Think about how much time you spend each day dealing with nonperforming employees in your organization. You may spend a lot of time talking about or doing the job for employees who just cannot handle their job responsibilities.
You also may be placing the extra work on a hardworking employee, whose productivity level might be affected by the extra burden. If there’s a lack of accountability in your organization, you may experience poor employee morale, dissatisfied customers, unmet goals and unclear job expectations.
“By creating a culture of complete accountability, you will never have to worry about any meltdowns in your organization,” says Melissa Hulsey, president and CEO of Ashton.
Smart Business spoke with Hulsey about how accountability affects your bottom line, how to screen for accountability during the hiring process and how to model accountability for employees.
How does accountability affect the bottom line?
The missed opportunity cost is the big issue. Has a new client ever called your organization, only to be put on hold or lost in the voice messaging system? How much busy work does your staff do every day? Has miscommunication ever caused a problem? Reviewing efficiency and accountability in your work force will help improve profitability.
It also affects your ability to retain good employees. Someone has to pick up the slack for the nonproductive employees, many times relying on top producers to do this. This may not be a bad idea in the short term, but over the long term, your superstar may begin to wonder why they are working so hard when their co-workers get away with everything. These employees will soon lose respect for management and, even worse, may begin to look for other employment opportunities. It is critical to communicate performance goals and have systems in place to make sure goals are met.
How can you prescreen employees for accountability when hiring?
Accountability is different for each job and level. By choosing appropriate screening tools, hiring for accountability becomes one part of finding the right person for your organization.
- Ask behavior-based interview questions. Examples include: ‘Describe a major change that occurred in a job you held. How did you adapt to that change? Tell me about a time when your supervisor criticized your work. How did you respond?’
- Listen more than you speak during the interview. You will be amazed at what information is offered just by being silent.
