Accountability During Rough Times

During boom times, we build reward systems to help create an accountable organization. We offer meaningful bonuses for those who help push the company toward and beyond its goals. But now that some companies have watched their bonus pool dry up and the new goal is to stay afloat, how do you create accountability?

It's not enough to parrot unemployment numbers and repeat, "You are lucky you still have a job," to get your employees committed to the company goals. Here's a cautionary tale from a company in a creative industry that is watching its revenues go down.

This company called a meeting with sales personnel and other staff and instituted strict new procedures for their sales team. They handed out a letter with a list of new requirements, including daily logs of all activities and mandatory time in the office for anyone who missed their monthly goals. Their sales force is entirely commission-based, and now most of them are looking for a new opportunity.

Members of the sales team were insulted that they were berated in front of other staff members. Even the most successful among them, with a 20-year track record, has watched her commissions decline with the company's dropped sales.  They say the list of demands will do nothing to convince prospects that their product is worth buying. Some express that the company's previous culture of autonomy and flexibility is their main reason for working there.

Here's the sidenote that demonstrates a huge opportunity missed: the trends indicate their product could survive, and among competitors, it is a phenomenal product.

What if those leaders had instead presented to their team the issues: lower revenues, missed quotas, mixed trend indicators, and customer dissatisfaction; and asked for ideas for what could be done? What if they had asked their seasoned sales team what they needed to make sales easier? What if they had, as a team, tried to figure out a way to address customer concerns? My guess is that they would all be a little more committed to the solution and maybe to the company as a whole.

Sometimes accountability does mean tracking every little step. Sometimes individuals have to give up preferred working styles for the health of the organization. Sometimes team members need help meeting their goals even when they don't want it. In times of crisis, dictatorship is sometimes the best answer.

Rough times do not give the owner of any company the freedom to push too hard. In fact, not only will key employees leave as soon as they can, you can bet that their creativity and commitment to the company in the meantime is dead or dying. That's not in the best interest of anybody. Those companies that make it through the tough economy will be stronger and better for it. There will be a reshuffling of talent on the other side and you want to make sure you are on the right side of the dealer when that day comes.