The Importance of Workplace Accountability (With Examples)

What Does it Mean to Be Accountable at Work?

On the surface, accountability is not a complicated thing. It’s the simple act of taking responsibility for one’s actions.

But it does go deeper than that. When a person is accountable, it means they take full ownership of their tasks and projects from start to finish, including sticking to deadlines and meeting the expectations of their role.

Perhaps most crucially, it means each individual owns their mistakes and admits to them freely. Once an error has been acknowledged, an accountable person will work to reach a solution while finding ways to improve their skills and knowledge so the mistake isn’t repeated.

Additionally, an accountable organization supports the individual in finding those solutions.

Constructive feedback, training, tools, and maintaining clear communication are all essential for an accountable workforce.

Why Is This Important?

Look, no one is perfect (and organizations shouldn’t expect perfection, either). We all slip up from time to time, and that’s okay. The problems start when individuals don’t feel like they can admit their mistakes without fear of heavy-handed repercussions.

An accountable workplace culture allows staff to speak freely and without fear. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a blame culture forces individuals to hide their mistakes or shift the fault onto someone else.

When employees are more focused on avoiding blame or repercussions than on their actual workload, the quality of work can suffer, which, ironically, leads to more errors and mistakes.

A distrustful workforce quickly ends up with dysfunctional team dynamics and conflict.

Communication breaks down, and you’re left with employees who are afraid to speak to one another and take risks (that might have otherwise generated new ideas and driven business growth).

The resulting dip in team morale results in low job satisfaction and ultimately a high staff turnover. Your top talent won’t hesitate to hot-foot it to a competitor that offers a better working environment.

Who Should Learn Accountability?

Everyone!

It’s not enough to simply expect team members to adopt an accountable attitude when leaders are not following suit. In fact, it’s arguably more important for leaders to be accountable than it is for their subordinates.

Why? Because culture shift starts from the top down. If leaders are placing the blame for their mistakes on their workers, then it won’t be long before workers are placing the blame on each other.

When leaders hold themselves accountable, they set a powerful example for their team by demonstrating integrity and transparency. These qualities are essential for building credibility and respect among staff.

Furthermore, a leader who practices accountability is more likely to make informed, ethical, and fair decisions. By taking responsibility for their actions and the outcomes, leaders can evaluate their decisions more critically.

The Benefits of an Accountable Workplace Culture

Promotes Initiative

When an organization focuses on solutions rather than blame, something great happens.

Employees feel encouraged to share ideas and support each other's growth. In an open environment, individuals feel more inclined to take risks and explore new possibilities without the fear of negative consequences.

A good example of this happened in the early 1990s. An employee of Swan Vesta (the match manufacturer) had the idea to stop using the sandpaper strike on both sides of the box and only apply it to one side.

His suggestion was initially shot down. Leaders didn’t think a good idea could come from a low-level employee. However, after some convincing, he was given a few minutes to present his idea.

The company’s board accepted the idea, and Swan Vesta saved them millions.

In this example, the organization was lucky that the employee persisted with their idea. Had they not, Swan Vesta would never have saved any money and the workforce would have been afraid to bring up any further suggestions.

Enhanced Trust and Collaboration

If you want a team to work well then trust and collaboration is key.

In a workplace with an accountability culture, employees are more likely to share information, support each other, and work together efficiently.

This also has the added benefit of improving communication among team members. When employees trust and respect each other, they are more willing to engage in open and honest discussions.

Quick Conflict Resolution

An add-on benefit to the above point is that open and honest conversations enable quick conflict resolution.

Rather than letting things fester into something bigger and more destructive, individuals can feel free to express their feelings about a situation and give others a chance to respond.

Laying things out on the table prevents staff from talking behind each other's backs and “Chinese whispers” from occurring. As we all know, when gossip spreads around an organization, it nearly always gets blown out of proportion.

Higher Levels of Engagement

Individuals who have a sense of ownership over their roles and responsibilities are far more invested in making a success of it.

When staff are accountable for their goals, deadlines, and workload, it encourages motivation and dedication, which drives engagement.

