Aggressive Accountability 

In today's fast-paced business environment, ensuring quality is a team sport. In the food industry, the challenge to maintain quality spans the supply chain across suppliers of raw materials, manufacturers, retailers, and food service end users.  Specifications must be clearly written to detail expectations, and how and when quality will be tested should be understood by both parties. Further, when there are issues in quality, both parties must know who is responsible and what corrective actions will take place.  The entire supply chain benefits when everyone is held accountable for their actions. In this blog post, we'll explore what aggressive accountability is and how it can help your quality team succeed.

What is aggressive accountability?

Aggressive accountability is the proactive practice of holding individuals and teams responsible for meeting their commitments and achieving their goals. It involves setting clear expectations, regularly monitoring progress, and taking swift action when necessary to correct course.  If this sounds like the basis for a successful Supplier Monitoring Program, you are on the right track!

The Benefits of Aggressive Accountability

1. Increased efficiency: When everyone is held accountable, they work more efficiently and effectively to meet their goals. This leads to better use of resources and improved productivity.

2. Improved quality: By holding teams accountable, you can ensure that they are delivering the highest quality products possible. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and minimized losses.

3. Better collaboration: When accountability is at the forefront, team members are more likely to work together effectively. They understand that their success is tied to the success of the team and are motivated to help each other succeed.

4. Stronger culture: Aggressive accountability helps to foster a culture of responsibility, where everyone is expected to meet their commitments. This leads to a more collaborative approach to quality.

5. Improved decision-making: When everyone is held accountable, they are more likely to make informed and confident decisions. When QA understands exactly what the buyer expects to receive, they make decisions with that expectation at the forefront. 

How to Implement Aggressive Accountability

1. Set clear expectations: Clearly articulate what is expected of each individual and team, and make sure they understand their roles and responsibilities.  For food product quality, this means clear specifications that detail the expectations of the buyer and a predetermined system of how quality will be monitored by a third party on a regular basis.

2. Regularly monitor progress: Keep track of progress regularly, using metrics and KPIs to measure success.  Deciding what parameters to test and how often to evaluate a product is the basis for a supplier monitoring program.

3. Provide feedback: Provide constructive feedback and coaching to help individuals and teams improve and reach their goals.  When defects are identified, suppliers should be notified immediately so a root cause and corrective action can be identified.

4. Take swift action: When necessary, take swift action to correct course and ensure that individuals and teams are meeting their commitments.  Corrective actions must be implemented and quality should be rechecked to make sure issues have been resolved. 

In conclusion, aggressive accountability is critical to maintaining quality across your supply chain. By holding individuals and teams accountable, companies can improve efficiency, quality, collaboration, and decision-making, leading to higher and more consistent quality.