One of the biggest headaches when running your own business is that of scheduling and hitting those all-important deadlines without incurring any customer penalties. Regardless of which industry you operate in, this is a common problem – but it is no happy accident that there are multiple solutions to this scenario that can be used to your advantage. Here are four useful tips for keeping to project deadlines.

1. Introduce or update procedures

Introducing timed procedures into your business can be one relatively easy way to keep control of your employees and how they spend their working hours. For instance, if you are working within the manufacturing industry, timing different operations will provide you with a valuable insight into how long a particular assembly will take. 

If your business lies more with the service industry, then performing a type of task triage or limiting the amount of time that any one worker spends on a particular customer or task before handing it to a more experienced operator could also work.

2. Effective API management

Many projects, especially if you are developing an app, will need to communicate with other apps and software. Making this work can be a massive drain on resources and could be the cause of a serious cost or time overrun. By finding an effective API management platform you can take some of the weight off your developer’s shoulders and give yourself some peace of mind regarding any unwanted surprises. With this box ticked, you can then move on to other parts of the project that need your attention.

3. Train your employees

It is in the interests of your business to have fully trained members of staff. This is because they will be able to complete their projects not only to a higher standard but also within a specified time frame. Of course, hiring fully trained employees can be expensive, but where possible you can train your employees in-house or look for those who are still in the process of obtaining qualifications, which is likely to keep your costs down.

4. Encourage communication

Improving communication within your business can also help when it comes to scheduling. Whether it is between employees working as part of a team, or in reporting feedback to their manager. With the modern way of working, remote working, for example, communication links can become strained or even fall apart entirely. 

It is therefore a necessity for you to encourage employees to speak to each other and to ensure that all concerned know the deadlines that are looming as well as any issues that happen to be arising.

Final thoughts

Implementing any changes such as procedures, training, or even the addition of new software can be faced with a wall of uncertainty from employees, who in general are not keen on change. 

However, over time they will see the changes as an advantage in the way that they work. This is even more so in communication between team members. Finding that they are able to ask for help, be involved in brainstorming, or be able to show their own commitment and knowledge about any particular project they are working on, will indeed heighten their morale.