How do you foster accountability in the workplace?

 

Accountability is a crucial element of every high-functioning workplace. Accountability in the workplace has a clear correlation with higher performance, and research by the US Office of Personnel Management has also indicated that it leads to heightened capability, increased dedication to the role, boosted morale, and higher levels of workplace satisfaction. Accountability also fosters innovation as staff members become more invested in the company going forward.

We see that, Accountability is crucial to the efficiency and accuracy of the work produced by employees. If employees aren’t held accountable for late work, lack of punctuality, or incomplete projects, you send the message that these occurrences aren’t so important, even though they truly are. Furthermore, it helps to ensure that all staff members are pulling their weight, and not relying on others to pick up the slack. In a Harvard Business Review Article on the topic of accountability at work, Thomas Ricks states that it is actually unfair on employees if management does not keep all staff accountable. This creates an environment where slackness thrives, and a handful of hardworking employees will have to carry the weight of the large number of unreliable ones.

There are a number of steps you can take in order to encourage accountability in your workplace.

1. Make it a value 

Accountability needs to be integrated into your workplace’s everyday operations. Explicitly bring up the concept in team meetings, encourage staff to share their ideas about it, and come to a common definition of what it means in your workplace. However, it needs to be more than a common definition. Accountability must become an organisation-wide goal, with consequences for when it is or isn’t met. It is terrible for office morale if there are one of two consistently low performers who never face repercussions.

2. Define goals 

Setting goals for each department or team – broken down to each employee – is one of the easiest ways for accountability to flourish. Goals with visible or tangible metrics will work best. This will set a very clear outline of what is expected from each employee. Personalised goals are especially important in team work as they highlight just how important each employee is to the whole project’s completion. If one team member doesn’t pull their weight, it will become blatantly obvious as other team members will not be able to complete their tasks. Also important in goal-setting is outlining what is not a priority. Overwhelming employees with too many tasks is a sure-fire way to reduce productivity and accountability. Ensure the goals set are realistic.

3. Highlight key metrics 

Showing your employees the metrics of their performance is a great way to encourage accountability. Highlighting these metrics ensures that each employee will have to engage with the outcomes of their work. Sharing the outcomes of each goal set is a really effective way to validate commitment as well as communicate a clear outline of what is expected. Furthermore, highlighting figures encourages a little healthy competition. Accomplishing a goal and being recognised for doing so is a great feeling for an employee. Acknowledgement that you didn’t reach your goal this time around will incite the need for harder work next time around.

4. Include everyone in accountability

This goes hand-in-hand with setting individual goals. It is very easy for employees to assume that the team goal is the responsibility of the project or team leader. However, we know this isn’t the case. It’s important that each employee is aware that their contribution is both highly important, and valued. Furthermore, employees should be encouraged to speak up when another employee isn’t pulling their weight.

5. Create an environment of support and trust

When trust in absent in the workplace, employees focus on who is at fault when a problem arises, as opposed to crafting a solution. In a low trust environment, employees dread accountability as they worry about the consequences of their mistakes. In a high-trust environment, employees will try their hardest, stay accountable, and will be confident that they can rectify the issue with the help of their team. A high trust environment flourishes when managers provide praise when it is earnt and build their teams’ confidence.

6. Implement tools 

There are many tools on the market that help you to keep your employees accountable. Roubler, for example, allows you to generate a report of key performance metrics to examine who is, and isn’t, getting their work done efficiently. Not only will this allow you to better track the progress of projects, but employees are more likely to buckle down and get working when they know how easy it is to check up on their work.

Workplaces thrive with accountability – employee turnover is lowered, teams function more efficiently, and innovation flourishes. Following these steps will help to foster and encourage accountability in the workplace!

source: roubler.com