6 Tips to Get Employees to

Meet Goals and Deadlines

You can have multiple goals for your organization but
without the help of your employees, your business won’t be
able to move forward. One of the common poor working
habits that prevent teams from accomplishing things is
procrastination. Procrastination can lead to a lot of
consequences which include missed deadlines. More projects
pile up and this huge bulk of work can even be more difficult
to handle.

If you encounter employees who promise to meet deadlines

yet always fail to deliver, you need use strategies that
motivate them to act. These methods may involve asking
them important questions or helping them realize how their
efforts fit into larger company goals.

Let’s explore some of these strategies in this article.

1. Find out what your employees’ personal goals are.

Your workers may have goals for themselves and these goals
can be different from your company. The trick is to bridge
the gap between what your employees want and your
business needs. For example, if your team values recognition,
you can encourage members to meet a project deadline
providing praise and a reward for a job well done.

Before starting on a task, sit down with your employees and

ask them about their personal aspirations. Tap into their
emotions so they can feel more motivated to get started.

2. Make a public announcement about the deadline.

You can hold your employees more accountable for an

important project they should be working on by announcing
it publicly. You can’t tolerate mediocrity especially if the
accomplishment of a project can bring a major positive
change in your organization. Let everyone know about a
project’s exact due date as well as your performance
standards.

The problem with some companies is that they tolerate some

workers who feel entitled due to their years of service. Rules
are rules and every employee, newbie or not, should learn to
respect and meet these expectations.

3. Use an employee scheduling software.

The classic timers still serve useful but they lack a full set of
features that guarantee workplace productivity. Several
areas can be tracked when you use an employee scheduling
tool. These vital areas include percent completion of a project,
milestones, allocation of workload, start and end dates, and
more.

With an effective scheduling tool in place, managers are can

monitor employee progress, provide timely feedback, and
implement solutions before bigger problems can arise. To
prevent misunderstanding when using this new system, be
clear about its benefits. Explain to your employees that a
scheduling software can help the company grow and enable
management to measure team performance. The latter can
mean more chances for employee recognition.

4. Explore possible problems and be open to solutions.

Even after you’ve provided all the details about a project and
the necessary support your employees need, some of them
just fail to comply. Don’t be quick to judge team members.
Instead, find out the reason why deadlines were missed.
Some employees feel less motivated while some encounter
difficulties and are hesitant to call your attention to ask for
help.

As you and your employees tackle these problems, explore

practical solutions as well. Don’t just ignore failures. Ask
them what they think went wrong and what could have been
done to prevent the missed deadline. Let a problem be a
learning opportunity and a chance for employees to improve.
5. Always monitor progress.

Constantly keeping an eye on your workers doesn’t imply

lack of trust. In fact, tracking performance enables
employees to improve because you can now provide
real-time recognition and feedback.

It’s normal for people to feel pressured when they’re being

monitored. Your role is to set a good example to your team.
Show members that you are being punctual with project
deadlines yourself. Remind your staff about your overall goal
so they can stay on track.

6. Make planning a priority.

Regardless of the task your team needs to tackle, always

explain its objectives. Clearly outline the steps on how this
task is to be accomplished. Planning even becomes a larger
priority with projects that require more time and effort.

Explain why and how a project is to be done. If possible, allow

your team to be part of the planning process. They might
have useful suggestions that can help streamline the job.

Conclusion
While no organization is fail-safe, implementing the best
practices to get employees to meet goals and deadlines is
needed to make progress. Assign specific roles, set clear
expectations, provide incentives, and use a software or tool
that guarantees versatility and accuracy in project
management.