Sat on something at work for 5 months

[orangeberry]

I have sat on something at work for about 5 months. I have ADHD and I don't have an excuse other than I prioritised newer tasks as the longer time went on, the worse I felt about starting this one. Client never chased and seemed easy going.

I finally bit the bullet and contacted the client regarding next steps. He has left me a very annoyed/borderline angry voicemail.

How do I deal with this? I will not be making the same mistake again, that's for sure.

Currently sat here feeling really anxious. I don't want to speak to DH about it as I am so embarrassed at myself.

You have taken a good first step. Now you need to tell your manager.

Thank you. What would this achieve? How would I say it?

Client management is primary. You tell you manager for advice and support. You apologise profusely to the client, and possibly may need to adjust billing t compensate for the delay. And you work out how not to do this again.
Everyone makes mistakes, you've just got to own it and make it right.

I'd phone the client back, apologise profusely for the delay and start work immediately on the project and make it a priority. I'd also make sure I kept the client updated on progress.

Because if you don’t he will hear angry clients side of the story first.

Did you never think that keeping a client waiting for 5 months is unacceptable, and are you really surprised they are angry with you? I can not believe how unprofessional you are!

I am hopeful that if I speak to the client, I won't need to tell my manager. I am just not sure what to say to the client!

I don’t think it’s borderline angry. I think the client is angry and reined it to be remain professional. He has probably already been in touch with your manager. You need to contact your manager first thing on Monday, have a call with them and explain what you have done.

You also need to tell your DH because you might need to put some extra time to this so you might be late home. There might also be things put in place at work or repercussions such as loss of a bonus, put on a performance improvement plan or discussing adjustments at work to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Don't make excuses. Just apologise, take the annoyance on the chin and get on with the work.

Speak to your manager

Explain that this job has slipped through your net

GET THE JOB DONE AS FAST AND AS WELL AS POSSIBLE

Apologise profusely to client

Never do this again

Honestly, you cannot not tell your manager.
It is far worse if your manager hears first from the client.
If you tell your manager, they may want to take the lead/apologise/make ammends/reallocate the work.
With all my teams, first rule is if you feck up, tell me. Do not even sleep on it.

I also have ADHD and can well understand how this happened.

but it’s now your number one priority. And yes speak to your manager. You can’t hide it.

we all make mistakes but you have to own them and make it right. Everything is a learning experience

I have a big workload and have done really well the last year which in a way makes this more tricky.

The closest analogy I have to the situation is that I had asked for and received all the information from the relevant institutions to complete the tax return, bar one who needed an authorisation form from the client. I've had the other information for about 4-5 months. I've now gone to the client to request the authorisation form.

I have many client files and this one just slipped the net. I am feeling very upset with myself.

I would agree tell your manager. I would be expected to in my line of work but I have no idea what the processes are like in your workplace. One thing I am wondering is why didn’t the client get in contact before now ? I know the onus shouldn’t be on them to do so and you have identified that it was your mistake however I just wonder how urgent the issue is if they weren’t bothered looking into it either .

@orangeberry sounds like it was an oversight which we all have the capacity to make. Take a deep breath. At the end of the day no one has died.. it’s fixable. I would tell your manager in case the client does first

It happens but you still need to tell your manager. Ideally you should have told them at the same time you told your client. It’s much better to own up straight away. The longer you debate what to tell your manager, if your should tell them, the bigger the anxiety around it will become. Accept it really is the best route forward, call as soon as you can, explain what happened.

This happens to me all the time. I'm good at what's in front of me but when something slips the net I'm terrible for ignoring it. I always vow never again, but then it happens again. I honestly think I have ADHD too.

If the client doesn't contact my manager (and I really don't think that they will), I would be drawing attention to it myself.

Is it a bad idea to telephone the client, apologise profusely, and if he seems placated, deal with the work and get on with it without telling my manager?

I know many people in my line of work would just get on with it and not draw the manager's attention to it.

OP only you know if you need to involve your manager.

The most important thing is to come up with a plan to sort out the issue. If there are any problems, come up with solutions. Implement them. Let the client know you’ve done XYZ and it’s all finished now (or will follow ABC timeline which you will chase up every other day and you will give them weekly updates at 10am on Thursdays)

Don't beat yourself up too much, you’ll paralyse yourself. Get a plan to sort it out, implement the plan. Get a plan so it’s not allowed to happen again, implement the plan.

You aren’t the first, you won’t be the last.

And do not speak to your manager until you’ve come up with your solutions so you can say, “X happened and I’m doing Y to correct it, which will be finished by Z. The client has been informed and is on board with the solutions and timescales. I have implemented ABC in my working day to ensure X doesn’t happen again.”

5 months is taking the piss.

How quickly can you get it done?

I would ring and apologise profusely and then spend all weekend getting it done.

If you cannot get it done within the next 3 days, then tell your manager and ask for their help.

I sat on something for 6 months. I got in trouble. Then one of the executive directors pulled me aside and said “no one dies from this”.

In law firms this happens regularly that some firms have meetings where lawyers offload all the files they don’t want to have to deal with.

Just devote some attention to it and cover your ass.

It’s not the end of the world and noone died.

I've got adhd and this kind of thing happens all the time - the longer it goes on the harder it becomes to deal with it but you know you need to. In future the key is to as soon as you notice that feeling that you want to avoid that work - DO IT there and then. Don't let it become a bogeyman. Revisit your work management habits see if you need to improve them.

For now, speak to client, apologise and get it done quickly and efficiently. If you don't have to tell your manager and the client is mollified, don't tell the manager. If you think client might complain, speak to manager.

As a manager, I wouldn't expect more than a heads up from one of my team if something like this happened so that I know what's going on if I get a call, especially if it hasn't cost anything in terms of fines or money - but if I have an angry client on the phone I'm going to be annoyed if i'm on the back foot. You know how your workplace operates better than I do, but it definitely smoothes the way if it's not a surprise!

Good advice