Pull together
Of course, when you’re giving employees a voice in setting your direction, you’re asking for a chorus that may not always converge. But by relying on a disciplined process and common goals, Comte seldom had to make decisions that weren’t backed by his team.
Obviously, different managers will want different things for their departments. But by asking them to prioritize their needs, you can start to get alignment. Comte does that with a three-pronged question.
“Tell me what it is that you need — what is critical to your operations to keep going?” he asks his executives. “What would be nice to have in order to grow your business? And if everything was just perfect, what would you like to have?”
Then you can divide their requests for people, equipment and other resources into necessities and nice-to-haves. Because you only have so many resources, the next step is deciding which ones to grant first.
“Let’s figure out whose project we’re going to move forward the fastest,” Comte tells his team. “What makes the most sense for the company, not only financially but for who we are and what we do?”
He sets the expectation up front that, at the end of the day, everybody has to agree on a direction. To establish that unity, he reminds his employees that — despite divisions and departments — they are one company pushing toward a single goal by illustrating how success in one part of the company translates into success for everyone.
“Ultimately, what’s best for the company is what’s best for everybody,” he says. “Although everybody, for example, may be bonused in how their division does, there’s also a big piece of the bonus that’s how the company does. So they’re going to want the other divisions to do well because it helps them.
“If we’re hitting our budget and they’re getting bonuses, that means that we’ll have additional money to do other things that will help them. They know that if they say, ‘Well, I’ll put my thing on the side burner; we’ll help you guys get there,’ those people are going to help them next time.”
After all, it’s not like one department gets something while everyone else gets nothing. It’s more like someone gets something now so others can get theirs later. Putting priorities in perspective like that can bring employees together to support each other’s initiatives. Comte also checks up on goals several times a year to see if priorities should be reorganized.
Now, the road ahead of Comte looks a little brighter. AccentCare has paid down debts significantly, and it’s now profitable enough that the venture capital company hasn’t fed it money for several years. By 2009, the company had grown to about $200 million in revenue and to a seven-state service area from a two-state area — all thanks to the collaborative efforts of employees.
“Employees are our business,” Comte says. “Without listening to them and understanding what their needs are to make their jobs easier, we wouldn’t have a business. You just communicate over and over and over again and you consistently listen and try to solve their problems.”
How to reach: AccentCare Inc., (800) 834-3059 or www.accentcare.com