What do you think is the most important aspect of a successful business?
Is it great ideas, or hard work, or teamwork?
While these are crucial, we see accountability as the foundation to any successful, high-performing company. You must be accountable for your decisions and actions in order to build an effective business culture. To help you understand why and how to build a culture of accountability in your company, we’ve identified 6 steps you can take today.
1. Clearly define roles and responsibilities
Before a business can have any sort of accountability, it must clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each member of the team. Role definitions are critical for two reasons:
1- They identify who will be doing what at any given time.
2- They help ensure that the people performing the tasks understand what is expected of them. This will put your team members on the same page and reduce tension among team members.
You can create role definitions for your company in the following ways:
- Use “who” and “what” to specify designated roles and responsibilities.
- Identify the skills and level of experience required for each role.
- Define the expectations of each role.
- Determine how each role fits in with the larger scope and purpose of the business.
2. Communicate company goals & expectations
The problem that many business owners face is they often have ambiguous goals that are ineffectively communicated with the rest of their organisation. If you have a vision for your company and you want your employees to work towards achieving it, it’s imperative that you communicate clearly what your goals are and how you expect everybody to achieve them. Set clear expectations and enforce these consistently.
And, when you find your employees are consistently meeting or exceeding your expectations, recognise their effort and reward them appropriately. This will show your employees that they are appreciated and will help keep them motivated to further advance the goals of the company.
3. Set up a reporting structure
It is extremely important that you create a reporting structure in which your employees are accountable for their decisions and actions. Creating a culture of accountability in the workplace means that your employees take ownership of their choices and actions, and report on their daily activities through a formal reporting structure.
One of the best ways to do this is through employee performance management systems. This will help your team members better understand their role, perform their tasks in an efficient manner, and be held accountable to the goals that you have set.
4. Monitor progress towards goals
Are you tracking your company goals? If you’re not tracking the progress of your company goals, you’ll never know where you stand and therefore, you will never be accountable.
The use of scorecards or dashboards is an effective way to monitor your progress towards reaching company goals. It will allow you to measure your weekly, monthly and/or annual targets and to compare results based on previously set goals. Most importantly, by monitoring progress, decision-makers will be able to respond proactively and appropriately in critical situations.
5. Follow up with your team
Make it a point to follow up with your team and always answer any questions you’re asked. Schedule regular and consistent meetings to check in with how your team is doing and to see if they are stuck or need help completing a particular task. This will help build team trust and provide clarity on your vision and mission. Most significantly, it will foster a culture of accountability in your organisation.
6. Encourage open communication
An open dialogue with your employees is the best way to build an accountable culture. You want to create a situation where your team members feel comfortable discussing anything that’s on their minds, no matter how small or big. This type of environment empowers them to improve themselves, the team’s work, and in turn, your business. That’s why it’s important to create an environment that welcomes ideas and encourages communication.
Our team is here to help you build accountability and drive your business to the next level. Get in touch with us today.
