The Importance of Accountability in Your Company Culture
The benefits your company offers are everything. They are what keeps your employees feeling appreciated and supported. They are what keeps them producing solid, great work. And they are what keeps them from seeking greener pastures.
But beyond good salaries, generous PTO, or solid insurance, look deeper. There is one other important element in your company’s benefit stack. And it’s unfortunately an often-overlooked element. We’re talking, of course, about your company culture.
There are countless ways to ensure a healthy, functioning company culture that has the backs of your employees. But pool tables and beer on tap aren’t the answer. To generate truly organic, truly impactful company culture, you need just one critical element: accountability.
In this article, we’ll dive into the topic of team-wide accountability. We’ll also touch on the impact it has on company culture. By article’s end, you, too, are sure to be a corporate accountability stan.
What is an Example of Accountability in the Workplace?
By accountability, we aren’t simply referring to employees getting their work done.
No, instead we’re talking about accountability of output. Namely, that the members of your team are engaged in offering their best attempt at a job well done. And even more specifically, one done in support of creating a productive and inclusive work environment.
Accountability takes on various forms. It could be something as simple as showing up on time during an expected work shift. Or it could be day-to-day accountability in delivering consistently effortful deliverables in accordance with a project plan.
But accountability goes beyond the more black and white elements of our work lives. It also refers to open communication during collaborative projects. It assumes clear delineation of tasks and functions across a team. And it assumes clear and consistent communication both up through one’s manager and down from the management team.
Put bluntly, accountability is an amorphous thing. But it’s one that is critical to any well-adjusted and well-productive corporate team.
Why is Accountability Important for Culture?
Creating a culture of accountability is everything. Truly.
Imagine, for a moment, a corporate team in which personal accountability is never discussed or mandated. If you take the examples above, this can result in countless issues, such as:
A loss in productivity,
Late or outright unfinished projects and deliverables,
Poor communication,
In-fighting and antagonism,
Segregated insights between managers and the managed team,
And much more.
Truly, an accountable culture is one that knows how to operate efficiently and effectively and does it. A non-accountable team always seems to struggle to cross the finish line. And those working in a company with a lack of accountability all too often feel the weight of the burden.
Creating a Culture of Accountability the Right Way
Accountability in a company doesn’t simply stop at the workers doing the brunt of the work, though. As you might imagine, accountability is a pretty simple memorandum. But this is only half the battle, as company culture comes from the top. And there’s nothing thinner than a company mandate with no plan for follow-through.
For truly effective accountability in an organization, everyone should be held to the same standards. This ensures fairness, sure. But it also operates in support of the transparency that accountability requires.
Neither job function nor seniority need to stand in the way of culture accountability in a company. The key is that everyone, is bought into the process and understands the benefits that are at stake.
When considering flying the flag of accountability with your company, enlighten your peers about the potential efficiency gains. Or the more collaborative vibes on the table. Or even how everyone stands to be recognized for better and more consistent work. Surely, recognition and a headache-free workday are reward enough!
Building Accountability into Your Culture
In truth, there’s no single solution to drive accountability in your company’s operations. Every company culture and every team dynamic are going to have their own quirks and needs. But, the good news is there are a few key approaches teams can relatively simply consider. When prioritizing the importance of accountability, thoroughness is as important as ease.
Today, metrics drive everything from advertising insights to consumer spending. But internal-facing metrics can be just as insightful.
Are there any gaps on your team? Is everyone across the team performing and submitting work at the same qualitative and quantitative levels? Are there consistent areas for improvement that can be built into the next performance appraisal season?
All of this and more can be found with a proper audit of your team’s alignment and accountability metrics. And with a commitment to regularly measure the results, the results may be both surprising and enlightening. You may even find opportunities to grow accountability you didn’t even know were an issue.
Of course, good intentions and clean, fancy spreadsheets only go so far. To truly bank on solid accountability in an organization, your leadership team needs to be involved in the process. And even more importantly, they need to hold themselves to the same standard.
Drive Systematic, Culture Wide Accountability from the Top
Building accountability into your culture starts with a single decision: seeking practical solutions over performative sentiments.
To truly drive home the importance of accountability in your company culture, consider hiring a corporate motivational speaker. This will inject critical insights into the minds of those who decide what is and isn’t expected of their workforce.
Jon Dorenbos has experience guiding leadership teams from companies far and wide on production, collaboration, and accountability issues alike. His inspirational, tactical approach to keynote speaking touches on real, actionable facets of work culture.
His talks have been delivered to project teams and management teams alike. And he has helped transform corporate cultures nationwide with his innovative and inspiring approach to corporate talks.
But even better, his entertaining approach to motivational speaking means the topics at hand never feel dry or derisive. With his enjoyable custom lectures, he can inspire and help your leadership team realize the myriad benefits of accountability. They, then, can instill a culture that is as effective as it is accountable.