For business owners who want to entrust website creation to their employees

If possible, I would like to work on website creation together with the business owner. This is because a website is not just an advertisement, but a process of articulating the company's vision, values, and future.

However, in reality, there are many cases where the owner says, "I will leave the production to my employees." That in itself is not a bad thing; in fact, I think it is a wonderful choice.

However, I have one request.

If you are going to entrust it to an employee or a person in charge, please trust them until the end.

I am serious about wanting to convey this theme not just as a story about website creation, but also as a story about human resource development and organizational building.

Should the president step forward, or should it be left to the employees?

Ideally, the president should be involved in website creation. No one understands the company as deeply as the business owner, and the owner is the one who can best express their passion for the business.

On the other hand, if you have a trusted employee, choosing to entrust it to them is also highly valuable. In fact, I believe that whether or not there is someone you can entrust with website creation is one indicator of a company's organizational strength.

What if you were hospitalized for a week starting tomorrow?
What if you were to consider business succession in a few years?

At that time, is there someone you can say, "I can entrust this to this person"?

The question of whether you can entrust website creation is actually close to the question of whether there is someone you can entrust the future of your company and business to. That is why, if you have a trusted employee, I would like you to entrust it to them.

If you are going to entrust it, please also hand over the "decision-making power"

However, if you are going to leave it to an employee, I would like you to also give them a certain degree of decision-making power (discretion). Website creation involves a continuous series of small decisions.

Which photo should be used?
Will this expression convey the message?
Is this flow okay?

If they have to wait for the president's approval every time, the production will inevitably not move forward.

Of course, important decisions should be made by the business owner. However, regarding the answers that employees have thought about, worried over, and taken responsibility for,

"If you say so, I'll trust you"

I want you to say that to them. Decision-making power is not just authority.
I believe it is a proof of trust.

The most painful thing is having the table flipped right before completion

The thing to avoid most in the production process is a major change in direction right before completion.
If we compare website creation to building a house, it is like having the blueprints finished, the foundation laid, and the walls and roof already in place.

At a time like that,

"Actually, I want a two-story house instead of a one-story house"

is what it is like to be told.

Or, it is like unraveling a sweater that is almost finished, returning it to the state of yarn, and knitting it all over again. Naturally, this takes both time and money.

However, what is truly significant is theimpact on the employees' feelings.

Both the employees (the people in charge) and the production team have been working toward a single goal through repeated discussions. To have everything built up until that point denied by a single word from the top, just as completion is finally in sight.

This is more painful than one might imagine.

In some cases, it can even lead toemployees losing trust in the company or the business owner.

If you have opinions, I want you to participate from the beginning

While having the table flipped right before completion is problematic, changes of opinion during the initial stages of production (the design phase) are very welcome. In fact, that is what meetings are for. Please do actively join us in the meetings.

Website creation is also similar to cooking.
For example, in the case of a set-meal restaurant.

At the stage of taking an order,

"Excuse me, I'd like to change from the pork cutlet set to the fried chicken set!"

If you say that, we can accommodate you.

However, when the pork cutlet is already being fried,

"Actually, make it fried chicken!"

It puts you in a difficult spot when you are told that, doesn't it?

The same applies to a website.

If it is still at the blueprint stage, there is still time for a bold change in direction. That is precisely why if you have something you want to convey as the president, I want you to participate from the beginning.

Rather than giving your opinion only after seeing the finished product, sharing the direction at the initial stage will make the process go very smoothly.

The experience of employees creating a website becomes a company asset

I believe that website creation itself is an opportunity for human resource development. Through the production process, the person in charge will:

What is our company's strength?
Why do customers choose us?
What kind of vision does the president have for continuing the business?

They will start thinking about things like that. They will see a perspective that was not visible through their daily tasks alone.

I call this:

The experience of borrowing the owner's perspective

I believe it is that.

I actually had a client like this. There was a case where the president wanted to strengthen services for women in the future and entrusted the website creation to a female employee as the person in charge.

The president did not interfere along the way and trusted the employee to think for herself. As a result, not only was the website completed, but I also felt that the employee who took on the role grew significantly.

And, the fact that it became an opportunity to deepen the relationship of trust between the president and the employee was a very happy event for me personally.

A website is not finished once it is completed. In the form of employee growth, assets can remain within the company.

Summary: To entrust means to believe

What I want to convey most is that to entrust means to believe. It is not about pushing work onto someone. It is about placing your trust in them.

When I receive a request to entrust website creation to an employee, I

"Why did you decide to entrust this task to this person?"

I sometimes ask this slightly pointed question. Behind that question lies the meaning:

"Do you trust that person?"

That is what it implies.

If you cannot trust them, it would be better for you, the business owner, to handle it yourself. If you can trust them, I want you to watch over them until the end instead of denying their work along the way.

And when the website is successfully completed,

"You did a great job."
"Thank you."

I want you to convey your gratitude and encouragement by saying these words.

Website creation is work that builds the future of a company.
At the same time, it is also an opportunity to nurture people and cultivate relationships of trust.
That is why today, I still

"If you are going to entrust it to them, please believe in them until the end."

I would like to convey this to all business owners 😊

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Thank you for reading.
This is the website for my web design business, [Office Yamaya].
Please take a look at this as well 😊

Illustration by Mika Yada