How to get staff to complete mandatory tasks every day
Liam Jones
Founder of Pilla
Date Modified
27 August 2026
I'm Liam Jones, founder of Pilla and a qualified management consultant. I've helped hundreds of businesses set up workflows, and in this article I'm going to show you four practical ways to stop mandatory work turning into a week of reminders.
I'll start with a clear submission, then add evidence, a due-time reminder and manager escalation. You can choose the point where your process currently breaks and keep the record and follow-up with the task.
If you're looking to automate this part of your operation, talk to us and we'll show you what it would take to set up.
The problem we're solving
This article started with the post below. Knowing when a task is due is not the hard part. The hard part is spending the week chasing people who have not done it. The workflows below move the submission, reminder and overdue follow-up into the process.
How do you keep up with employees who won’t submit/renew mandatory compliance requirements? [N/A]
I’m in a highly regulated industry and I’m honestly drowning in compliance follow-ups right now. The hardest part isn’t the tracking itself, it’s the constant chasing of employees who either ignore reminders, submit things late, or say they’ll do it and don’t. I feel like I spend a huge portion of my week following up repeatedly with the same people while still keeping up with my other HR tasks. We need the people to be able to keep working because our business relies heavily on having adequate staffing. How do you organize and stay ahead of this? What systems/processes helped reduce admin debt? How many reminders/escalations do you usually do before involving managers? How do you destress from the frustration due to the constant chasing? Thanks in advance!
Understand the problem
The task itself is often simple. The admin grows because the due date, the employee's submission, the evidence and the follow-up live in different places. These workflows put each part into the work itself, so the process carries the reminder and the proof instead of turning HR into a manual chasing system.
Workflow solutions at a glance
- #1 - Collect a simple mandatory-task submission. Start with a short submission that records whether the requirement is complete, the relevant completion or renewal date and any reference the manager will need later. It creates one clear record a manager can find later instead of replies spread across email, chat and paper.
- #2 - Require evidence with the submission. Add a required file upload to the same submission. The employee's answer, date, notes and evidence then sit together in one workflow record, ready for a manager to check in one place.
- #3 - Remind the team when work becomes due. Attach a Pilla action to the start of the workflow. When the scheduled work becomes due, Pilla posts a short message in the team chat asking the assigned person to begin and flag any blocker, so the reminder goes out without someone chasing it.
- #4 - Escalate missed work to a manager. Attach a Pilla action to the overdue state. If the workflow is still incomplete after its deadline, Pilla sends the manager a direct message, so they only get involved once the deadline is missed.
#1 - Collect a simple mandatory-task submission
Best for: Teams that need one clear place for staff to confirm completion and record the important details.
Start with a short submission that records whether the requirement is complete, the relevant completion or renewal date and any reference the manager will need later. It creates one clear record a manager can find later instead of replies spread across email, chat and paper.
What the workflow includes
- Confirm whether the requirement is complete or blocked
- Record the completion or renewal date
- Add the reference number or a short note
#2 - Require evidence with the submission
Best for: Mandatory work where a manager needs a certificate, document or other proof before marking it complete.
Add a required file upload to the same submission. The employee's answer, date, notes and evidence then sit together in one workflow record, ready for a manager to check in one place.
What the workflow includes
- Complete the same status and date fields
- Add a reference or explanation
- Upload the supporting certificate or document
#3 - Remind the team when work becomes due
Best for: Teams where staff miss the start of the task because the due work is easy to overlook.
Attach a Pilla action to the start of the workflow. When the scheduled work becomes due, Pilla posts a short message in the team chat asking the assigned person to begin and flag any blocker, so the reminder goes out without someone chasing it.
What the workflow includes
- Open the mandatory submission at the scheduled time
- Post a due-time reminder in the team chat
- Ask the assigned person to begin or raise a blocker
#4 - Escalate missed work to a manager
Best for: Managers who only want to get involved once the employee has missed the deadline.
Attach a Pilla action to the overdue state. If the workflow is still incomplete after its deadline, Pilla sends the manager a direct message, so they only get involved once the deadline is missed.
What the workflow includes
- Wait until the workflow deadline passes
- Check that the mandatory submission is still incomplete
- Send the manager a direct follow-up prompt
Further guidance
How to choose the right workflow
Choose the smallest workflow that fixes the point where your current process breaks.
- Start with a simple submission when staff are completing the work but the record is scattered or unclear.
- Add evidence when completion cannot be accepted without a certificate, document or other proof.
- Use a due-time reminder when the main problem is that staff do not notice the task when it becomes available.
- Use a manager escalation when normal reminders are not enough and someone needs to intervene after the deadline.
The reminder and escalation workflows are separate examples so the role of each action stays clear. In practice, you can put both on one workflow: remind the team when the work becomes due, then involve the manager only if the deadline passes without a completed submission.