#51 Issue additional titles for employee initiatives like SMO - Social Media Officer - to encourage ownership and get things done.

As your firm grows or responsibilities change, you will soon find you can’t do everything. And sadly, it is easy to let things slip when you have plenty of work or you’re out trying to drum up new biz. We’ve found that the best way to keep information flowing and stay on top of things that are important is by aligning those tasks with others interests. For example, we have a designer who is very concerned and committed to getting us to be more ‘green’. So recently, the “Green Diva” took the lead. We talked about what goals I wanted and she related the things she was interested in. In a year’s time, we had an internal intranet with green terms and a checklist for our work. We began recycling more and developed goals and steps to reduce our carbon footprint. In addition, the “Green Diva” alerted me to talks, websites, resources and organizations we could join to raise awareness, support and follow-through.

This same result is happening with our social media footprint. We delegate responsibility for the various sites we’re on to different people depending on their area of interest. This way, we stay up to speed as participants, but also know about updates and changes that we can bring back to our clients.

Now, this all still takes time. You have to plan and be purposeful. But with a little practice and communication with your team, you can make it happen. If it’s just you alone, assign some of these responsibilities to days of the week or times of the day. Trust me, with some planning and discipline, it is possible.