Decision Rights, Delegation & RACI

This document explains how decisions get made at TechAbout — who decides, who must be consulted, and when something has to move up. It is for every employee and leader, because good decisions depend on everyone knowing their part in them.

Our default is to make decisions quickly, at the lowest capable level, with a clear owner and a clear record. Speed and clarity are not in tension here: a well-scoped decision with one accountable person is both faster and safer than a vague one owned by a committee.

RACI: One Accountable Owner, Always

We use RACI to keep roles on a decision unambiguous. Every meaningful decision or deliverable has four kinds of involvement:

• Responsible (R) — the person or people doing the work to reach and execute the decision.
• Accountable (A) — the single person who owns the outcome and signs off. There is exactly one Accountable for any decision. If two people think they are Accountable, that is the bug to fix first.
• Consulted (C) — people whose input is genuinely needed before the call is made; a two-way conversation.
• Informed (I) — people who need to know the outcome after the fact; a one-way update.

The diagram above is illustrative — it shows the pattern, not a fixed assignment for your team. The one rule that never bends is one Accountable per decision. Being Consulted is not a veto, and being Informed is not an invitation to reopen the decision. Being Responsible without being Accountable is normal and healthy — most work is done by people who are not the final signatory.

A decision without a single accountable owner is not a decision — it is a discussion that hasn't finished yet.

Delegation of Authority: Who Can Commit the Company

Only certain roles may commit TechAbout to spend money, sign contracts, hire, or make binding promises to clients — and only up to defined limits. Below a limit, the owning role decides and records it. Above it, the commitment must be approved by the next authority up before anyone signs, sends, or pays.

Treat any thresholds shown above as illustrative only. The current, authoritative figures — spend limits, contract-value ceilings, approval tiers, and any dual-sign requirements — are owned by Finance and reviewed as the company grows. Always confirm the live numbers with your lead or Finance before you commit anything; do not rely on example values or on memory. A few principles hold regardless of the exact figures:

• Never commit above your authority. Splitting one purchase into smaller pieces to stay under a limit is a breach of this policy, not a workaround.
• Get it in writing. Approvals for anything binding live in the system of record (ERPNext), not in a chat message you'll lose.
• Client promises are commitments too. Discounts, scope changes, deadlines, and refunds bind the company just as a signature does. If it obligates TechAbout, it follows the delegation rules.
• Delegation is a loan, not a transfer. The person who delegates authority remains accountable for how it is used.

Push Decisions to the Lowest Capable Level

We want decisions made by the people closest to the work and the client — not sent upward out of habit. Escalation is for decisions that are genuinely above your authority, cross several teams, are hard to reverse, or carry real risk to money, security, legal exposure, or reputation. It is not a way to avoid making a call you're equipped to make.

A useful test for reversibility: if a decision is easy to undo, make it, learn, and adjust. If it is hard or costly to undo, slow down, consult, and check your authority before committing.

How to Know: Decide, Consult, or Escalate

Before acting, ask yourself three questions in order:

1. Is this within my authority and my role's decision rights? If yes, and it's reversible or low-risk, decide — then inform whoever needs to know.
2. Does someone else hold information, expertise, or a stake I'm missing? If yes, consult them properly before deciding — a real conversation, not a rubber stamp.
3. Is this above my authority, hard to reverse, or high-risk (money, security, legal, reputation, or people)? If yes, escalate to the Accountable owner or the next authority up. Bring a recommendation, not just a problem.

When unsure which bucket you're in, ask early. A ten-minute check with your lead is cheaper than an unwound commitment.

Disagree and Commit

Once a decision is properly made by its Accountable owner, we expect everyone to disagree and commit. You are welcome — encouraged — to argue your case fully while the decision is open. But when the call is made, we all back it as if it were our own and execute in good faith. Re-litigating a settled decision in side conversations is not disagreement; it's erosion.

This works only if disagreement is safe and heard first. If you believe a decision is genuinely wrong on the facts, raise it once, clearly, to the Accountable owner with your reasoning. If it involves ethics or safety, use ethics@techabout.com. If a decision harmed you or a process failed you, our Grievance & Complaint Escalation policy is the route.

For how these decision rights sit within specific roles, see the individual C-suite and lead charters in this book. For everyday conduct expectations, see the Code of Conduct. While the team is small, one person may currently hold more than one of these decision-making roles.

Questions? Contact hr@techabout.com.