Use cases by capability
How to stop chasing people
What makes a third party deliver without you phoning three times.
Chasing is expensive and does not scale: each person chased is two emails, a phone call, and remembering again next week. What works is not chasing better, it is asking better.
The four things that most raise delivery
| Change | Effect |
|---|---|
| Split the request into small blocks | The largest, by some distance |
| Write the document's full name | People stop delivering the wrong thing |
| Show a visible deadline | Gives a reason to do it today |
| Automatic reminders at 3, 7 and 12 days | Closes most of them with no effort from you |
What automation does not fix
If someone is not delivering because they disagree, because they do not have the document, or because the right contact is someone else, no reminder will solve it. That needs a phone call — but it will be one call, not ten.
Important
When a third party has gone a month without delivering and has opened every notice, stop reminding and phone them. Continuing in writing only gets you filtered.
Worth knowing
The reasonable target is not 100% automatic: it is that 85% closes itself and you spend your time on the 15% that needs a person.
›How much does splitting the request raise delivery?
It varies, but it is the highest-impact change of the four.
›Are automatic reminders annoying?
Three well spaced, no. Six in a row, yes, and you end up in spam.
›Can I stop chasing entirely?
No, and you should not want to: some conversations are worth having precisely because a person has them.
A real case
The situation
A manager spends six hours a week chasing documentation.
What you do
- Splits requests into three blocks
- Renames documents with their official titles
- Turns on reminders at 3, 7 and 12 days
What you get
Drops to one hour a week, spent phoning the four cases that genuinely need it.
The situation
One person spends an hour every morning emailing the suppliers who are missing.
What you do
- Configures the automatic reminder with its cadence
- Changes channel after the second unanswered reminder
- Keeps the phone call for those still not replying
What you get
The daily hour is recovered and deliveries arrive as fast or faster.
The situation
Somebody who already delivered another way keeps being chased.
What you do
- Checks the file before the reminder goes out
What you get
Nobody receives an unfair chase.
The situation
Reminders go out daily and the supplier stops reading them.
What you do
- Spaces out the cadence
What you get
The nudge works again.
The situation
The reminder does not say exactly what is missing.
What you do
- Includes the outstanding list in the notice itself
What you get
The supplier delivers without writing to ask.
The situation
After five reminders nobody decides what to do.
What you do
- Sets a closing or escalation criterion
What you get
The file does not stay open forever.
This article answers
- how do i get people to send documentation
- suppliers do not respond
- automate follow-up on requests
- stop sending reminder emails