As a project manager, you base your client commitments on the commitments of your team members. What if one of your team members is chronically unpunctual? You asked for their commitment many times in the past, and each time it was a disaster. I had quite a few people like that in my project management history, but some of them were exceptional. One individual in particular (let’s call him Bob) was a very good professional. The company valued him, and so did I. He was a senior specialist, and his retirement was approaching in a couple of years.
Bob was an expert and he delivered quality results. However, he was very bad at forecasting his work. Every time I would ask him about the upcoming deliverable, he would give me a confident answer, “I will certainly deliver it by next Tuesday”. Then on Wednesday of that next week, when I asked him again, he would say “It will be done by the end of this week”. And of course, it was not done, and the following week Bob was on vacation, and I had to adjust other activities to preserve the project timeline as much as possible. I am sure many of you are familiar with this type of situation. Yet, each time something like this happens, it feels a bit frustrating.
So what is the “cure”? Due to the internal company policies, Bob could not be fired or punished, so these options were ruled out immediately.
In my opinion, the course of action consists of two components that can be applied either concurrently or independently: setting up the client's expectations and helping Bob to facilitate his work.
With regards to setting up the client’s expectations, if you know historically that the “two-week” commitment turns into five or six weeks, next time multiply Bob’s estimate by three.
Although, this alone does not guarantee that the work will be done on time. You must motivate Bob to do the job. Let’s say that your reward options are limited, and rather than buying Bob a coffee or taking him for lunch, there is not much you can do. Besides, who said that Bob is not motivated? - He may be very motivated, however his poor time management skills do not let him deliver on time.
What prevents Bob from moving ahead, especially if he has to work on his own, and not in a team? I believe it is the fact that he is on his own, working “behind the scenes”. To make him move, simply break his deliverable down into smaller chunks. For example, he has to deploy a new piece of equipment. To do that, he needs to choose a vendor, order the equipment, test it, install it, configure it, and have it launched. Rather than waiting for the new equipment to be installed, invest more time into working with Bob. Book a review to discuss the equipment specs either with the team or with the client. Meet with the vendor to go through the contract details. Book the testing plan meeting. By doing so, you might increase the amount of effort for yourself and Bob by 10 percent, however, you will constantly see the progress.
Once you achieve each of these smaller milestones, it will be easier for you to adjust your schedule baseline and hence you could come up with a better estimate for your client. Additionally, Bob will feel that his work is more appreciated and valued since you will be paying more attention to the details. Last but not least, you can work together with Bob, bringing his attention to the real duration of each task. By doing so, you could improve the accuracy of his future estimates.