-time supervisors who then, in turn, roll out tasks to me as a part time supervisor. The jobs and tasks that I am personally responsible for directly correlate with those who are at the top of the chain, just at a smaller portion. The absolute key in delegation would be to have solid controls in place for accountability. You will notice that this will be a recurring theme within this paper. Without accountability within the infrastructure, can there really be success in delegation in any industry?

There are several ways delegation can by more effective with regards to planning, leading or controlling. One of the very first measures that must be in place is good checklists. With the constant demands to get more out of your work force with the fewest dollars spent on overhead, it is essential that one has a checklist at every level in order to ensure that nothing goes undone. To those who are in charge, there is nothing more negligible that mismanagement of labor; waste. The most difficult task, if not properly controlled and managed, can be the difference in having one's job and ultimate termination. Here is an example. At UPS, it is the responsibility of the part-time unload supervisor to check the yard to make sure that there are no trailers that are due for our particular destination that go unprocessed.