Remember that your goal is to be influential and achieving this goal has a down side: no-one wants to disappoint you so they may agree to an unreasonably short deadline. One way to fix this situation is to reschedule the work by adding new deadlines, add in due dates to those unplanned tasks and add estimates to tasks which don’t have an estimation. To take this concept a step further, consider starting a “content marketing writers newsletter” that highlights some of the best pieces and hardest workers from the week. Depending on your records and your level of detail, you can include the average types of edits that your writer receives in their “report cards” mentioned earlier. Time management is a key factor required to meet deadlines effectively. If you are short on human resources, the next best viable option is seeking a writing service. Depending on the size of your writing staff — or how often you have been burned by bad writers — you have a few choices for improving your calendar security: The goal of these three steps is to limit the chances that your website goes dark because of missed deadlines. We’ve all seen it. Ltd. All rights reserved. November 23, 2010, Dealing with Performance Issues in Project Management – Missed Deadlines While these processes won’t completely fix the behavior of your bad apples, it will help you identify them and prevent you from hiring others. Be polite but firm. If you are lucky enough and manage to beat the deadline; try and spare a few minutes to figure out where you went wrong. One of the main reasons that writers get defensive about edits is because they’re insecure about not being good enough or they think something good they created is being attacked. A manager’s role in the risk management of workplace stress. A recent study reported by Psychology Today found that employees respond better to praise instead of money. Here are three questions to ask yourself to better help you deal with (missed) deadlines. While you might have a strong personal relationship with a few contractors, the rest of your team does not. Some editors will send back articles for seemingly nitpicky changes, while others will only make a request for major fixes. Although seeking professional help can be costly, it’s a small price to pay for the total amount of time saved. The ultimate goal in this example is to clean the room. What can I do? These one-on-ones are not one-offs, and are just as important for star performers as underachievers. Reduce the threat: Individuals who are concerned about job security, your personal opinion, and their status can feel threatened. 1.888.470.5990, Like this? Your manager and/or colleagues may be displeased; yet you increase the chances of maintaining your credibility by being honest and forthcoming up front, instead of waiting to lower the boom after the fact," says Colette Ellis, founder of InStep Consulting. Photo courtesy of NASA Goddard Photo and Video(CC Attribution). Helping your work mate is an acceptable work ethic. Now we know the reasons, lets figure out how to solve them. You are much less concerned with behavior than results. This article is a companion piece to Performance Issues.If your project is continually missing deadlines you may have a performance problem with one of the members of your team. More than 80 percent of employees say that recognition for their contributions was more meaningful than any rewards or gifts. Do you want the resource replaced with a better one? Everyone in the team is working flat out, their eyes fixed on an impending deadline they can’t miss. Check your inbox :)");jQuery("#spokal_OptinFormResult_1_succes_wrap").show();jQuery("#spokal_OptinFormResult_1_succes").css("color","#33cc00");jQuery("#spokal_lead_generator_1").remove();}},error: function(){jQuery("#spokal_inline_loading_gif_1").hide();jQuery("#spokal_OptinFormResult_1").html("Failed to send your message. However, as leaders (and I don’t believe this is exclusive to CEOs), it is a mistake to put this natural desire above the needs of our teams. Those of you who caught my article on the science of feedback will know that monthly feedback strikes the right balance between overloading and underwhelming employees. Many editors have seen a piece of content that they thought was amazing get shredded by the client. This puts me in a bind because I have my own deadlines our clients and don’t want the agency to look bad. PMHut.com is a website dedicated to providing PM articles, detailed project management software reviews, and the latest news for the most popular web-based collaboration tools. Every company’s writer “baseball cards” will look different depending on your content needs and industry, but there are a few universal criteria that most companies can include: This information can help you and your co-workers understand your writers if something goes wrong. Yet to be a good CEO, in order to be liked in the long run, you must do many things that will upset people in the short run.”, – The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. Thanks for this wonderful topic/guide. If you don’t pay them for these unexpected changes, then you’re essentially taking bread out of their pockets by preventing them from dedicating their time to paying work. That’s how we improve.”. In fact, detailed monthly feedback on areas of weakness was shown to improve individual performance by as much as 46% (if you missed that article, now is the perfect time to check it out). For all of the problems that writers cause, clients can be even worse. You can’t control your writers, but you can control how you handle a missed deadline. What's behind the disturbing appeal of QAnon? According to research, it takes more time to complete a task while distracted. As managers and leaders, we have to manage our team and handle deadlines, specifically so that they do not miss them. “I’ve observed you over the past few days and you’ve spent at least 20% of your time chatting with other team members. What is your new, real estimated time of delivery? The proper mindset you should have is to admit that the deadline can only be met by submitting what you have before the date/time is due. Individuals who consistently miss deadlines are detrimental to the health of your team and organisational growth. “I love deadlines, I particularly like the sound they make as they go flying by”. Agency? FAQ Series: Dealing with (Missed) Deadlines. This article is a companion piece to Performance Issues.If your project is continually missing deadlines you may have a performance problem with one of the members of your team. For example, how soon after a missed deadline should you reach out to the writer? We must take responsibility for our actions because that is one way to grow and become better with our chosen endeavor. Ensure that the team member agrees to the actions you identify and schedule a follow up to ensure their corrective action is on track. jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery("#spokal_lead_generator_1").submit(function(e){e.preventDefault();if(validWidgetLeadGeneratorRequest("spokal_lead_generator_1","Oops. After accepting the fact that the deadline is there to stay, it is advisable to remain cool despite the pressure. However, you should also take into consideration whether the Category feedback is coming from the client or the editing team. Despite the immense pressure experienced, the first and foremost step to beating a deadline is to first accept that deadlines are inevitable, and in some cases non-negotiable. Give the individual a chance to evaluate their own performance and devise a solution together. But it shouldn’t be interrupting your work plan. We tend to miss deadlines because of a lot of reasons, valid or not. Contact Us. The second major reason for missing deadlines is that you don’t clearly understand what you have been asked to do. Fortunately, there are a few processes you can implement to increase your chances of getting work on time while identifying the bad apples. Home You can find endorsements from some of his customers on three O’s web site (http://www.threeo.ca/). One-on-one conversations can be stressful, particularly if an individual knows they are failing to meet expectations. Sounds funny right? Last Modified: June 8, 2017 by Amanda Dodge 1 Comment. Note: Failed to meet the deadline? If the person has missed two of the past three deadlines, make it clear they need to hit their deadline next month.