Distributing Work Across Your Team

Task assignment transforms individual tasks into coordinated team effort. While Chapter 13 (Task Management & Workflows) covers creating tasks, organising work, and tracking completion, this chapter focuses specifically on the collaborative aspect. Assigning tasks to team members, viewing who's responsible for what, and coordinating workload across your team.

Chapter Relationship:

• Chapter 13 - How to create tasks, set priorities, manage due dates, organise workflows
• This Chapter - How to assign those tasks to specific people from your staff directory

If you haven't read Chapter 13 yet, review it first for task management fundamentals. This chapter assumes familiarity with task creation and builds on that foundation with team coordination.

How Task Assignment Works

When you create a task (Chapter 13), you can assign it to a specific staff member from your team directory (Chapter 26.1):

Without Assignment: Task exists in the system but no one is specifically responsible. Useful for personal tasks or general reminders.

With Assignment: Task assigned to a staff member from the directory. That person sees the task in their personal task list, receives notification about the assignment (Chapter 26.4), is clearly responsible for completion, and can be held accountable.

Task assignment creates clarity: everyone knows who's responsible for what.

Assigning Tasks During Creation

When creating a task (see Chapter 13 for full details):

Create task with title, description, due date, priority. In "Assign To" field, select staff member from your directory. Save task.

Who Appears in Assignment List: Active staff members only (inactive staff can't be assigned tasks). All staff regardless of specialisations (unless you filter). Yourself (you can assign tasks to yourself).

What Assigned Staff Member Sees: Task appears in their "My Assigned Tasks" view. Notification about new assignment. Task details (title, description, due date, priority). Can update task status as they work on it.

Example: You create task "Check water troughs at North Paddock" due tomorrow, high priority. Assign to John (who's responsible for North Paddock per staff directory). John sees the task in his list and receives notification.

Viewing Assigned Tasks

Your Assigned Tasks: View tasks assigned to you in your personal task list. Filter by due today, this week, overdue, priority level, and completion status.

Tasks You've Assigned to Others: View tasks you created and assigned to team members. See who's assigned, task status (not started, in progress, completed), due dates, and which tasks are overdue.

Team Task Overview: See all tasks across your team: who has tasks assigned, how many tasks each person has, workload distribution, and overdue tasks by team member.

This visibility helps you coordinate work, identify overburdened team members, and ensure critical tasks are assigned and tracked.

Re-Assigning Tasks

Sometimes tasks need to be reassigned:

Common Scenarios: Original assignee on leave or unavailable. Task requires different expertise than originally thought. Workload balancing (reassign from overburdened to available staff). Responsibility change (staff member takes on new area).

How to Reassign: Open the task. Change "Assigned To" field to different staff member. Save changes.

What Happens: Task removed from original assignee's list. Task appears in new assignee's list. Both receive notifications about reassignment. Task history shows reassignment (accountability trail).

Example: Task "Cattle health check - North Paddock" assigned to John. John goes on sick leave. You reassign task to Sarah, who has cattle health specialisation. Sarah receives notification and task appears in her list.

Assigning Tasks to Animal-Responsible Staff

When tasks relate to specific animals or locations, assign to staff responsible for those animals or areas:

Animal-Specific Tasks: If task is "Administer medication to Bull #425," assign to staff member responsible for cattle health.

Location-Specific Tasks: If task is "Inspect fences at West Paddock," assign to staff member responsible for West Paddock maintenance.

Expertise-Specific Tasks: If task is "Beehive inspection and honey harvest," assign to staff member with beekeeping specialisation.

Using Staff Directory (Chapter 26.1) to Match Tasks: Create task. Identify what the task requires (location, animal type, expertise). Check staff directory for team member with matching responsibilities or specialisations. Assign task to that person.

This ensures tasks go to appropriate, qualified staff members rather than random assignment.

Task Assignment and Workload Awareness

Viewing Team Workload

Before assigning tasks, check team members' current workload:

Individual Workload View: How many tasks currently assigned to each person. How many overdue tasks they have. How many tasks due this week. Completion rate (tasks completed vs. assigned).

Team Workload Summary: Which team members have heavy workload (many assigned tasks). Which team members have light workload (few assigned tasks). Overall team task distribution.

Why This Matters: Prevents overburdening some staff while others underutilised. Enables balanced work distribution across team.

Example: You need to assign daily health checks across five paddocks. Check workload: John: 2 tasks assigned (light workload). Sarah: 8 tasks assigned (heavy workload). Alex: 3 tasks assigned (moderate workload). Assign health check tasks to John and Alex rather than Sarah (who's already overloaded).

Workload Balancing

When workload imbalanced: Adjust New Assignments (Assign new tasks to team members with lighter workloads). Reassign Existing Tasks (Move tasks from overburdened to available staff members). Increase Priorities (Mark urgent tasks as high priority so overburdened staff focus on critical items first). Extend Due Dates (For non-urgent tasks, extend due dates to relieve immediate pressure).

Workload visibility enables proactive coordination preventing burnout and missed deadlines.

Assigning Recurring Tasks to Team Members

Recurring tasks (Chapter 13.3) can be assigned to staff members:

Recurring Task Assignment: Create recurring task (e.g., "Weekly sheep health check") and assign to responsible staff member. Each recurrence instance automatically assigned to that person.

Use Cases: Daily feeding schedules assigned to farm hand. Weekly biosecurity inspections assigned to biosecurity officer. Monthly equipment maintenance assigned to maintenance staff.

What Assigned Staff Sees: Each recurrence appears in their task list on the appropriate due date. No need to manually assign each instance.

Example: Create recurring task "Daily health checks - North Paddock cattle" assigned to John. Every day, new task instance appears in John's list automatically. John completes daily, marking each instance done.

