One of my mentors is fond of asking, “Does the customer know what’s next and when?” This deceptively simple question is intended to quickly ascertain the health of a project and, most importantly, the probability of the job going off the tracks.
I love and hate being asked that question. I spent many years equivocating my answers to paper over my own lack of preparedness. These days I find myself more and more the asker vs. the answerer, and I empathize with my colleagues as they sometimes scramble for a response when there’s really only one that will do: “Yes!”
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Most projects that have gone off the tracks are a result of poor communication. Statements like, “I didn’t have anything to tell the client, so I didn’t send a recap,” are commonplace even among seasoned employees. Never mind that sending a recap saying that there’s no new news is precisely what’s called for. Too many days of ghosting produces frustration and, before you know it, an angry client escalation lands in your lap.
Whenever these botched communication situations come knocking, I always ask for the same things. “Please send me the punchlist and begin sending daily recaps immediately to the client with a cc to everyone on the project team advising what’s next and when.” I’m always amazed that these situations still arise. It seems like common sense to me that the client would want a clear understanding of what has (and hasn’t) taken place. Further, the sending of the daily recap in crisis surfaces the customer’s pain and frustration for everyone to see. The act of having to put together the recap is frustrating for the employee and requires daily communication with project managers and other stakeholders. When it’s painful for both client and vendor, the incentives align and it’s in everyone’s best interest to get the job punched out quickly so we can stop the daily cadence.
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We’ve had several situations recently where client escalations ended up on my desk and I asked for the “daily recap” exercise to commence. In both situations, our team failed to consistently send these recaps out. The first few days were spot on, but then we trailed off. The easy thing would be to just get mad, stomp, and fuss, but I really wanted to understand the “why” behind this taper. At its core, I see the proverbial “whirlwind” of daily activities pulling at all of us. We’re not robots. Each one of us has personal, professional, and family responsibilities coming at us 24/7. We have to acknowledge that and figure out a way through it that still gets the client their daily update. In hopes that you might save a little time inside your own company, here are few pointers which I’ve seen work:
- Manufacture Crisis — Tell the client you’ll be sending them daily recaps until the punchlist is 100% completed and they’re happy. This puts everyone on the same page and establishes accountability.
- Schedule It — There may be employees responsible for sending these recaps and they’re out of office or otherwise engaged. Instead of making the recap about a person, make it about the activity and communicate that, if you can’t send it, you still need to get someone to cover the activity. Better yet, most email editors allow a “schedule send” capability that can make you look like you’re slaving away in the office while out.
- Huddle Up — Make sure your project teams are working escalations together on a daily basis to ensure these “one-star reviews waiting to happen” are top of mind.
- Accountability — Ask for buy-in from your employees and performance manage any deviations with a verbal, written, consequence-style system. No one likes having to give feedback to a colleague, but without accountability, your company is headed for mediocrity in a hurry.
Are you communicating with your “gone sideways” clients on a daily basis and letting them know what’s next and when? If not, why not?
Stay frosty, and see you in the field.
