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Seven Keys to Delegating Work to Volunteers Successfully

It's never easy to share your work with others, even if you are overwhelmed and want help. Delegation requires comfort with the knowledge that the person who accepts an assigned task will do the work differently than you, which might be good or bad.

"The fear that a volunteer will not handle an assignment well is one of the most-identified causes of resistance by paid staff," says Susan J. Ellis , co-author of the best-selling book, The (Help!) I-Don't-Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management, just revised and newly-released by Energize, Inc. in electronic form. She offers these tips from the book to help you delegate successfully:

• Tell the truth about the time required to do the job properly and your expectations for when it should be finished. Whenever possible, assign the whole task at once, rather than revealing something new each week.

• Set the task into context. People work more intelligently when they understand how their activities mesh with the activities of others, or how a present task builds on a previous one and, in turn, brings the organization closer to its goals.

• Identify resources and materials the person/group can use to get the job done.

• Never underestimate the importance of good instructions. Do not assume that anyone, particularly a volunteer, is completely familiar with your office procedures, policies, legal regulations, or anything else affecting a task.

• Set limits: At what point must you be consulted or involved, approve expenditures, receive progress reports?

• Remove limits: Encourage people to exercise creativity and initiative in those areas where there are no hard and fast rules to be followed, or where you feel they have adequate expertise.

• Develop a reporting plan: How often and in what form (written, audiotape) will you communicate with each other about progress? Negotiate the frequency of contact necessary to offer mutual feedback and support.

Ellis further advises: "When you first delegate, be sure you set a definite time to meet or talk again fairly soon. This provides an incentive to the volunteer to make some progress by then and gives you the opportunity to assure yourself that things are off to a good start."

For more practical suggestions for developing a team approach to volunteer management, see the 2004 edition of The (Help!) I-Don't-Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management by Katherine Noyes Campbell and Susan J. Ellis , now available in electronic format for only US$10.00-accessible immediately, without shipping time or costs, anywhere in the world. The (Help!) Guide is just one of many new electronic books offered in the Energize Online Bookstore at: www.energizeinc.com/bookstore.html.

Note to editors: You have permission to reproduce this press release as an article in your publication without needing to contact Energize further. We simply ask that you include the full contact information included below in anything you print and please send us a copy of the actual publication. Thank you.

Contact Information for Reprints:
Energize, Inc., www.energizeinc.com
5450 Wissahickon Ave.
Philadlephia, PA 19144
(215) 438-8342
info@energizeinc.com