We all say that we want our people to be accountable and responsible for their actions, but are we doing what it takes to achieve these results? Here are my suggestions for building this culture within your remodeling company.

1. Communicate to everyone that accountability and commitment are important! Then model it! If you’ve made a commitment, do it! Your actions will set the tone for all.
2.  Align every job description to your company’s strategy and goals for the coming year. Ask everyone to commit to a shared vision of results. Then talk about it at every company meeting.
3. Make accountabilities clear for everyone by using a benchmark for their job. This is a document that lists key accountabilities, results that equal employee success and more. Use it to start a discussion about how each individual contribution matters.
4. When you onboard new employees, have job-related professional development resources already in place to help them reach their full potential. If you don’t have a list now, work with your new employee to develop one. What skills do they want to improve over time? What resources do they need to help them achieve this goal?
5. Build accountability into your company culture using “what & by when” goal and task planning. Project management can be very sophisticated, but the bottom line is “who, what, and by when?”
6. Offer ways for employees to communicate obstacles and request the help or resources they need to achieve their goals. When you listen to them, recognize that what you’re listening to is someone who is committed to producing results. Regular meetings are a key to this sort of communication.
7. Involve employees in an ongoing dialogue about how they can identify process improvements or otherwise increase the quality of their work and the team’s productivity. Your employees are a wealth of information. Remember to keep an open mind to the ideas they bring to the table. There may be a better way.
8. Use small “course corrections” on a monthly or as-needed basis to guide employees toward behaviors and practices that are effective for meeting goals. Don’t wait for the annual performance review. You wouldn’t wait until arrival at a destination to notice a wrong turn along the way, would you?
9. “Catch” people doing something right: Give frequent, honest, and positive feedback. As a general rule of thumb, a ratio of five positive interactions to one critical interaction will help managers build an open communication channel with direct reports.
10. Identify ways to recognize and acknowledge employees company-wide when their actions exemplify an “above and beyond” commitment to company objectives. Success breeds success!

If you’re serious about achieving spectacular results next year, get everyone involved. We can help with job benchmarks, employee coaching tools, recruiting services, onboarding programs and more. These tools can transform the results you’re achieving with your team.