What is Employee Accountability and How Do I Build It?

Creating a natural, consistent culture of accountability within a business is something that every business owner or manager should aim for.

An environment that fosters accountability ultimately turns into an environment that is abundant in productivity. This creates more success for a business and more loyalty among its employees.

As a business owner, you may be wondering what employee accountability is and how you too can develop more of it in your business. Keep reading for some great tips on how to create an environment of accountability in your workplace.

What is Accountability?

Accountability is when a person is answerable (accountable) for something that is within his or her own power, management or control.

When speaking in terms of employee accountability, it is when employees are held responsible for the duties that are required of their particular job, and if they do not perform these duties then they are ultimately responsible for any consequences that are to follow.

How to Build Accountability in Your Workplace

Creating an environment that fosters accountability doesn’t just happen because you want it to.

As well, you cannot just tell employees to start being more responsible and accountable and expect it to happen.

Accountability is something that the employees have to create for themselves and have to want to do – but there is a way to build that and help them want it.

Below are some of the best ways to encourage accountability in your employees, ultimately leading to happier, more productive employees and a more successful business.

Biometric Technology and Software

Before you start encouraging accountability within the workplace, you must first ensure that your employees are actually accountable for their shifts.

Without employees present at work for the time required of them, your productivity will decrease significantly.

Adopting a biometric time and attendance system may help to encourage all employees to be present for their entire shifts.

Rather than dealing with the hassle of time cards, which get lost, stolen and allow for time card fraud, biometric attendance systems are hassle proof.

These time and attendance systems use biometric devices such as fingerprint scanners to track employee attendance and collect their data for payroll.

If an employee wants to be paid for their full shift, they will have to be present at work to sign in using the device, since these devices require each individual’s unique physical traits to work properly.

Prioritize

A common reason why employees are not as productive as they could be is because they do not know how to prioritize their work.

They may be struggling to balance their tasks and meet their goals, which could cause them to not complete their work on time.

As the manager of a business it is important to help your employees prioritize their work in relation to your company’s overall goals.

If your employees understand which tasks are most important to helping the company move forward, they will understand how to prioritize their work and goals.

This will allow them to feel more organized and able to complete their work effectively.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

A great way to encourage accountability in your employees is to help them set SMART goals for themselves – goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, results-oriented and time-bound.

Having such specific goals will help your employees feel like they are working towards something that they can measure themselves and manage on their own.

This instills a feeling of responsibility in your employees that they have created themselves, which causes them to want to be more accountable for the work they do.

Team Incentives

Team incentive programs will encourage employees to not only complete their work, but to also work well as a whole team, motivating themselves and each other to meet their highest potential at work.

Your employees will be encouraged to work together to reach common goals of the company and will be compensated for going above and beyond what is required of them.

Monitor Progress

When you monitor your employees’ progress, it will encourage them to be more accountable for their work, and to strive to be more productive.

When we know our work is being monitored, it is only natural that we will work harder in order to prove we are doing our best.

When you monitor your employees’ progress, be sure to share progress reports with them on a regular basis.

Make sure that these reports are different from their annual performance appraisals, and that they are given on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.

Sharing these reports with your employees will show them which areas they are excelling in and which need a little more attention.

When you create this open line of communication like this, you are building trust with your employees and letting them know that they can come to you with issues pertaining to their work.

Instilling different tactics like those mentioned above will help to create a productive and open environment within your company.

Employees who feel they are being communicated with regularly and who feel they can communicate openly with their colleagues will feel a stronger sense of loyalty and trust for their company.

This helps to instill a sense of accountability within your employees who ultimately want to succeed and be a part of the company’s overall success.