After 20 years, I recently stepped down as the president of Canada’s largest tanning chain, Fabutan. I’m often asked what one thing can make the most impact in growing a tanning salon, or any business for that matter. My answer is almost always accountability.

So often, business owners assume that their teams know what is expected of them and alternatively, employees assume they are doing a great job as long as they are not being told differently. They take the “no news must be good news” approach. This type of silence can be deadly for a business. How do you avoid this trap? By setting regular and measurable expectations and by holding your team accountable for results.

It has often been said, you can’t improve what you don’t measure. You must set expectations and communicate regularly with your team members about their performance. By checking if they are meeting these goals and giving them strategies to help them achieve, it will go a long way toward increasing sales. Without goals and direction, employees are like a rudderless boat. They are in the water, but not sure how to get to the other side. These goals open the door for regular conversations about how to improve performance.

Click here to read the entire article in Smart Tan Magazine online.