Staff who don’t care about accountability are also not going to care whether or not they are doing a good job. Nor will they be inclined to push boundaries or take any initiative to improve.

They’re also not going to be concerned about how their actions affect others. Poor performance in one area has a rapid knock-on effect on others. Soon, no one feels engaged in their roles because, well, what’s the point?

Better Performance and Results

How can we learn if not through our mistakes? If we’re not accountable for these then how can we possibly take measures to improve?

After all, it’s much easier to just blame someone or something else and carry on as normal.

If you want to see improved performance, innovation, and results, then you need to establish workforce accountability.

Those who are accountable are much more likely to seek feedback and implement changes that enhance their performance. This creates an ongoing cycle of evaluation and improvements – something we’re sure you’ll agree is vital for driving business growth.

A Great Reputation

Yes, it’s true. An accountable workforce builds your organization’s external reputation.

To understand this, we only need to look at Google and how they approach nurturing accountability.

The organization managed to create an incredible reputation for itself by developing a desirable workplace culture. It receives a gigantic three million applicants per year for its open roles making it easier to get into Harvard than it is to land a job at Google.

So what did it do to become so appealing?

• The organization encourages employees to take ownership of their projects and avoids excessive oversight and micro-management.
• Transparent communication is promoted. Regular feedback sessions are held where employees can voice opinions and hold each other accountable
• Google has structured performance reviews that focus on individual contributions and team dynamics, which measures accountability.
• Support measures are in place for staff, which enable them to take risks and make mistakes.
• The organization ensures that individual objectives align with broader company goals, which helps employees understand the impact of their work.

Examples of How Your Organization Can Establish Accountability in the Workplace

1. Set Clear Expectations

It’s hard for employees to become accountable if they don’t know what’s expected of them.

Your expectations as an organization should be very clear. Transparently define organizational goals and objectives, job roles, responsibilities, projects, and tasks so everyone knows where they stand.

At the individual level, employees need to feel empowered to organize their own workloads and schedules in a way that works for them while still fulfilling expectations.

As a side note, expectations and deadlines should be realistic. If you make these unattainable, your workers will feel hopeless and unmotivated to even try.

2. Lead by Example

Start with your leaders. If necessary, invest in training that shows your leaders how to be accountable. Your managers need to encompass all of the points in this article and lead by example.

For instance, a manager who can admit they made a mistake will increase trust and respect among the team and make others feel comfortable about admitting their own errors.

Equally, the supervisor who takes the initiative to perform tasks instead of passing them off to others will encourage others to follow suit.

Ultimately, leaders must emulate what they want to see in their workforce. One that shouts, berates, and shifts blame will quickly generate a toxic workplace culture that no one wants to be a part of.

3. Recognize and Rectify Errors

In order for staff to feel comfortable – and confident – about admitting their errors, they need to know that they can do so in a safe space.

No one is going to approach the manager who yells at their staff for the slightest mistake. And, no employee will admit they messed up if they know they will receive a suspension for it.

As an organization, you must recognize that making a mistake is part and parcel of the learning process. Instead of seeing it as a thorn in your side, regard it as an opportunity to improve.

Look at it from this point of view. There’s a strong chance the mistake wasn’t entirely the fault of the employee. It could be a lack of training, an inefficient workflow, or that they were assigned a task that was above their skill level.

Either way, you’re not going to know what the problem is if your staff doesn’t feel like they can approach you about it.

4. Be Mindful of the Details

The devil is in the details and a failure to check over work before submitting it is where a lot of mistakes can happen. Additionally, glossing over the details is where opportunities for improvement or innovation are missed.

Staff who feel rushed or pressured into getting work done quickly won’t have time to go over the details. Therefore, set realistic deadlines and prioritize quality over quantity.

Yes, there are always going to be occasions where deadlines are pressing but that still doesn’t mean that detail should be forgotten.

Ensure staff know that checking the details of their work or projects is just as important as the work itself. Encourage them to pay attention to what’s going on around them and to speak up if something isn’t quite right.

