What happens to your work if I get ill?

I recently lost out on a tender because I was a freelancer and not an agency. One of the main reasons given was that if I get ill there’s no one to do the work.

This was annoying and caused a shake of the head. I’m one of those people who never really gets ill. In three and a half years of freelancing I have taken a grand total of four days off sick. My immune system performs nominally almost all of the time.

However.

I did indeed get quite ill within a week of getting this feedback. The flu knocked me over for a couple of days and then post-viral fatigue made life very difficult for another week afterwards.

So, it’s fair for clients to know how I work to mitigate unplanned illness and absence so that their construction content marketing plans don’t fall behind.

Getting way ahead of deadlines

I have never once missed a deadline. Not as a full time employee, not as a freelancer. The reason is very simple:

When given a deadline, I finish work ahead of that deadline rather than working right up to the last second of said deadline.

It sounds simple, but it serves two purposes:

• Gives me extra time to reflect and edit my work without unnecessary pressure
• Builds slack into my work programme in case of unexpected delays…like getting ill

For clients, that means you can be more assured that work will be delivered on time. Even with the flu and a week of post-viral fatigue, I delivered everything on time because I am always ahead.

I will always push for a realistic deadline to make this possible and be up front from the start. Basically, if I say I can do something by a certain date, you can always trust it.

Always stay in communication

If you hire me on a day rate basis, I will be in communication with you all week anyway. If we need to move days then I will always be in touch and be flexible so that you’re not missing out on time or value.

If you hire me on a project basis, I will simply work round it to ensure the work is done. There’s not really any more to it than that. If I miss time then I will always make it up. In all likelihood you will be nonethe wiser as the service level won’t change.

Being flexible; or, staying in constant motion

There are certain tasks that I never delegate out. All writing, planning, organisation etc is done in house. However, there’s pretty much always other stuff going on that requires outside help. If I miss time because of illness, I’ll prioritise ongoing work done by others.

For example, if we’re doing a brochure I’ll bring the graphic design work forward and get the designer moving so that there isprogress when I’m ill.

There’s always something that can be progressed. If I’m absent with illness I will make sure that things are going on for you anyway so that the overall work programme stays on track.

Examples of my work here demonstrate what can be done.

What if I’m long-term/seriously ill?

It’s not happened yet, but if I get long-term ill then we’ll just have to deal with it together. There’s no workarounds, it’s the same as if you had a full-time employee who needed extended time off. We’ll have to delay things or even call a halt altogether so you can change provider.

That’s just life!

Want to learn more about how I can help you with construction marketing strategy and content?

Contact me today for a chat about your needs and how I can help!