Reassigning Recurring Tasks: Change assignment on the recurring task template. Future instances assigned to new person. Past instances remain assigned to original person.

Task Assignment Notifications

When you assign a task to someone (or reassign a task), they receive notification (Chapter 26.4 covers notifications in detail):

Notification Contains: Task title, description (brief), due date, priority level, and who assigned it to them.

Notification Actions: Assigned staff member can click notification to view full task details, mark notification as read, and navigate directly to task from notification.

This ensures team members aware of new assignments promptly rather than discovering them later when checking task lists.

Common Task Assignment Workflows

Workflow 1: Assigning Daily Health Checks

Scenario: Assign morning health checks across three locations to appropriate staff.

Steps: Review staff directory responsibilities: John (North Paddock), Sarah (South Paddock), Alex (East Paddock). Create task "Morning health check - North Paddock" due tomorrow 9 AM, assign to John. Create task "Morning health check - South Paddock" due tomorrow 9 AM, assign to Sarah. Create task "Morning health check - East Paddock" due tomorrow 9 AM, assign to Alex. All three receive notifications about their assignments.

Time Required: 10 minutes Result: Coordinated health checks across all locations with clear accountability.

Workflow 2: Reassigning Task Due to Staff Unavailability

Scenario: Biosecurity inspection assigned to David, but David sick today. Need to reassign.

Steps: View tasks assigned to David. Find "Biosecurity inspection - West Paddock" due today. Check staff directory for biosecurity specialisation: Sarah has biosecurity training. Check Sarah's workload: 4 tasks (moderate, can handle additional task). Open biosecurity task, reassign from David to Sarah. Sarah receives notification about new assignment. Sarah completes biosecurity inspection today despite David's absence.

Time Required: 5 minutes Result: Critical biosecurity inspection completed despite staff unavailability.

Workflow 3: Balancing Workload Across Team

Scenario: End of week review shows Sarah has 12 tasks while John has 3 tasks. Need to balance.

Steps: View Sarah's task list. Identify tasks that could be reassigned (not requiring Sarah's specific expertise): fence inspection, equipment check, feed inventory, pasture assessment. Check John's responsibilities in staff directory: includes maintenance and general operations. Reassign 4 tasks from Sarah to John. Sarah's workload: 8 tasks (more manageable). John's workload: 7 tasks (balanced). Both receive notifications about reassignments.

Time Required: 15 minutes Result: Fair distribution of work, preventing Sarah burnout and utilising John's capacity.

Integration with Other Features

Task Assignment and Animal Management

When viewing an animal (Chapter 8): See tasks assigned for that specific animal. See which staff member is assigned to each task. Create new task for that animal and assign to responsible staff.

Example: Viewing Bull #425, you see "Medication administration" assigned to Sarah (due today), "Weekly health check" assigned to John (due Friday), and "Hoof trimming" unassigned (you assign to Alex who has livestock handling certification).

Task Assignment and Locations

When viewing a location (Chapter 2): See tasks assigned for that location. See which staff members have tasks at that location. Create location-specific task and assign to location-responsible staff.

Example: Viewing North Paddock location: "Fence repair" assigned to David (maintenance staff), "Pasture rotation" assigned to John (North Paddock manager), and "Water trough cleaning" unassigned (you assign to Sarah who's available).

Task Assignment and Biosecurity

During biosecurity events (Chapter 11): Assign biosecurity monitoring tasks to qualified staff. Assign quarantine observation tasks to specific team members. Coordinate biosecurity response across multiple staff.

Example: Biosecurity quarantine initiated for sheep at East Paddock: "Daily quarantine observation" assigned to Alex (East Paddock manager), "Biosecurity protocol compliance check" assigned to David (biosecurity officer), and "Veterinary consultation coordination" assigned to Sarah (senior staff).

Best Practices

Match Tasks to Expertise: Assign tasks to staff with relevant specialisations. Beekeeping tasks to beekeepers, cattle tasks to cattle specialists, biosecurity tasks to biosecurity-trained staff.

Check Workload Before Assigning: Review current workload before assigning new tasks. Avoid overloading already-burdened team members.

Use Clear Task Titles: Specific titles help assigned staff understand immediately what's required: "Cattle health check - North Paddock, 10 head" clearer than "Health check."

Set Realistic Due Dates: Consider assigned staff member's workload and availability when setting due dates.

Provide Adequate Description: Include enough detail in task description so assigned staff knows exactly what to do without needing to ask.

Monitor Completion Rates: Track which staff members consistently complete assigned tasks vs. which frequently miss deadlines. May indicate training needs or unrealistic workload.

Communicate Beyond Assignment: Don't rely solely on assignment notifications. For urgent or complex tasks, follow up with direct communication (call, email, in-person) to ensure clarity.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue: Staff Member Doesn't See Assigned Task

Possible Causes: Notification settings disabled. Not checking task list regularly. Task assigned to wrong person.

Resolution: Verify task actually assigned to them (check task details). Confirm they're checking their assigned tasks view. Check notification settings (Chapter 26.4). Direct communication: "I assigned you task X, can you confirm you see it?"

Issue: Too Many Tasks Assigned to One Person

Possible Causes: That person is expert in area where many tasks needed. Other staff not trained for those tasks. Unintentional assignment concentration.

Resolution: Review workload across team. Reassign tasks that don't require specific person's expertise. Consider cross-training other staff to distribute workload. Extend due dates for non-urgent tasks.

Issue: Tasks Frequently Reassigned, Creating Confusion

Possible Causes: Poor initial assignment decisions. Staff availability not checked before assignment. Inadequate planning.

Resolution: Check staff directory and workload before initial assignment. Verify staff availability for the task's time period. Assign tasks to backup staff when primary staff have uncertain availability. Communicate reassignments clearly, not just via notification.