How Clearly Defined Responsibilities Make for Happier Marketers

I recently spoke with a colleague that works in middle management for a marketing department of a Fortune 500 company. He said that one of his colleagues spent three days working on a project, only to discover that another employee was performing the same tasks. The company wasted 15 hours on this assignment, because the supervisor failed to make sure the task was properly delegated.

As you can imagine, this employee was also very upset. He felt his time was disrespected and didn’t earn the sense of satisfaction for successfully completing a goal.

Unfortunately, stories of wasted time like this are incredibly common. According to a study conducted by Workfront, 52% of employee time is spent on tasks like email, non-essential meetings, and administrative work. This is time spent on tasks that have little to nothing to do with a marketer’s primary role on a project.

Here are some reasons marketing project managers need to delegate properly to avoid these issues.

Clearly Defined Duties Give Marketers a Sense of Purpose

Marketers want to feel like they have a special place on the team. It is difficult to feel like they are making a contribution if they are assigned the same tasks as everyone else.

When you divide up tasks according to people’s abilities, people will feel more confident and appreciated. They will realize that they have a special skill set their employer needs.

Proper Delegation Facilitates Two-Way Communication with Senior Management

According to a thesis from Christine Proctor of Southern University of Utah, multiple case studies have shown that better communication with senior management makes employees feel more satisfied. Proper delegation is a key to improving communication.

When employees have clearly defined roles, their senior manager will have a stronger reason to engage with them. They will hold regular meetings to discuss progress and answer any questions the marketer may have. By contrast, if employee responsibilities are less formally defined, employees may expect their colleagues to handle the more difficult tasks rather than reaching out to their manager for support. This will lead to a breakdown in communication with their supervisors.

Better Outcomes Leads to Greater Feelings of Accomplishment

A study from the Journal of Organizational Behavior summarizes years of research, showing higher pay is a poor incentive for most employees. This paper supports a 1993 article from the Harvard Business Review by Alfie Kohn titled Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work.

These studies have shown that employees are more motivated by two things:

• The praise and appreciation of their supervisors
• The sense of accomplishment for doing a good job

Therefore, they will be more fulfilled if their responsibilities are properly delegated, because good delegation invariably leads to better results. Here are some reasons why:

• Fewer resources are wasted through redundancy
• Employees focus on the tasks they are best suited for

Of course, it is important to make sure that work is assigned to the right employees first. Project managers need to match the marketer’s skills to each task at hand.

Minimize Wasted Efforts

Nobody wants to spend hours on a project, only to discover that their time was wasted due to poor planning by a supervisor. Even if they were paid well for the time they invested, they will feel like the project was a waste. They will be discouraged and will not put in the extra effort on the next project. Proper delegation helps minimize these risks.