The Biggest Misconception About Delegating
There is a statement that people make that really grinds my gears…
“You should just delegate that to someone else!”
Here’s the thing - this can be a solution but there is SO much more to this picture than just “delegating”. Typically if someone says this, they have never truly delegated in a long term way in a place of business. “Just delegating” without any structure is actually a disaster. It can be a challenge for a small business owner to delegate for two reasons:
It costs money and many small businesses have thin margins that must be carefully observed.
It takes organization and management to delegate which can be a challenge for a small business owner to make time for especially in the early months and years.
However, there is a THIRD reason that makes it especially difficult to delegate in a salon setting:
✨Typically most of your team is either commission based or 1099. In order to compensate someone properly and allow time for the tasks delegated, it requires an entirely different framework. Businesses that are hourly or salary can easily move responsibilities to one another - this is not so simple in the salon industry.
Over my years as a salon owner and manager, I have learned a lot about delegating well after making a multitude of mistakes in my early years. I used to listen to the advice I mentioned above to “just delegate” to someone” and I would try to put someone in a position and hope they would do just, “do a great job” and innovate. That seems easy enough right?! I was always wrong. It was never the fault of the person I put in the position, it was my fault for not giving enough information about what was needed and expected. Structure produces freedom and the lack of structure produces chaos.
From what I have learned about delegating over the years, here are my top 3 pieces of advice for small businesses working on building layers of management
Ideally, start slow
If you are new to delegating and mentoring a new leader or manager, starting slow is a great place to start (if possible). At our salon, our goal is to empower current team members into positions of leadership rather than bringing in outside candidates. Because of this system, we start new managers out with a smaller amount of hours and we grow that amount of hours over time. If someone has never worked with a fluid schedule in management before, it can be overwhelming to have a ton of time to manage. Starting slow helps you as the small business to learn how to delegate and helps the new manager learn how to manage their time and responsibilities.
You MUST have clear expectations
As I mentioned before, one of the worst things to do is put a manager in place and expect them to just “manage” without any framework of expectations. If someone has no structure, you are setting them up for failure and you are setting yourself up for frustration. There should be written documentation for the manager to reference and for you to use for accountability and coaching.
Even starting small can be very helpful in this arena. Once a manager or leader is more used to their position, they can start documenting their own processes and procedures. However, in the beginning, giving them clear expectations and at least some documentation to reference is ideal.
The only exception to this is if you actually need a consultant rather than a manager. If you are going to hire a consultant, the expectations are different. A consultant can be hired to develop a framework and are not necessarily on your payroll.
You MUST have checkpoints in place for guidance and feedback
Anytime a new person is in a position, objective checkpoints should be in place. We use 30, 60, 90 and 120-day reviews and we have these slated on our company calendar at the time of hire. The best part about having these checkpoints in place from the beginning is it holds everyone accountable to have the conversation about how things are going in the position. During these checkpoints, this is when the documentation comes in handy. You can reference the objective list of expectations and both parties can evaluate how things are going, address questions and provide encouragement. This also provides a platform for discussion and avoids the business owner having to schedule random meetings for feedback which are usually rooted in something negative happening. The regular meeting is scheduled and holds all parties accountable to checking in.
Delegation is awesome and it helps to create a vibrant dynamic workplace with more opportunities for everyone. Just make sure you have a plan in place before any delegation.
So much love + gratitude for all that you are giving to your team, community and industry!
Melanie
xxoo