Time is complex. Culturally and individually, people navigate time differently and these differences can lead challenges and misunderstandings both personally and professionally. Some people are always on time, some people are perpetually late, and others fall somewhere in the middle.
The same is true of workplace cultures. Some workplaces have a culture of punctuality at all costs while others operate on a more flexible schedule. Problems arise when these different philosophies collide, when a person from one end of the spectrum works for a supervisor or an organization at the other end. When one person is waiting impatiently for another person to show up to a meeting. When someone’s workflow is held up by an email that was promised but never sent. When someone is fed up by someone else constantly reaching out to follow up on a document that simply is not ready yet.
These situations involving punctuality, deadlines and response time come up all day every day in workplaces across the land. To navigate them effectively, it is important to examine the following steps. kate reply
STEP 1- IDENTIFY THE ISSUE
Some people believe it is never acceptable for anyone or anything to be late, regardless of the consequence. Other people argue that if no harm is done, there is no problem with missing a deadline or responding to an email later than promised. As a professional and as an organization, you need to decide what you believe and matters to you when it comes to timeliness. There is no right or wrong answer here, but there is a right or wrong answer for the way you want to operate.
Do you need everyone to be at their desks ready to go at 9:00 on the dot or is it okay for people to come and go as their schedules allow?
Is it important to you that meetings start on time or do you like to leave a grace period for people to informally connect?
Do you need to impose strict deadlines for deliverables or is it okay for staff to complete what they can when they can?
Do you want all things and all people to be on time in all circumstances or do specific circumstances determine your answer?
Whatever the case, decide if lateness is an issue for you, and if it is, when it is an issue and what you want to do about it. It is also important to examine how this shows up externally.
What are your expectations with your partners and stakeholders when it comes to timeliness?
What are their expectations of you?
Don’t assume. Address it and keep on addressing it until both sides are in a place they feel good about. l
STEP 2- BE CLEAR WITH YOUR EXPECTATIONS
If you want a culture where meetings start on time, be clear with your team that meetings start on time and then start your meetings on time. If you expect everyone to be at their workstations by 9:00am every day, let them know as much and make sure you are at your workstation by 9:00am as well. If you expect emails to be answered within 4 hours or 24 hours or by the end of the week, communicate these expectations with your team.
Again, there are no right or wrong expectations you should set, but there are right or wrong expectations. What is wrong, however, is holding people accountable for expectations they were never made aware of (which unfortunately happens a lot). It will also cause problems if you set expectations that you do not follow yourself. Finally, if you set expectations but do not address them when they are not met, it is the same as not having any expectations at all.
STEP 3- HIRE ACCORDINGLY
If you have high expectations for timeliness, you must hire people who can meet these expectations. Some people just are not going to operate in a timely manner no matter how many rules or regulations are in place. If you know you cannot work with people like this, do not hire them. Be clear from the moment you send out a job description that you are looking for someone who meets your expectations around timeliness. People who want more flexibility in their working lives will get the message and, in most cases, will move on to the next job description.
Of course, many people are masters of telling you what you want to hear in order to get hired and then present very differently once they have the position. If this happens, and a self-proclaimed punctual person turns out to be anything but, be quick to address it. If it is enough of a problem, be clear that the arrangement is simply not going to work out. Again, this holds true externally as well. Be clear with potential partners and continue to communicate about the issue.
STEP 4- PUT REASONABLE MEASURES IN PLACE
If you are not willing to be flexible when it comes to punctuality and deadlines, that is a perfectly fine choice to make. You may also decide that you want high expectations for timeliness but that you are willing to put reasonable measures in place (i.e. reasonable measures for you) to support your team in meeting those expectations.
As a timely person myself, I was initially adamant about not sending reminders to my staff about deadlines because I believed it was their responsibility as professionals to manage their own time. The problem was, it did not work. People were missing deadlines all over the place and it was causing a lot of problems. Drawing a line in the sand was only making things worse. My team was otherwise strong but had trouble managing their deadlines. When I started sending reminders, deadlines were met with far more frequency, and it eliminated a lot of the headache I was experiencing. This might not be right for you, but it ended up being right for me.
