Calm down, you can still take some steps. Even better, you can learn, with a few tips, how to improve your task control, not to return to delay a delivery. We do not know how your boss will react to your delay, but the fact is: you can smooth the problem and prove you still are a responsible and reliable professional. See how you can do:
1. Explain ASAP
Warn all the people who will be impacted by your delay, as soon as you notice it, so that they are able to adapt. Now, for your manager, it is not enough to warn. You have to explain the reason for your delay. Ask to talk privately and a good start is you taking on you have failed. Just remember not to say “sorry”, neither blame other people. Instead…
2. Give an alternative
If sincere, say you are working hard on the project but expect to take longer than you thought – this shows the level of requirement you have with your work. My tip is that you make a checklist of the steps of your tasks, to correctly state the project progress. Although not ideal, an alternative is to suggest deliver what you have done so far. So…
3. Thank your chance
Your boss has been in your place, what increases the chances of he/she understand and give you a chance. Prove you are a professional saying thank you to have a few extra days to deliver the task ready and reviewed. The higher quality, less serious your delay will seem, so, perfect now. Also, tell that you already took care to inform people of your delay. And finally…
4. Deliver on the new date
To late again will be a sign that you do not learn from the first time. I know you do not want to see your maturity under suspicion, so do this: set a new deadline two days before the official one and create a reminder in your phone. This way you will have the so-called security-gap to review and deliver the ideal job.
(Bonus) The most memorable excuses for being late at work
According to the recruitment company CareerBuilder, 35% of employers have fired an employee for delay and 34% do not minded occasional delays, since they will not become a habit. With over 3,000 employees and over 2,000 managers and HR professionals, the research brings the most preposterous excuses for delaying.
The five most heard by managers were:
1. Transit (39%)
2. Lack of sleep (19%)
3. Problems with public transportation (8%)
4. Bad weather (7%)
5. Dropping the kids off at daycare or school (6%)
But the most unforgettable…
1. Employee claimed a zebra was running down the highway and held up traffic (turned out to be true)
2. Employee woke up on the front lawn of a house two blocks away from his home
3. Employee’s cat got stuck in the toilet
4. Employee couldn’t eat breakfast – he ran out of milk for cereal and had to buy some before getting ready for work
5. Employee was late to work because he fell asleep in the car when he got to work
6. Employee accidentally put superglue in her eye instead of contact lens solution, and had to go to the emergency room
7. Employee thought Halloween was a work holiday
8. Employee said a hole in the roof caused rain to fall on the alarm clock and it didn’t go off
9. Employee was watching something on TV and really wanted to see the end
10. Employee forgot that the company had changed locations
11. Employee got a hairbrush stuck in her hair
12. Employee was scared by a nightmare
It’s funny when you’re on this side and do not have to make an excuse like that. The master trick is to write a simple planning of month, with all your tasks listed, put in priority order, with an estimated time to complete each one. This is about showing that you have a professional task control. Have a good job! And if you need help…
Use Runrun.it, the project and team manager software that gathers all your customers, projects and tasks of the company. The team works with less emails and even fewer meetings, since the manager can know how much time and money is spent, who are the most productive in the team and when projects will be delivered. So, try it for free: http://runrun.it
Recommended for you:
- What destroys your company’s productivity and you did not know
- Online project management can improve your emotional intelligence
- Time management: teams do not fill timesheets and it costs billion dollars
