Accountability in the workplace means that individuals assume ownership of their role and take pride in the work they’re given. Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone came to work eager to put forth work they were proud of?
Accountability is not only profitable for the organization; it’s also personally fulfilling for individual employees. Owning your work is much more rewarding than “going through the motions” at work, and work is much better when we hold ourselves accountable to a high standard.
What if we told you that you can instill a sense of accountability in your employees by doing these 4 things:
Start With the Why
People have a natural desire to own their work when it’s meaningful to them. That is why businesses have seen success when they consistently tell employees why their efforts matter in the grand scheme of things.
What does this mean? Paint the full picture for them, including how their specific job is integral to organizational functioning and the broader organizational mission and vision. When you start with the “why,” employees feel a sense of being a part of something bigger than themselves. Help them see and feel that what they do genuinely impacts other people and the entire organization.
Frequent Touch Points and Collaborative Work
Frequent touch points nurture and sustain a sense of accountability in the workplace. While it starts with communicating the “why” behind each role, accountability is sustained when we regularly meet up, interact, and update each other on ongoing work. Additionally, frequent touch points allow for greater collaboration which can lead to a better final product.
With individual work, it’s much easier to let things fall through the cracks since we’re not reporting to others. Collaborative work is its own accountability system because employees rely on one another to reach a common goal.
Regular Feedback
Too often, we aren’t sure how or when to deliver feedback, which inhibits overall workplace accountability and growth. A culture where employees freely give and receive feedback means that people hold each other accountable.
When employees expect their team members to provide regular, honest feedback, they not only work harder, but they can respond to the feedback and improve their performance. (*Hint Hint* Titus offers a feedback training course that can help you foster a feedback culture at your organization.)
Recognize and Reward Top Performers
Last but not least, recognizing and rewarding top performers is an essential element of being a performance-driven company. If you’re not recognizing top performers, you run the risk of sending the message to employees that there’s no difference between low and high performance. To effectively recognize top performers, you must know who your top performers are in the first place. Etho gives you a clear picture of which employees are excelling, and which are underperforming. We actually dive a bit deeper into effective recognition in another blog, feel free to check it out when you’re done here: What Is Effective Recognition – And Why Is It Important?
Wrapping Up.
By starting with the “why,” building in collaborative work, giving regular feedback, and recognizing top performers, you can successfully drive accountability in the workplace. Employees begin to own their work when they know the purpose behind it, how they’re performing, and what rewards come with high performance.
Etho allows you to lay out what success looks like for every role, so that employees have quick and easy access to their goals, performance, and consistent feedback. If you’re looking for a tool to drive accountability, reach out to us today.
