Follow up : The Why, When and How much of it

In this blog I would like to share the gist of an interesting webinar on "Follow up" organized by  Bija Training under their Mask Leadership series. The speaker was Mr Sahil Nayar Sr Associate Director (HR), KPMG, India. There is a feeling in the corporate scenario, that nothing will get done in the absence of follow up. On the one hand, we give speeches from public platforms that we trust our employees completely and are confident that they will do their best each time. Yet, ironically we also have this thought about follow up being  inevitable for success. Therefore, it was with a lot of interest that I looked forward to this webinar held on 3rd May 2021. I was  curious to know what the speaker who is heading HR in a consultancy company had to say on the subject.   

At the outset, the speaker pointed out that although the words 'Follow up' was initially associated with sales, today it is integral to all disciplines. However, it is not as if follow up has to be done all the time. Sometimes, it can irritate and upset an employee. Just imagine your spouse asking you every other day "Do you love me ?". This kind of a validation is not necessary when the couple is in sync, in harmony. Similarly, follow up is necessary in the work place when a validation has become necessary or when you feel the person is exhibiting bad vibes in respect of his/her job.  

It is all about understanding 'How much', 'With whom' and 'When' follow up is necessary. In a restaurant, towards the end of the meal if the waiter or manager comes up and asks "How was the food sir ? or Did you like the food?", it would be fine. But what if he asked you a number of times even as you are engaged in a private or intimate conversation?  While 'No follow up' can be equated to food without salt, too much of it as we discussed earlier, can be a cause for heart burns. If your team knows clearly the good intention behind your action they would respond positively.  

Follow up serves the  role and purpose of chasing which is necessary and good if properly done. The sincerity of your intention as a leader would be reflected in the manner of follow up- whether done to help the person achieve targets or show him/her in poor light (humiliate before others). It is all about character!  It is advisable for the leader to fine tune the process of follow up depending on the nature of his junior and what works best with that person- Whether a one to one follow up will work better or an Email with copies marked to 15 other people. Appropriate method of follow up  can be planned such as choosing between a telephone call, what's app message, Email or one to one personal meeting. 

Follow up happens not only with subordinates but with your colleagues in other departments or functions. Here, good interpersonal skills would stand you in good stead. The job you want done could be number 1 on your list but number 15 in his list. By effective communication and interaction, you may be able to achieve a shifting of priorities from 15 in his list to number 5 in the list. 

Follow up and its importance in an organization would also depend on the organizational culture. While in one organization, follow up may be  the driving force, in another organization, the very first Email may be  sufficient to get action from people. When you assign work the aim should be to get it done effectively and not just dump the work on someone. Therefore, it is necessary to empathize and find out if there are problems if any that they face and give support. Is there a lack of resources or a skill issue that needs attention? Sometimes people do not attend to a work because they want guidance from the boss. By the time the busy boss is able to find the time, he would have received the second reminder. 

Often times, there is no need to send number of Emails . A call over telephone could solve an issue. Documentation is required only on the rare occasion when the person on the other side is tricky and capable of denying an interaction ever happened. Ultimately it boils down to trust when it comes to interpersonal  communication. Beyond a point, follow up can hurt emotions and people may get into the 'Justification mode' defeating the very basic purpose of getting things done. Leaders  would do well to practice 'Servant leadership' while organizing and monitoring work. It will help if you are able separate the individual from a problem or shortfall when monitoring the work of  your team members.

Following up with people who are senior in rank in the organization is an art. The higher a person goes, higher his /her ego tends to be. Therefore, it is important to do the follow up without ruffling feathers; it helps to find out when they are in a good mood or in a receptive mode.  Understanding biological clocks of people like whether they are "a morning or evening' person could be useful to push your proposals. If you attempt finding fault with the boss for the things not happening, the conversation could go somewhat like this:  

"Sir, I have sent four Emails to which you have not responded" 

" You mean to say you are the only one I have to attend to? I get 100 Emails everyday. If it was so urgent, you should have come down personally or taken a decision yourself." 

Here, ownership and sense of responsibility of the junior colleague is very important. He could take the initiative and say " Please let me know if this is not a priority as of today." The answer would enable him  to come to a common ground as to the level of priority. Consequently, he is  able to stop focusing on something that he thought was very urgent as he now knows that it is sufficient to attend to it in a week's time. If you are liaisoning with Government officials, it is important to give frequent status updates to the boss and close the communication loop. Proactive behaviour in this regard is most essential to ensure that "there are no surprises." and the boss is not put in an embarrassing position. 

My own understanding and the big take away for me from this webinar was " keep empowering your people to the extent that they work happily and responsibly on their own without the need for follow up. However, when follow up is necessary, do it with a positive intention as unobtrusively as possible. If you have to err, err on the side of not following up." 

In the words of the speaker " Every human being has a need to be understood; make your person feel special and let them be ( Don't make them be who you want them to be)". To a question from the audience as to what distinguishes a leader from a manager with reference to this topic he said, a leader will prefer to nudge rather than follow up, the tool utilized by a manager. Follow up makes a person feel "I am not good enough".