Hold them accountable
Payroll is a large expense in most organizations, and HP is no exception, especially when budgets are so tight such as in a period of economic recession. But Shuel-Walker expects to get something in return for the money she pays out in salary to her employees.
“If we get out of control with hiring people, that is probably where we have veered off our P&L in the past,” Shuel-Walker says. “We hired these salespeople that we think can get us to the party, and they do not produce the numbers that we thought they could produce. What we pay somebody in the first year as salary, we expect them to offset that in gross profit in the first 12 months. So if that is not happening, our payroll expense could get out of line.”
The issue of accountability is a critical one to Shuel-Walker.
“For me, it is about follow-up,” she says. “We have follow-up meetin
gs and everybody brings back what they have worked on. We set timelines, and we expect those timelines to be met. If we have got some issues, we will talk about that. They will bring back what obstacles they have been facing.”
The follow-up step along the way is crucial to checking progress and possibly being able to get a project back on track before it’s too late to cause a problem.
“Make sure the people are doing the things you want done and are meeting the timelines that you set forth,” Shuel-Walker says.
But sometimes, it is just a failure for the person to come through and get the job done. That needs to be addressed to demonstrate true accountability.
“Maybe they do not have the skill set,” Shuel-Walker says. “Maybe you need to take a half step back and maybe somebody else should head up that project, because they do not have the skill set. It might be time to look at changing some of those people out. If they are coming back and nothing is being done, I guess that is the only way you could figure it out.”
