Have you ever tried to do all of the right things to delegate and outsource, only to find that you still spend WAY too much time managing your team?

You interview properly, have a clear role description, and even spend the time to train your new helper but alas, things are breaking down anyway.

Then your worst fear happens…you notice what you are investing in your team is not paying off. I mean really, why am I spending so dang much money when I’m not even getting what I want!

So what is the trick to making sure the investment you make in someone to outsource tasks to actually DOES free you up for your highest payoff activities?

Well, here is what three of the experts told me recently. I hosted a panel discussion for members of my Virtual Team Building Telebootcamp on “Hiring A Players.” The panel included Tina Forsyth, author of Becoming an Online Business Manager, Daven Michaels, founder of Outsource This, and Pam Ivey, founder of the Canadian Virtual Assistant Network.

When I asked them all to share what is the one thing that entrepreneurs do to mess up their outsourcing profitability, their answers actually surprised me.

Mess Up #1: Micro-Manage

I think we’ve all found ourselves under-delegating and over-managing at times. But when an entrepreneur hands off a task then checks in 10 times a day to find out if it’s done yet, that’s ridiculous, right? Maybe you hire an expert then insist on telling them EXACTLY what they should do to get the job done. Ouch.

The entire panel agreed that this is the fastest way to kill not just your profits (cause let’s face it, if you are micro-managing then you certainly aren’t doing your highest payoff activities) but to also burn out a talented person.

Learn to let go. If this is a problem for you, then you want to get a copy of Virtual Team Building Telebootcamp so you can learn to delegate with confidence.

Mess Up #2: Lack of Clarity

If you don’t know what you want, how on earth can you get someone else to do it the right way for you? Let me draw a distinction that the panel brought up. There is a difference between asking your Virtual Assistant to help you brainstorm the outcome vs. giving multiple, conflicting, often changing directions that waste your time, money and everyone’s energy.

Getting clarity up front will enable both you and the contractor you outsource to (or employee) to eliminate costly mis-steps so you can get your desired outcome on time.

Mess up #3: Stop Communicating

I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times. You get busy. Regular communication within the team slows down or disappears all together. All of a sudden breakdowns are occurring, project deadlines slip and tension rises. You are writing terse emails trying to get your team back on track…when really, you screwed up. You disappeared from regular communication.

Now I’m not advocating you have meetings just to burn time and catch up on the latest dancer to be cut from Dancing With the Stars. What I mean is everyone performs better when regular connection time exists, especially in a virtual work environment. Even if you commit to 20 minutes a week, you’ll notice a huge difference in productivity.

Thanks again to the amazing panel for their insights into what we as entrepreneurs can do to increase outsourcing payoff. Oh, if you are wondering how you can get a copy of this audio recording, it’s exclusive to owners of the Virtual Team Building System. But I’ll save you a copy if you decide to get one too.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 5:10 pm and is filed under Outsourcing Strategies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.