Pizza Today - January 2022 - 16

BUILDING BLOCKS N I C K B OG A C Z
Creating Accountability with Tools and Teachable Moments
Y
ou have a defi ned
management structure, and
your leaders have clear job
descriptions. Now, you might be
asking yourself, " How do I get the
most from them? " Th is is where
accountability comes into play.
Th ere are some clever sayings
on this topic - " You get what
you inspect, " and " What you
tolerate is what you procreate, "
but communication is the most
important characteristic for holding
your team of managers accountable.
Indeed, before you inspect their
work (and decide what you'll
tolerate), your managers must
understand your expectations and
their personal accountabilities.
An easy-to-create and eff ective
tool to accomplish this goal is
what I call a " responsibility list, "
which catalogs every task that
must be completed at each of my
stores, along with which manager
is assigned to a given task. Th e
responsibility list is the main tool
in making sure everything in the
store is cleaned, maintained and
operating properly. Not only is it
benefi cial for the managers, but it's
helpful for me, too. If I visit a store
and some TVs are not working, I
know who oversees that. Or if I go
into a store and the dough is not
proofed correctly, I know just who
to speak with for answers.
When it comes to full
inspections, I refer to the list and
identify about 100 key items, the
ones that are truly important to the
location's vitality, to build a robust
written inspection sheet for the
stores. If something on the sheet
is not complete, I can refer to the
responsibility list and see who it is
that I need to have a discussion with
for an explanation. Creating clear
lines of communication with the
manager assigned to the incomplete
item is important, and ideally the
problem is solved quickly, but if the
issue repeatedly occurs, that's when
the written documentation becomes
important. Having a written
record that can show precisely
when the problem began provides
you leverage if you need to have
a diffi cult conversation with the
manager or there is pushback in the
discussion.
With those tools in place,
these conversations have a more
meaningful eff ect and produce
the most results. Most people
want to do a good job - they just
need a clear defi nition of the task
and what makes the completed
job important to the store's
operations. When something is not
meeting expectations, then they
need guidance and teaching. So,
rather than something to fear, our
inspections often become teachable
moments that continue to build our
team and develop our managers.
It all goes back to holding the
managers accountable - and it has
a positive ripple eff ect. Once you
build accountability with your direct
reports, you can teach them to do
the same with the employees who
directly report to them. Suddenly,
accountability is everywhere.
One way to really drive
everything home and get the most
from your team is through a rewards
program. Th ere are many ways we
like to reward our teams, and in the
next installment of Building Blocks,
we'll be diving into this truly fun
part of the job.
NICK BOGACZ is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh. Instagram: @caliente_pizza
Photo via stock.adobe.com/ Syda Productions
16 / PIZZATODAY.COM / JANUARY 2022

http://stock.adobe.com/ http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - January 2022