1. Make sure that the employees are aware of their roles
This is the first step to ensure accountability in a remote workforce. If your teams are operating in the office, they can easily pop by each other and have clarity with regards to their roles and responsibilities. However, since this is not possible at the moment, it is important to make them aware of the roles they play in the organization and their respective responsibilities.
2. Motivate employees to take ownership of their work
When employees have a clarification about their job, it is only then that he or she can take ownership of their work. Taking ownership means they must feel responsible for the work and work with full zeal to achieve the targets. Similarly, team managers must also take ownership of their teams to improve accountability at work. It is an implied reaction of the employees to take ownership of their work if they are aware of the goals they need to achieve. This would eventually lead to the attainment of organizational goals as a whole.
3. Have transparency of tasks and acknowledge the key contributors
Transparency here refers to the act of being open about one employee’s task and performance with others. This would help teammates bond and make collaborative operations between teammates smooth. If the tasks to be performed by one employee is in the knowledge of other employees, they would be working together with a shared purpose. You can make use of a project management system that tracks and keeps a check on the performance of the workforce and can also act as a to-do list wherein all goals are mentioned. People with similar objectives can also work together to achieve those goals.
Wrike is an online tool that can help your organization manage all work-related data and tasks all together in one single tool.
4. Make use of technology to create a workflow
Workflow can help in increasing accountability since all work-related communication would be taking place at one platform and can be easily reviewed anytime. All you have to do is get hold of the technology that matches your organization’s limits, link it with your team’s goals and that’s it. This would make feedback mechanism, team support and assistance easy and under one roof. Managers do not need to micromanage everything with an efficient workforce in place. A RACI chart can also be used to accommodate responsibility, accountability and ownership of tasks and objectives that are to be acquired. It would help identify the person who is accountable for a task, and to identify if there is any task that requires someone to take ownership of.
5. Collaborate to find solutions for problems
It is easier to solve problems if your employees work in a team to do so. This way, one person’s inefficiencies can be covered up by another person’s effectiveness. Instead of simply highlighting the issues and problems, take steps to correct those issues and find solutions as a team. For example, if your team is using different tools for remote working, leading to uncertainties and lack of efficiency, ask them to come up with a simpler solution to this problem, instead of directing them to follow a particular order. Instead of ordering them, collaborate with them to find resolutions. This would make them feel involved and appreciated. However, remember that your employees are eventually under your guidance and not of their peers. Make sure that you have the final say in the matters, so the majority of the people are convinced and are on the same page.
6. Acquaint employees with goals and missions of the organization
If the employees are less clear about the organizational goals and objectives, they might not be able to perform in the best way possible. They must understand the meaning and inference of these goals and find a way to align their personal goals with the overall goal of the team. This would eventually accommodate the goals of the company as a whole. It is only then that they would be able to contribute with the best spirits. Along with this, they must also be aware of the key performance indicators (KPIs) that they must keep in mind to make sure that their performance is measurable on the same scale.
7. Take account of the performance intelligently
The constant interference of the managers may not be required by all the employees. It might lead to disturbances and can infringe their focus on the task they are performing. Constantly interrupting the work and explaining the ‘desired performance’ can be overwhelming for the employees and make them feel like their managers do not trust them. The only attainment of organizational goals that are quantitatively measured, other things influencing the performance of an employee is just as important, like their personal lives, physical injuries, relationship with other teammates, etc. Always respect the fact that an employee does not merely add monetary value to the organization, and are more than just their performance and achievement of goals.
8. Make way for complete and open communication
Open communication is necessary for forming a clear objective that the employee must attain. Managers should not assume that since some tasks are mutually inclusive of one another, the employees are aware that they must also take ownership of them. Always believe in the fact that communicating more than what is required, then believing that the employees have the knowledge of the particular data. It is, therefore, better to have a long and in-depth meeting occasionally, where all the relevant information is clearly explained to all. Areas that need special care and attention should also be discussed to work on the subjects where the employee is underperforming.
