We need bad news from suppliers earlier. How can communication improve?
Delayed exception reportingAgree explicit early-warning triggers and make constructive response more likely than punishment for disclosure. Require evidence, impact, and recovery options when the trigger is reached.
What to do now
- Define what must be reported early
- Specify the owner and channel
- Respond to disclosure with a decision process
- Review whether warnings arrived in time
When to escalate
Escalate when
A supplier repeatedly conceals material delivery problems.
Who decides
The stakeholder decision owner and project sponsor
Example
A missed component test triggers an immediate exception update instead of waiting for the monthly review.
Mistake to avoid
Rewarding optimistic reports and punishing timely warnings.
Prevent a repeat
Check stakeholder understanding at important decisions rather than counting messages sent.
Suggested ApprovedFlow setup
- Projects
- Documents
- Approvals
Keep stakeholder decisions and supporting records with the project and assign follow-up actions to named owners. See the platform
Related cases
- The team uses too many communication channels. How do we simplify?Fragmented project communication
- The client wants daily updates. Is that reasonable?Communication frequency mismatch
- Nobody volunteers bad news during meetings. How can I change that?Low reporting safety
- How do we recognize a risk early enough to act?Missing risk triggers