Last-minute management necessary sometimes, but should be avoided

Unless the assignment can be finished in time, damage to the company can be costly. It can be implied that work that has to be done in a rush time can be of a low standard. This could be the result of an individual person, a functional unit or the whole team that fails to keep the work progressing according to plan. 

Ironically, it is said from time to time that many people and organisations are good at last-minute management. The cases are not only at the company level but also big projects, such as building a sports complex for international games. It seems some people can create a magical result out of crisis. 

On the other hand, this can also mean they are at high risk of failing to achieve the target, which reflects how badly the project is being managed. 

Before this management style is formed as an acceptable culture in several areas, the following are some ways to avoid getting into this kind of situation.

Keep working on issues that are important but not urgent. It is necessary to ensure that important work is carried out according to a timeline. Some issues be allocated ample time that can make concerned people feel less urgency. By continuing to make progress on these issues, the company can avoid using additional resources unnecessarily to get things done at the last minute. For example, the annual business planning process requires each department to submit budgets – sales, expenses, investments and headcounts – according to the scheduled dates. Without submission of the required budget figures, the responsible managers cannot possibly complete all budget types within a short period, which can cause errors and mistakes from the rush.

Create a culture of self-follow-up. At work, especially in meetings, management tends to start discussions on pending issues. When several issues get followed up repeatedly, it might indicate areas for improvement. It is also advisable to consider setting up KPI (key performance indicator) or SLA (service level agreement) systems for measuring the number of pending items on hand in order to minimise them. In principle, this practice should be applied to all levels including top management to avoid bottlenecks. 

Promote the notion of quick responses. As businesses have to compete with speed in a volatile market, it is essential for a company to move quickly in response to economic changes. Management should encourage people to act fast and respond to unexpected situations in a timely manner. For example, for the logistics teams, it is crucial to make certain the company can compete by offering new products in the market at the right time. Delays in delivery can result in higher inventory and missed sales targets. Therefore, dealing with concerned parties efficiently requires a quick-response mindset all the time. 

Shorten critical paths. From a project-management perspective, the shortest time consumed to complete the whole project will depend on critical paths of activity. Thus reducing any action within such critical paths can reduce the time spent on accomplishing the overall assignment. Management should bear in mind that if a task needs to be completed so that the following activities can be started, that task needs close monitoring to ensure the whole project is still within the time frame. Any extension of time for this task could mean missing the deadline. 

Efficiency means spending less time in order to get the same result. But this should not apply to the case when people waste time provided for the task only later on to push all activities to be finished close to the deadline. Therefore, don’t let the illusion of last-minute management form an acceptable practice in the organisation.

 

Yanyong Thammatucharee is senior vice president for accounting and finance at Central Marketing Group. He can be reached at [email protected].