Ask Andi: Meeting deadlines is becoming an issue for one of my employees. He’s a smart contributor. But I know I can’t count on him to deliver when I need him to. That adds a lot of stress to both our lives. Any thoughts?
Thoughts of the day: Meeting deadlines is a crucial business skill. Meeting deadlines can mean the difference between profit and loss. Check on the underlying contributing factors. Make sure there are support systems in place, and that he’s using them. Work on building skills and habits that will correct this fault.
Meeting deadlines is crucial to business
Learning how to deliver on time is essential in business. It builds trust and confidence. People who deliver on time often get praised, even if their work is less than top-notch. People who deliver late are often chastised and overlooked, no matter the quality of their work.
Start with a check-in – is your employee even aware there’s a problem with missed deadlines? Whatever you need to be done may have a different priority for someone else.
There’s a big difference between saying, “Finish up and get it over to me” and “Have it in my hands by 2:00 pm today”. If you’re not specific about when something is due, you’ve left it open for interpretation. That means there are no grounds for complaint when it comes in at a different time than you expected.
End every conversation with 2 things: a request that the other party repeats back to you what is their understanding about the task due, and agreement as to “by when”. Here’s how that part of the conversation goes.
Deadlines help you prioritize
“What, specifically, do you have to do, to meet this deadline?” Listen carefully to be sure you and the employee are agreeing to the same task to be completed, and the same timeline. Finish up with, “And when will you have it done and on my desk?”
Discuss what to do if there are any problems along the way. Who should the employee check in with for instructions? Emphasize the importance of early notification if there is a problem. In the beginning, you may want to have a mid-way check-in, to make sure that the employee is watching the clock. “Get back to me by noon, to let me know where you are, what still has to be done, to hit your time.”
Make sure there’s a calendar in use, preferably on the computer. Is everything in it, including projects, to-do’s, and phone calls? Are things checked off when they’re complete? Meeting deadlines keeps the company’s productivity on track.
It is easy to procrastinate the work
Meeting deadlines can mean the difference between profit and loss. Some employees get into trouble because they wait until the last minute to tell someone that a deadline will be missed. Explain that other people are depending on them to come through, and early notice on missed deadlines will help others plan workarounds.
Most of us get overwhelmed with too many things on our plates. Take a look at what’s on your employee’s list. Take a few items off and see if they do better at delivering on time what’s left.
Some employees, with the best of intentions and the worst of outcomes, want to be helpful. They keep saying, “yes, I can do that, too”, even when there’s no way they can get to everything they’ve agreed to do. Before adding another project, ask the employee to review what they already have to do. Teach the employee to say, “I’d love to help you, but there’s no way I can do that unless something else comes off the list.”
Check if it’s only one employee with a problem delivering on time or many. There may be too much to do and not enough people. In that case, you’ll have to prioritize what truly needs to get done, and what gets delayed. Consider bringing in another employee to chip away at the delay list.
