Accountability is Nothing to Fear
Measure your results. Try comparing daily or weekly actions against monthly or quarterly goals. What are the weekly sales? Is that on track to meet quarterly goals? How many client meetings need to be set up every week to meet the goals? Using your already established KPI’s are a great way to measure accountability.
Establish rewards for when expectations are met. Rewards are a big contributor to the motivation necessary to stick to the plan and should be established right away. What happens when goals are met? Is there recognition at the weekly department meeting? Maybe a bonus at an employee’s annual review?
Define penalties for when the plan isn’t followed. Penalties also create motivation and should be included as part of accountability. A detailed review of why failure happened may be a good place to start. Then move on to potential penalties. For example, if you have a salesperson that is continuously missing the mark in their areas of accountability, a new commission structure could be put into place or maybe could decrease their rate of commission if plan is not met.
Develop a system of support. What resources are necessary to remain accountable? Do you need to involve another person? Are reminders necessary until accountability becomes a habit? Maybe some regular encouragement?
Accountability is a tool that can easily be customized to your company’s needs and adjusted as things change over time. Place accountability at the center of your business processes and watch your team exceed your expectations and their goals.
Dave Baney is the founder and CEO of 55 Questions, LLC and author of “The 3×5 Coach: A Practical Guide to Coaching Your Team for Greater Results and Happier People”, which is now available in Paperback or a Kindle version at https://tinyurl.com/y8ecykfy
At 55 Questions, we work with successful top executives with a driving ambition to crush their competition. We help CEOs and Entrepreneurs improve alignment, communication and accountability throughout their organization. www.55Questions.com
Follow Dave on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/davebaney55questions/