BREC’s culture club

BREC is cutting jobs, paying better for the ones that remain and expecting more in return. This is the vision Superintendent Brooks Williams spelled out in his November message—and he is asking the public to hold him accountable.

Why it matters: Williams has been consistent since his arrival in wanting to rebuild the public’s trust in BREC while also focusing on more efficient operations and improved facility management.

Getting leaner: Williams is clear that the job reductions were deliberate, but the cuts will be coming to an end.

• Leadership changes, shifted duties and eliminated positions have been happening at BREC over “the past few months.” Paring jobs and contracts has saved $11.3 million annually.
• The goal is a “lean, high-functioning agency” that sends “as many dollars as possible” back into parks.
• The period of eliminations and departures “will end,” he writes, but he doesn’t say when.

Pay for play: Williams says the days of “we don’t pay much, so we don’t expect much” are over.

• BREC will pay “well” for knowledge, skill and judgment, and expect the most in return.
• Investing in one or two capable professionals often results in a better ROI than three or four lower-paid positions; that’s where BREC will invest.
• He declares low expectations a form of “bigotry,” aimed at employees and residents alike.

Accountability: Something called the SAVE plan—Standards, Accountability, Visibility and Execution—is becoming BREC’s internal operational playbook.

• Employees will have the standard explained and then held to it, with the training, tools and authority to meet it.
• Leaders are expected to inspect the results, talk with employees and check that finished work did what it was supposed to do.
• Repeated failure to deliver, he writes, is something those leading the work must address.
• Residents “should be able to hold us to those same standards.”

My bad: Williams says an honest mistake deserves a different response than a refusal to take responsibility.

• BREC should explain what happened to the people affected, fix it and apply the lesson.
• Employees should be able to raise concerns or better ideas without worrying it will be held against them.

Accepting mediocrity: Williams makes the case that East Baton Rouge Parish, including BREC, has grown too accustomed to doing things poorly.

• “That’s just how things are,” he writes, becomes a reason to stop expecting better.
• Residents stop raising concerns and employees quit offering ideas once they decide nothing will change.

Notable quotable: “What we walk past, we teach others to accept,” writes Williams.

The bottom line: Williams brings an interesting blend of city-manager sensibilities and vision-setting ambition to BREC. The public and other city-parish leaders should closely monitor the results and, if successful, adopt similar thinking.