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O P I N I O N
Yes, accountability Some people think of it as a four-letter word, but when accountability is backstopped by reasonable policies, it can make your business better.
I f there is one issue that I have heard repeatedly in working with A/E firms over the last 27 years, it is the difficulty of getting employees to fully accept responsibility – to be held accountable for their actions and performance. This issue goes so deep that some business owners shy away from putting policies in place for fear that they won’t be able to get their employees to follow them. This practice often has the negative consequence of inconsistent quality control, compromised employee safety, and reduced project profitability.
June Jewell GUEST SPEAKER
Another very damaging and frustrating result of not enforcing company policies is the constant frustration felt by your compliant managers and employees. When employees are consistently showing up for work late, not following company processes, or not responding to requests in a timely manner, it has a detrimental effect on every one of your employees. This frustration flows down to the lowest levels, resulting in a decrease in confidence in leadership, and creating dissent among those employees who are behaving well and following the rules. WHAT IS AND ISN’T ACCOUNTABILITY? Webster’s Dictionary
defines accountability as “the quality or state of being accountable; an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions.” Imagine a culture where employees understand that policies and procedures are really just a way to implement the firm’s best practices. Best practices are developed from the combined experience of the firm’s leaders and are designed to support employees and help them be successful – to help them avoid the mistakes that the firm leaders have seen or made themselves. When employees understand this, they can more easily accept
See JUNE JEWELL, page 10
THE ZWEIG LETTER August 7, 2017, ISSUE 1211
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