The Importance of Employee Accountability in Achieving Business Goals

By Darren Finkelstein
By Darren Finkelstein

The Accountability Guy®

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Employees are the key to successful lead and revenue generation; they are the ones who would be at the customer front. Build strong customer relationships and provide the best service that the customer deserves. We all know that accountability is the main driver behind success and improved employee engagement. We have always noticed that accountability positively impacts any team or organization. Accountability at the workplace means all the employees, managers, and leaders have clarity on what they are expected to perform, their duties, and what they can expect from the organization.


Accountable culture will be more effective if the communication channels are transparent and open; we see managers are available to listen to their employee’s ideas and brainstorm sessions and also, and they will stand up for their team’s failures. Individuals will be responsible for their actions, decisions, and performance. The culture of accountability will enrich the relationship among the team members, the team’s performance will improve significantly, and outcomes will be better. Now, let’s look at what accountability at the employee level would look like.

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Importance of employee accountability in achieving business goals

  • Understanding and gaining clarity about the job they are expected to perform is the first step as they begin to work in any organization. Therefore, the primary step is understanding the importance of their role and duties in the organization.
    ⦁ One would notice empowerment in making the right decision to provide the best outcomes and services to the customer. Therefore, making the right decision at the right is another crucial aspect of being accountable.
    ⦁ One would notice proactive behavior in resolving challenges and being prepared for further challenges to ensure they meet their targets. Therefore, working towards the results in proper plan and road map.
    ⦁ Building a good relationship with team members and managers is another critical role of an employee to be accountable.
    ⦁ Finally, taking ownership of their actions, decisions, and behavior is another aspect of being accountable at the employee level.
    ⦁ As managers or team leaders, they set exemplary accountability standards so they can become role models in front of their employees. Therefore, they can demonstrate their accountability in self-discipline, proactive thinking, goal setting, and building stronger relations. The employees learn to follow in the footsteps of their managers and work on their performance.
    ⦁ As team managers, standing up for the teams’ failures and mistakes, they must demonstrate ownership as the critical behavior to protect their teams.
    ⦁ As a manager providing and seeking feedback, it is essential to conduct feedback sessions to ensure that the employees improve and develop for the next role. But as they are giving feedback, it is equally critical for them to accept the feedback from their seniors and teams, to demonstrate that feedback is welcomed.
    ⦁ Take ownership – One key learning of accountability is taking ownership of their actions, decisions, and behavior. As they are learning to change towards responsibility, therefore they learn to improve on taking ownership of their mistakes and failures. Because of this, the blame game on each other reduces and eventually stops. As team managers, standing up for the teams’ failures and mistakes, they must demonstrate ownership as the critical behavior to protect their teams.
    ⦁ More proactive problem-solving capabilities – An accountable employee will ensure that he sits with his team members and seniors and discusses their goals and challenges that they might face as they are working on them. This way, they work on the brainstorming sessions to ensure that they are prepared for the upcoming challenges and then resolve them promptly.
  • Managers follow an open-door policy with their teams – As they discuss and rationalize challenges, and this gives them more opportunities to open up with their employees. So, the managers do not turn out to be authoritative but more understanding and encouraging because the employees don’t feel scared but are more confident to share their problems with their managers.

Conclusion

As leaders or managers of the organization, it is essential to train their employees or staff. Training and development are necessary for managers to prepare their team for the next role. As their employees grow in their parts, the managers will also evolve and develop in their roles. Accountability has to be practiced across the board for employees, managers, and leaders, whether it is about just one individual or at different levels. It is not a top-down approach, but leaders provide their employees with all the resources and training to keep learning, stay engaged, and be loyal to the organization. Employees and managers follow the guidelines set by the leaders and then set the standards of accountable behavior. The culture of accountability will enrich the relationship among the team members, the team’s performance will improve significantly, and outcomes will be better.