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How to Get People to Meet Deadlines

This can be a frustrating and difficult situation, if you are part of a team of workers and you are reliant on other people doing their work on time in order for you to be able to do your own job or to get the project completed.

This is a particular difficult situation because when you are considering how to get people to meet deadlines then you are looking at ways to influence another human being, which is not always possible and usually isn’t easy.

However, there are certain things which you can do in order to and least help other people to meet deadlines.

1. Make sure that the work is within the capability of the other person

Any deadline, no matter how generous, is destined to be missed if the person to whom a task has been allocated is unable to do the work which has been set. So, you need to know the person well enough to give them, to right kinds of jobs to do, in order for them to get done.

2. Make deadlines realistic

A deadline which is too near, rather than motivating someone to work harder will be more likely to make them panic. When people panic they can’t think effectively so obviously they then can’t work effectively and that puts the deadline even further in jeopardy.

A good rule of thumb might be for you to think seriously about how long it would take you personally to do the work and try to set a deadline with that in mind, if possible.

3. Involve the person in making their own deadline

You may not be fully aware or the entire workload of the person for whom you are setting a deadline, so if you do this unilaterally you may be being unrealistic and unfair.

So, take some time to sit down with the other person in a calm environment. Discuss with them what their workload is and ask them to suggest a deadline by which they feel they can get the work done.

Be aware that they may try to please you by saying an optimistic deadline, so you may want to ask some supplementary questions like: what other work have you got and when is it due? Does that deadline give you a realistic break or is it going to result in you being burned out and exhausted? etc.

4. Help them to break down the task into smaller parts

This can and should be done at the interim stage of deadline setting. Point out what work would need to be done on a daily or weekly basis in order to meet that deadline, and therefore how much time must be devoted to that project each day. Ask them if they feel they can realistically commit themselves to doing that.

5. Set interim deadlines

Once you have discussed a deadline and decided how the work needs to be apportioned in time, you can set some interim deadlines so that the other person knows what part of the project they should be focusing on and the task becomes less overwhelming.

6. Discuss progress regularly

Progress should be assessed and each and every interims deadline date. You also need to see hard, factual evidence of the progress.

Has the work assigned for that section of the project time been completed? If so, great and that will boost the worker’s confidence and given them the motivation to move on.

If not, why not? What were the problems and how can they be solved or avoided in the future? Does the deadline need to be reassessed in view of these problems at an interim stage?

7. Be approachable

In order for a worker to feel comfortable undertaking this planning with you and letting you know where they are not meeting their interim deadline targets, you need to make yourself approachable. Don’t get angry at a missed deadline; instead, discuss the reasons for it and be supportive. Help the worker move on and progress.

In this way, You can be a friendly and supportive manager with the best approach to how to get people to meet deadlines.