I’m a group leader at a small architectural firm and one of my team members—who is very talented—is consistently late getting to the office for morning staff meetings. He recently arrived 20 minutes late to a major client appointment. Frankly, his tardiness is getting out of hand and has resulted in some negative consequences for our business. Any advice on how to deal with this situation?
—Don’t want to lose talent but can’t afford to lose business
A: People who are chronically late can be frustrating and baffling to anyone stuck waiting for them; and in business, it can have grave consequences resulting in overall workplace inefficiency or even loss of business. There are several possible explanations for your team member’s tardiness. One reason may be that he simply underestimates how long a task will take. Other possibilities include a lack of organizational skills, low job satisfaction, and in extreme cases, it could be due to serious health issues such as depression or an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Barring any health issues, there are a few strategies you can implement to kick-start his time-management skills. First, meet with him to discuss the situation one-on-one. I would start by outlining how his tardiness (with documentation citing dates/times that he has been late for staff/client meetings) has impacted the work group and, if appropriate, the bottom line. Before reading him the riot act, let him know that you value his work contributions and would like to help, but need to understand the reason(s) for his chronic tardiness. For instance, if it is a child care issue, perhaps you could schedule staff meetings later in the day to accommodate his schedule. If your company provides flex time, he might be a candidate. Or, depending on his responsibilities and requirements to be on-site—maybe he should telecommute.
Otherwise, here are some tips to help keep him on time and on the payroll: have him create a weekly calendar broken down into 30-minute increments to help him figure out how long a task really takes; suggest that he not book meetings too closely together; encourage him to get to meetings early and reward himself with coffee or time to relax; suggest that when preparing to leave for an appointment, he let his phone go to voice mail; suggest he set a warning phone alarm for when he needs to get ready to leave and another for when he needs to get out the door. There is no panacea for any one individual, but hopefully, in time and with your help, he will improve. If not, he might work out better as a contractor than a full-time employee.
New Year’s Resolution: Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. If you want a competitive edge, solve your own problems. Cheers!
[If you have a question for Joan, send it to business@townandstyle.com . Joan Lee Berkman is a marketing and public relations consultant.]
