Some organisations deal with Delegation of Authority by hand once a year. Others issue it on appointment (perhaps as part of the job description) and never update again. In many organisations Delegations of Authority are not issued all the way to the front line at all. This puts organisations and their Directors at considerable financial and legal risk. Yet using delegation of authority software such as iDelegate is straightforward. It simplifies an essential but time consuming process. And it helps reduce risks by fostering compliance and accountability on all levels of the organisation.
While any DOA framework – including paper based – is better than none, iDelegate has many advantages over any pen and paper option:
| iDelegate | Pen and paper | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to set up and implement a comprehensive Delegation of Authority framework | Up to 7 days | Up to 180 days |
| Time to assign a Delegation of Authority | Fast (prefilled) | Slow (copy/paste) |
| Time to review and make changes to individual delegations | Fast (central master record) | Slow (individual document) |
| Accessibility by users | Instant (online 24/7) | Difficult (hard copy in a file) |
| Risk of non-compliance | Low (full awareness) | High (limited awareness) |
| Speed to cascade and record acceptance of delegations | Fast (email and digital record of acceptance) | Slow (physical letter and signature) |
| Policy and delegated authority consistency | Universally consistent (single source of truth) | Inconsistent (many copies of the same file) |
| Reliable delegation audit and delegation trail tracking | Easy (single database) | Impossible (many files in many places) |
| Integration with other systems | Can be integrated digitally | Virtually non existent |
| Cost of DOA framework development and implementation | Transparent and controllable (see Pricing) | Internal and hidden |
If you do not have delegation of authority software in your organisation, you will find iDelegate easy to set up and administer. This is especially true if you use spreadsheets to record and keep track of delegations. A delegation audit becomes a breeze because iDelegate keeps everything in one place. Also, iDelegate has ability to generate personal Delegation of Authority letters for you. This alone will save you much time and frustration. Imagine not having to copy and paste text from those spreadsheets into word processors again and again!
iDelegate is worth a look even if you already have a delegation of authority software in place. It is unlikely that your system covers everyone in a coordinated and consistent way. This lack of consistency is especially prevalent in global organisations. Legacy and local information systems often do not allow a unified delegation of authority framework from top to bottom. This is what iDelegate does.