NFIB

The Key to Meeting Deadlines
08/ 22/ 2003

by Charles R. McConnell

When it comes to multi-tasking, the norm in most small businesses is that it happens a lot. Because there are so few employees and so many jobs to do, oftentimes each employee has a handful of tasks to complete. So that no task goes unfinished, or even unnoticed, it is important for the owner or manager to set specific deadlines for the task and follow up regularly with employees to make sure they're on track.

It's fairly easy for some managers to adopt the first part -- assigning deadlines -- but not nearly as easy to incorporate faithful follow-up.

Frequently those who hand out assignments don't think to follow up at all, or if they do, they follow up after deadlines have passed. Employees may know that even if their manager gives them a specific deadline, follow-up won't happen until the deadline is at least a week old. This encourages employees to believe that regardless of the stated response time they always have at least another week to respond. Thus the practices and habits of the manager help shape the behavior of the employees.

Use deadlines and train yourself in faithful follow-up. This can be as simple as writing a reminder on a desk calendar whenever something is assigned and making it a habit to follow up three days, for example, before the deadline arrives.

Deadlines should be reasonable. Some deadlines will necessarily be tight; rush jobs come up, emergencies occur, and the pressure is on for everyone. Most of the time, however, it's possible to give the employee enough time to merge the task with a normal workload and get it done without undue stress. It's a responsibility of every manager to make it possible for employees to do their work as efficiently and effectively as possible, and giving employees reasonable deadlines makes it possible for them to do their work the way it should be done. When deadlines are tight, it is even more important that follow-up takes place. Follow up politely, but follow up firmly and faithfully. This not only alerts the employee of the importance of the task at hand, but also shows the employee that you understand that he or she is working hard to meet the deadline.

Once your new deadline and follow-up habits become the norm and employees learn that your deadlines are fair but real, their productivity -- and your effectiveness -- will improve.

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