Standing on principle was not getting me the results I wanted but sending out a reminder helped a lot. I decided it was better to stand down on principle to achieve our stated goals.
Another example involved our team meetings. There is constant traffic and Metro delays in the DC area despite the best planning of even the most punctual people. Early morning meetings were a disaster with people staggering in all morning long, causing disruptions throughout our meetings. Again, I could have exacerbated my frustration by continuing to hold early morning meetings and continuing to get frustrated as people arrived late, but instead, I decided to push back the start time of the meetings. It made things so much easier for everyone involved, and it was much more effective to have a full, easy meeting, than a constantly disrupted, late one.
STEP 5- COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE
Part of the frustration when it comes to lateness involves communication. It is one thing to be notified that someone or something will be arriving late, but it is far worse not to have any communication at all. When someone is late for a meeting and does not let you know, you are left to wonder- will they be 10 minutes late or an hour? Are they even coming at all?
If a team member misses a deadline, will they be sending the materials in the next hour or the next day or the next week?
It is important to let people know the expectations around communication when it comes to lateness. Included in this is what constitutes late.
Is 5 minutes okay or is it 10? Is one day late acceptable on a missed deadline or even two?
How should people let you know when something will be late? Do you prefer a phone call or is a text okay?
Be as clear as you possibly can. When expectations are not met, let people know the consequences of that.
Working through the challenges that come with timeliness and lateness can bear successful results, but this can only happen with effective, intentional communication.
STEP 6- DO NOT ACCOMMODATE UNWANTED BEHAVIOR
If it is important to you that people arrive on time for meetings, do not delay the start of the meeting to wait for the latecomers. Further, do not stop what you are doing when the latecomers arrive to repeat everything you have already said to help them catch up. If you have set an expectation that they must arrive on time, then they must be responsible for finding out what they missed. Do not punish the people who have met the expectation by accommodating those who did not. late reply
STEP 7- SHARE TIME MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES
Some people seem to have an easier time than others being on time. Regardless of natural tendencies, however, anyone can get better at anything and that includes timeliness. There are lots of best practices to support people on their journey. Help your team by offering tips and encourage them to try different ones to see what works best for them. Some basic examples are
1) Always allow extra time when traveling to a meeting to account for traffic, parking etc. Research shows that late people plan to arrive at a destination at the time they are meant to be there, while punctual people plan extra time for potential obstacles.
2) Do not schedule back-to-back anything. Give yourself a window in between meetings and phone calls and anything else to account for things running over or behind schedule.
3) Set up systems to keep you on track with your deadlines. This could include reminders through your email or phone. You could also set up regular check-ins on assignments to keep you accountable.
REMINDER STEP- ALWAYS PAY ON TIME
Since we are on the subject of timeliness, allow me to plead, once again, to always pay your staff, contractors and vendors on time. This includes any promised bonuses, raises and cost of living increases. You never know what financial burdens people are carrying and how much they may be counting on their payment from you. Do not take this responsibility lightly. Pay people on time as promised and if something unforeseen arises, give as much notice (and empathy) as you possibly can.
Working effectively with other people means a lot of patience, time and understanding of different styles, values, temperaments and expectations. Make sure you are clear with your team and your partners what role timeliness plays and what expectations are in place around it. Hire accordingly. Contract accordingly.
Timeliness is something that shows up daily and can cause huge challenges if people are not on the same page. Make your expectations clear, model them and stick to them. Provide support for those who need it. Be reasonable when you are able and firm when necessary. Hold yourself to the same expectations you hold others to.
Keep working at it and know when you simply cannot tolerate the lateness anymore.
How much timeliness matters to you is your own decision and whatever one you make, make sure you are consistent.
For more support, reach out at CoachKat@katherinespinney.com.
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