DIAMOND Dialog WINTER 2019
G r o w i n g To g e t h e r.
The Diamond Way A business culture of autonomy that allows the management teams the freedom to make their own choices can provide many advantages. Motivation, commitment, productivity, loyalty, engagement, and a greater sense of value are just a few of the benefits reported within an autonomous business environment. “As we expanded our parking operations in the early 1990s’, we shifted more responsibility to the cities,” notes Diamond Parking President Jon Diamond. Jon explains further that because each city features different operational opportunities and challenges as well as geographic differences, it made sense to “advocate allocating the accountability” to the local level. “Giving our city managers more time to focus on the important “issues” of expanding operations and growing new business is key to building a business culture with autonomy embedded at its core.” Jon adds that providing managers with the freedom to complete tasks as they see fit, using their own preferred methods, but remaining on hand at the corporate level to provide support and advice is essential to the success of a business culture of autonomy. “It’s what gets done that counts, with less concern for how it gets done,” concludes Jon. So how does autonomy companywide contribute to Diamond’s success? How does it help managers and their teams perform at their highest levels? Is autonomy essential to build trust and true employee engagement? We put these questions to senior staff in four diverse regions.
Andrea Pierce Regional Vice President of Operations “Each market that Diamond operates is unique. Allowing the individual markets the autonomy to make the decisions that are best for their area certainly has a positive impact. The decisions we make at a local level take into account market factors and even account for considerations down to landlord personalities and preferences. In addition, we have the autonomy to work with owners to structure deals that work best for them. We have the flexibility to focus on the issues that are most relevant at the time — the team we build, structure, talent and wages. As managers, we spend a lot of time and effort on hiring and training qualified teams. The best thing we can do is to allow them the autonomy to contribute their knowledge and skills, within the framework and vision we outline. We set the goals and empower our employees to take us there.” Continued on inside
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