Direct Reports
My direct reports do their jobs well but when it come to turning in reports they can't seem to get them in on time. What ie the best way to get them to understand that their reports are important and need to be turned in on time
Don,
Great question...A couple of things come to my mind. First of all are there any "consequences" (I use that term carefully) in place for not turning the reports in on time? It could be they understand they need to turn in on time, but if there is no consequence for lateness, they often won't.
The second thing is making sure that they do understand the importance of timeliness with their reports. Explaining to them how a timely report really is important to the success of the team, department, ultimately the organization as a whole. I have found that often with seemingly "small" tasks (like reports) folks don't see how this connects to the bigger picture so motivation is low.
Hope that helps, sorry for the lengthy response.
Ryan
I would inform the team about the Dead lines and consequences for not meeting the Deadline. I ran into the same problem in past. I was promoted within the Team therefore none of my Team members took me seriously.At one point of time it was a lot of resistance. The fact is that I am the manager and my review depends on how my team performs . I discussed this with my team and I made it clear that I am one of them and I will be there for them(Build the team trust) . I made a schedule for my team for the reports.Now every month on a particular date they have to submit report and the one who doesn't submits on time gets a written warning.
Hope this Helps!
Cheers
Neha
I think the key is that you communicated the importance of the reports with your team & held them accountable.
Ryan
One way to help solve this situation is communicating to them the importance of the reports to show their productivity to upper management. It is documentation of what was done for that period. I use the analogy of a report card to show what they have accomplished and where they can improve. It is definitely a way for them to have accountability and self motivate them to be productive. Once this explanation was given those reports flew into my office before the deadline.
Dolly,
that's great! I also like to show them how these reports help demonstrate the value of our department & you as the individual worker. In this tight economy, I want to make myself & my team as valuable as possible.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