9. Take time to check-in on employees at regular intervals
Lack of human contact due to the current remote working situation has made the working environment much harder for some people. Make the employees aware of the fact that their mental health and contribution matters to the managers. Have check-ins on the employees at regular intervals focusing on areas other than just work. This would help create a favorable environment for the employees and also help in addressing issues at the initial stage.
10. Work upon communication through frequent meets
If you were operating in the physical in-office environment, it was much easier to drop by at your colleague’s desk and discuss simpler issues with ease and take ownership of it. However, this is not possible in a virtual environment. An easy way to make up got it is having frequent 10-15 minutes brief meetings. These can be conducted on alternate days or at least weekly, keeping in view the work culture. A fixed schedule can be arranged for these virtual meets where the employees can join on their own, and discuss things in a professional environment. These can be used to enquire about the work done and the tasks performed by each employee in the past period after the last meeting. This would help them take ownership and accountability of their work as they would feel like their work is being monitored and appreciated. People who are working for mutually inclusive tasks can also get in touch with each other and work together as a team. Hence, this would help keep track of the performance, build team spirit and encourage collaborative working. Also, to make the meetings more specific, employees can have multiple meetings with a narrower focus and discuss things in more detail.
11. Accommodate weekly reports to measure the performance of employees
The Easiest and the most reliable way of making the employees feel accountable for their work is to ask them to submit weekly reports of the work that they have done in the past week. They can describe their job and their objectives and list the tasks done following the same. The employees have been recruited for an explanation, and useful exercises that add to those reasons as definite on their set of working responsibilities should be known and straightforward. This technique will take into consideration positive acknowledgment and productive analysis or even extra assistance where justified. A virtual climate doesn’t mean usefulness ought to be being referred to any more than in a genuine workplace. Pioneers should make it their responsibility to know how singular representative commitments move the association towards setting up objectives.
12. Share the results of the employees with their teammates
Sharing the results of the employees with their teammates is a great practice. For those achieving the results, it acts as a great motivator as it is the easiest and the simplest way of motivating them to work with a positive mindset. If the employees feel appreciated for their accomplishments, it would motivate them to perform even better. This would also help motivate other employees to perform better. If they have a standard performance in front of them, it is easier for them to alter and tailor their performance to achieve higher standards. Those who were able to achieve the goals can also help and assist their teammates in doing so. Celebrating even the smallest of accomplishments in a remote working setup is greatly beneficial to motivate employees and keep them focused on work by making the office environment productive and fun.
14. Take help from the various online tools available
There are a variety of tools available online to help increase productivity and reduce efforts. Regardless of whether your colleagues are in the workplace or at home, everybody has assignments to do. Many of these tools empower you to perceive how time is spent at the individual, group, and departmental levels. This can assist you with spotting patterns and bits of knowledge to guarantee that your group is being just about as useful as could be expected.
15. Have a reward system in place
A good reward system is the best motivation for performing better than before. Performance should be reviewed at regular intervals by conducting meetings where the employees can openly talk about their views on a particular project, how they think they can enhance the process, reduce time and improve the performance. Top performers should also be appreciated for their inputs and encouraged to achieve consistent outcomes.
16. Schedule the check-ins with the employees
It has already been established that checking in with the employees is so important. However, if the check-ins are conducted randomly, without any prior intimation, the effort may be wasted. Checking in at random occasions with minimal notice can upset the work process of your teams. Unrehearsed virtual drop-ins can likewise bother workers. Be reliable with when and how frequently you check in with your representatives, and they’ll be much obliged.
17. Alter your management style as per your team and experience
Tailor your managerial approach to deal with the setting for different employees in your team. Distant representatives with more expertise and experience don’t need as much management compared to a worker who is new to the field, or maybe a fresher stepping out of college would.
Accountability is not automatically present or can be instilled in an employee. They feel being accountable for a particular work in a trustworthy, motivated and encouraging environment. Managers must create such a favorable environment for their teams.