5. Proactivity – Not Reactivity

A reactive workforce responds to issues after they have happened. However, if your organization is always fighting fires, there is no room for improvement or growth.

A proactive mindset anticipates problems by thinking ahead and implementing solutions before the issue has had a chance to manifest.

Adopt a proactive approach by encouraging honest feedback from staff. Ask them how the current project is going and whether or not they foresee any hiccups in the future.

Let them bring forward their ideas on how to tackle the issues and allow them to implement these measures. When you do this, your employees will actively look for ways to improve or reduce the risk of a situation instead of waiting for disaster to strike.

6. Assist Team Members

As the saying goes “There’s no I in team.” However, it’s amazing how many organizations don’t foster a team-centric approach to working.

Often, we see the “silo” approach where each individual works alone and has limited communication or collaboration with other departments or teams.

This typically leads to inefficiencies and a lack of cohesion since no one is aware of each other’s activities, goals, or challenges. Moreover, information, ideas, and resources are not shared, leading to decreased organizational effectiveness.

Shifting to a team-focused attitude where each individual is encouraged to work with and help out their fellow teammates removes this problem.

You can help establish this by being transparent about everyone’s roles and skills and allowing employees to work together on projects. Holding regular team meetings and feedback sessions also stimulates open discussions and helps cement the idea that everyone is accountable for the overall team’s success.

7. Give and Accept Feedback

Feedback has been mentioned throughout this article and it’s probably one of the most important aspects of implementing accountability.

For a person to be accountable, they need to be capable of giving and receiving feedback.

This can be presented in an informal or formal manner (conversations or structured meetings) but the important thing is to ensure that you and your leaders are just as receptive to feedback as your staff are.

Moreover, when you can demonstrate that your organization takes feedback on board and acts upon it, it inspires others to follow suit.

The key word here is constructive. For instance, don’t simply tell someone they have done a bad job. Give them the reasons why the outcome wasn’t positive and what you feel could have happened for a better outcome.

8. Present Solutions

No one wants to sit and listen to someone moaning all day. Yes, some complaints are certainly valid, but voicing them without bringing solutions is not the way forward.

Doing this is going to come across as a personal attack and make the other person feel defensive.

Ask individuals what they think about the situation and if they have any ideas on how to prevent it from occurring again. Offer up your own ideas and work collaboratively to reach a final solution.

9. Do What’s Right

Speaking up in wrongful situations promotes accountability. Staff should feel empowered to call out bad behavior when they see it and hold others accountable for their actions.

Similarly, employees should not feel like they can sit back and let others take the blame for their actions. Rather, they should feel motivated to speak up and take responsibility.

10. Face Conflict Head-On

Conflicts are best resolved when they are nipped in the bud and not left to linger.

However, you must recognize that not everyone is going to agree on a situation. It’s okay to have differing opinions so long as everyone respects that.

When you notice conflict in the workplace, set up a meeting to resolve it. If necessary, act as the mediator and enforce a calm and respectful conversation. Allow everyone to speak and definitely don’t allow people to talk over or interrupt each other.

This way, conflicts can be solved maturely, especially if your workforce has already adopted an accountable culture.

11. Establish Attendance Accountability

Nothing builds resentment faster than an employee's inability to show up on time. Usually, when this happens, other individuals are forced to pick up the slack and cover their work.

Each employee should be fully accountable for their time, including turning up and leaving when they should and accounting for all absences.

This job becomes easier if you use time-clocking software because it’s hard to dispute the data.

Individuals who aren’t respecting working hours should be shown the consequences of their actions. Demonstrate how it places an extra burden on the team and delays outputs.

Final Thoughts

Accountability is the secret ingredient that all organizations need to thrive. When you cultivate an accountable workforce, your staff will not only be more engaged but also more resilient and innovative.

No matter your industry niche, it’s no doubt a challenge to stay ahead of the competition, and your employees are the ones who can give you the edge.

Start implementing workforce accountability and see just how quickly things can change for the positive.