Philippines staffing guide
A Delegation Log That Keeps Owners Accountable
Delegation without a record becomes an oral history. Log the task, the authority, the reviewer, and the expiry.
Published · 9 minute read
On this page
A delegation log is a simple record of what the assistant is allowed to do, for whom, and under what conditions. It prevents the slow drift where a task starts as draft only and ends as send without review. It also gives the assistant a defensible answer when a request exceeds the written scope.
The operating problem
A delegation log is a simple record of what the assistant is allowed to do, for whom, and under what conditions. It prevents the slow drift where a task starts as draft only and ends as send without review. It also gives the assistant a defensible answer when a request exceeds the written scope.
Each entry should name the task, the requester or owner, the permitted action, the systems involved, the review rule, the effective date, and the expiry. If the delegation is temporary, the expiry is essential. A temporary permission that never expires becomes permanent by default.
Separate preparation from decision. The assistant may prepare a vendor comparison, but the owner chooses the vendor. The assistant may draft a customer reply, but the owner approves the commitment. The log should state the boundary in verbs: prepare, check, send, approve, pay, delete, publish.
What to control
Review the log with the owner and the assistant together. The assistant should be able to explain what they can do without asking and what requires approval. The owner should be able to see the accumulated authority. If the log is only maintained by the assistant, it is not a management control.
When a task changes, update the log before the change goes live. Record the old rule and the new one. If the assistant has already been performing the broader task informally, treat that as an exception to review, not as an approved delegation. The log should reflect the real state, not the desired state.
Use the log during onboarding and offboarding. A new assistant can see the scope on day one. A departing assistant can hand over the current entries. The owner can remove access that is no longer supported by an entry. This is especially important for client-specific tasks and shared mailboxes.
A workable routine
Audit a sample of tasks each quarter. Does the work match the entry? Is the reviewer actually reviewing? Has the expiry passed? Are there tasks the assistant performs that are not in the log? The last question is the most important because undocumented work is where the risk hides.
Keep the log short enough to use. A twenty-page authority matrix will not be read. A table with the task, the action, the owner, the review rule, and the expiry is enough for most assistant roles. Add detail only where the consequence justifies it.Use a consistent identifier for each task so the log and the work records match. A free-text task name creates duplicates and makes the audit harder. Link the entry to the procedure, the queue, or the system where the work happens.
When the owner changes, review the log with the new owner. A delegation that was approved by a predecessor may not be acceptable to the new manager. The review should confirm, narrow, or revoke each entry rather than letting it roll forward by default.
Review and evidence
Record the reason for a broad delegation, not only the action. A task that allows the assistant to send customer messages may be approved because the messages are routine and templated. The reason helps a reviewer decide whether a new situation still fits.
Use the log in the quality sample. Pick a task from the log and compare the work with the entry. If the work is broader than the entry, the log is lagging. If the work is narrower, the assistant may be avoiding a task they are allowed to do. Both are useful findings.