Everyone deserves a break from time to time. Vacationing is an essential part of any productive manager’s life. In order to get the most out of your time off, you have to minimize worrying about work while you’re away. Preparation is key here. In the weeks leading up to your trip, you have to come up with a plan to delegate your tasks. This will allow you to fully enjoy your time away and be fully recharged when you return.
Make a List
Having a competent and versatile team will make the delegation process much smoother. Take some time to make a list of the tasks you have during the week. Then, assign these tasks to trusted team members. When selecting who to delegate these tasks to, consider your team’s strengths and skills. Next, put together a document you can provide to each person. Include their tasks, instructions, details, times, and what to do if they run into common issues.
Train Your Team
Next, arrange a meeting to discuss your upcoming absence and your plan to delegate. Let everyone know what additional tasks they will be picking up while you are gone. Hand out or email the individual documents and ask for questions. In the days following, take some time to run through each of the tasks with each person. This experience will make things easier for your team and give you peace of mind while you’re away.
While You’re Away
One essential step to ensuring you have a relaxing vacation is setting guidelines for communication with your team. Assuming they have been trained for their additional tasks, they shouldn’t have to reach out too often.
One option is to designate specific times of day that you are available for questions. The last thing you want is to get a phone call while you are on the beach or out at dinner. The morning works well—your team can ask questions about their upcoming day or address any hiccups from the day prior. Wake up a few minutes earlier than your family or whoever is joining you on your trip and get in touch with your team. This way, you don’t cut into time spent with others on your vacation and you can be more relaxed during the day, knowing everything is running smoothly.
Connect with Service Experts
Delegating is a daunting task and not all teams and organizations are set up for it. It’s all about reliability, so it’s best to make use of help from experts. ProEdit offers a variety of services that can make this whole process much easier. Learn more about how we support organizational success at ProEdit.com.