Lack of  accountability in remote and hybrid workplaces (How to fix it)

By Darren Finkelstein
By Darren Finkelstein

The Accountability Guy®

Home » Accountability » Lack of  accountability in remote and hybrid workplaces (How to fix it)

As we have passed the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have learned to adapt to working hybrid or remotely. In such scenarios, the employees work from the remote office or home. Such as these scenarios, managers may need help managing the staff or teams working from home or remotely. How do these managers ensure that productivity and commitment toward the goal aren’t affected? Let’s get real! It does get affected if there is a lack of accountability. Yes, even in remote and hybrid setups, one has to ensure that the accounting practices are still installed and demonstrated. So, before we talk about how we can fix the accountability standards in such a working environment, let’s talk about what happens when there is a lack of accountability in remote and hybrid workplaces and how it impacts productivity.  

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Lack of accountability in remote and hybrid workplaces

Lack of team understanding and relationship

People working in teams are not accountable and do not understand the importance of building a good team and working relationships. They will be more focused on blaming each other for the loss. The level of trust and respect will be negligible.  

Lack of commitment towards work

As the people working remotely are not accountable, they do not understand the importance of completing tasks or working on projects with proper timelines and milestones. This lack of commitment can lead to the project’s failure and further losses to the company.  

Expectations are not met

You have hired an employee or team thinking that they will understand and deliver the desired results, but they do not understand the meaning of being accountable; therefore, they cannot meet the expectations. The goals are not met, the managers get frustrated, and they end up firing the resource they hired months back.

Lack of trust

As the employees are not accountable, therefore, as a manager you would not be able to build your confidence in them. You would frequently question them if they had completed the task, and if not, why so. Even if the reason is genuine, you cannot believe them.

Wastage of time and resources

As your hybrid team is not accountable, the time and help you have spent on them are wasted. They cannot focus on their performance, and the results generated are not up to the mark.  

 

Now that we know the situation, how do we handle it? How can we make our staff accountable and change their mindset? 

How to fix it?

Set clear and measurable goals

As an accountable manager, when you are setting goals and targets for them, involve them. Ask them how they feel about these goals and what challenges they might face. Help them plan for the smaller milestones, which are measurable, and then speak to them regularly so that they are aware of the expectations.

Feedback

Yes, an essential aspect of accountability. Ensure the employees that you are only talking about their welfare and good performance; therefore, to improve, what changes can they bring in? Frequent feedback will help them understand the necessity of performing and generating good results for the organization. 

Enable them to take ownership as they are empowered to make decisions

As you frequently brainstorm with your hybrid teams, ask them how they solve the issue or tackle the challenge and how they can improve things. This way, you allow them to make decisions independently, as they do, and they generate good or bad results, as their manager ensures that they don’t blame the game but accept their mistakes. If you teach them now, they will learn to own their actions and decisions.  

Coaching and training

Although they are a hybrid team, they are still working for the organization and performing for it; therefore, you must conduct coaching and training sessions for them. With the help of training and coaching, employees will learn about accountability and will begin to demonstrate the same at work. As you invest in their development, they will feel satisfied and secure at their jobs.

Conclusion

Whether the teams are working hybrid, remotely, or on-site with you, as a manager, you must ensure that they perform as per the requirement. If you guarantee the targets are set in front of the employees, with their equal input, they will be motivated to achieve them. As you have helped them build a road map in the beginning, and you regularly check the progress, they would also feel dedicated towards their goals. As a manager, you may share your progress with your teams; that way, they would learn and respect their manager. Accountability doesn’t teach about being authoritative but helps managers become more approachable to their employees. So, preaching to your hybrid teams about accountability is a difficult task yes, but can be done by keeping some basic standards clear in front of them.