“Hello, sir. I was just wondering… hello. Is there anyone there?”
All you can hear is the sound of a dead phone line and it’s because of a missed deadline. As soon as the business makes a promise and doesn’t deliver, the clients bounce quicker than you can blink. They aren’t prepared to put their reputation on the line; plus, there are dozens of businesses that will provide a similar service.
They can afford a mistake, but you can’t which is why you should never let your aim err. If you find this a difficult target to hit, then below are a handful of tips which will help.
Create Alerts
It sounds simple, and it is in the grand scheme of things. But, nothing is straightforward when the human ego is involved. Believe it or not, some bosses don’t create alerts or write things down because they trust their memory implicitly. It’s a source of pride, yet it costs them thousands in revenue when it fails. If this sounds familiar, take the ego out of the situation with a Google apps integration system. An experienced hand such as ClearFuze Networks will install the service and keep you up to date. Set them a couple of days in advance to keep your finger on the pulse.
Add Liability
People are productive when they know they will get blamed for a failure. Because no one wants to be the reason the company suffers, they’ll work extra hard. Yes, it’s a little exploitative yet it’s basic psychology anyone can use to their advantage. You can do this by including a tracker in the team’s everyday work, and Teamweek has five of the best. Not only does this tell everyone the time frames, but it shows them their job. So, if there is a break in the chain, you and the whole office can apportion blame. Leaders prefer the carrot but the stick works too.
Have A Contingency Plan
The truth is that things will happen and they will set you back but the clock will keep ticking. In these scenarios, it’s essential to have a plan B, C, D and E all the way through to Z to give yourself some breathing space. Then, you can limit the damage and still produce a quality product or service on time. There are lots of options, but the easiest one is not to promise the world. If you can complete a job in two days, say it takes three. The client will be impressed when you deliver early.
Define Definitions
A specific date isn’t a clear enough definition. You should also set out what you expect from your employees on a daily basis from an output perspective. By doing this, nothing will get lost in translation when there is an important deadline to hit. Put it in writing and post the document on the website so that they can refer back to it. Also, check in with them to make sure they’re not getting behind. Asking them to reply to an email is a simple yet effective to know they have read the T’s & C’s.
Can you use this advice to deal with one deadline at a time?
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