A well-oiled company becomes that way when everyone in the organization works to the best of their abilities to meet project deadlines. When one employee slacks off, it could cause a chain reaction that would damage the whole company.
Not every business runs smoothly as you’d hope it would, however. That’s the reason some companies ask for outside help, including a ServiceNow implementation specialist , for smoothening out the wrinkles in their processes.
But, if your problem is having employees who keep on missing deadlines, you can fix this on your own. Here are some tips you can follow.
Be clear with your expectations
Before starting on a project, you should first sit down with your employees to discuss what you expect from them. Don’t be vague. Tell them what exactly you need them to bring to the table without micromanaging them. This means that each individual should understand their role in the project.
Discuss their personal goals
One of the common reasons employees fail to meet their deadlines is that their personal goals don’t align with the company’s expectations. So, talk to your team and try to get a feel on what it would take to motivate them to work harder.
For example, if they want recognition for their accomplishments , use that to motivate them. Let them know that if the team meets its deadline and the project becomes a success, every member will receive recognition. Perhaps you can hold a small ceremony wherein you’ll announce to the whole office the efforts that your team has done.
Assess their strengths and weaknesses
The next thing you should do is see if each one in your team is capable of performing the tasks assigned to them. If it’s a big project and you don’t have enough time to talk to all of your employees, break down the team into smaller groups and designate a leader for each one. Ask each leader to talk to every team member and assess each one’s abilities.
When your team leaders have done their job, ask them who among their groups are capable of meeting deadlines and which ones require more prodding. This way, you can effectively help your whole team assess the strengths and weaknesses of each member.
Monitor their progress
When everyone starts working on the project, make sure to monitor their progress. If you’re doing this the low-tech way, ask your team leaders to submit a weekly report to inform you about the progress of each group.
If you want to do this the high-tech way, there are several programs that can help you do just that. Put up these programs in your system and give every employee access to it, where they will input how far they are with their tasks. Here, you can easily identify those who are lagging behind and need some more motivation.
Encourage, not berate
If you find employees lagging behind, talk to them and figure out what’s keeping them from meeting their deadlines. While it can be tempting to raise your voice at employees who are not performing well, it would be better to talk them calmly.
After all, they may have some valid reasons, and if you’re able to motivate them to work harder, it would benefit your company. Compare that to berating them, which would only add more problems to your business.
