PAGE A12 – July 2009 – The Ottawa Construction News
The Accountability Mess
BILL CASWELL
feedback loop with measurement accompa-
Special to The Ottawa Construction News
nied by a fair reward and punishment sys-
tem.
While getting corporate accountabil- Poor accountability is with us every-
ity and government accountability in where. Perhaps it is best manifested by a
place to rectify some past ills is a topic of measure of the public’s disappointment.
great concern these days, the means to go Look where the public pain lies and you
about it espoused by Parliamentarians, will be staring at accountability run amuck.
public servants, some business people For example, public disappointment
and reporters, appears to be poorly con- abounds with the medical care system, the
structed. The consequence of question- school system, Parliament, city govern-
able approaches to accountability will ments, other governments, some businesses
likely lead to more red tape, more con- etc. The greater the public pain the odds
straints, worse results and even less ac- are, the greater the divergence from true ac-
countability. countability. On the other hand look where
the public’s enthusiasm lies: books, movies,
Accountability Defined entertainment, electronic devices and food.
To start, we need to ask: What is ac- Within these domains reside much better
countability? Simply put, accountability is accountability systems.
having a person agree to: “I understand my
role; I know what I am supposed to deliver; The Basic Rules
I know the reward I will get for doing it and We can define the 17-step accountabil-
I agree that my survival on the job depends ity chain – but not in a short essay. So let us
on these parameters.” Implied in that sim- look as some key parameters that capture
ple statement is a flow chain consisting of a the essence of accountability.
A 10 per cent
improvement?
Is it possible? A person must agree to it: Unless you larly without obstruction or difficulty. Also,
have the person’s full agreement to the sys- it must be simple so that you know if you
What would happen to your bottom line if your employees overall improved tem and the measures within it, you cannot have it, your boss knows if you have it and
their effectiveness and performance by just 10 per cent? Is this goal too big? And have accountability. Therefore it has to be your co-workers know too.
if it isn’t, how can you achieve these results within the next 12 months? designed for each individual with the per-
Attend the special two-hour session on “Making Professional Staff Accountable” son as an active, willing, contributing par- There must be feedback: Once the
and you’ll learn how to engage, measure, and improve accountability for all of your ticipant. They must see the benefit of it to measure comes, an ongoing indication of by
employees, including administrative, technical and professional, as well as sales and themselves. how much it exceeds or is short of expecta-
production employees. tions must be provided to the individual in
You’ll learn practical, actionable and easy-to-implement strategies to improve re- A person must have control: A person an indisputable manner.
sults and workplace harmony. So the 10 per cent stretch can, and will, be attained can only be held responsible for things over The accountability should be expand-
(or we’ll refund your money, without question, within the next 12 months). which that person has control. Once the able: Having established accountability for
control lies in the hands of someone else, one person, you should be able to expand it
8 am till 11 am, September 15, 2009
somewhere else, the ‘accountable’ individ- to the group, to the department and to the
Sheraton Hotel, 150 Albert St
ual cannot be deemed to be truly responsi- company.
ble. Thus, avoid using ‘allocated’ accounts.
Ottawa ON Conclusion
Measurement must capture the Accountability systems are totally
essence of it: Every job is infinitely com- achievable in any work domain if there is
$150 per person; $125 per person if two or more people a
plex, so its description and its measurement the political will to put them in place.
ttend from your organization.
could be equally complex. Brevity of this
paper does not allow us to fully describe Bill Caswell will hold a special two-
Early bird discount: Register by July 30, 2009, and
measurement, but keep in mind two things. hour session on “Making Professional
attend for $115 per person, $75 if two or more attend.
(1) The measure must be about what the in- Staff Accountable” at the Caswell Corpo-
dividual is supposed to deliver to the ‘cus- rate Coaching Company’s Discovery Con-
For more information and to reserve online, visit www.caswellccc.com.
tomer’ which most times is the person’s ference 2009 on September 15 at the
You can also contact Ms. Colby Ralph at
boss. (2) Ideally keep it to one or two items Sheraton Hotel, 150 Albert Street, Ottawa,
cralph@caswellccc.com or phone (613) 233-0700.
to be measured that cover 80% of what the ON from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
person is supposed to do. “What one or two
items, if you deliver them consistently as You can reserve a space for $150.00 or
expected, will make your boss deliriously save $25.00 and take advantage of the
happy?” early bird discount by reserving by July
30, 2009. (Discounts available for grops
190 Bronson Ave. Suite 100, Ottawa, ON K1R 6H4
Measurements must be gather-able of two or more.) For more inforamtion,
(Next door to the Ottawa Construction Association)
and simple: It is one thing to agree to a email Colby Ralph at cralph@caswell-
measure, but it must come forward regu- ccc.com or phone (613) 233-0700.
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