What is Accountability and what is its importance in an organization?

Accountability tells managers and employees to be accountable for their actions and duties in their respective roles. It keeps the employees attached to the best standard of output and makes them responsible for the work assigned to them.

Organizations are different in terms of structure and hierarchy. Some may be less stringent than others but every organization puts employees in a position in which they have to work following the organizational goals and principles. In such conditions knowing the mission and goals of the company is part of accountability.

For a better work-life balance, there must be a trade-off between work and life and sometimes a bit of extra work may be expected from employees. Accountable employees take this as an opportunity to engage better with organizational culture and feel like valuable members of the organization.

Accountability creates a high-performance organizational culture and increases the productivity of the teams. Therefore, it is an unavoidable part of professional work life.

The Need for Accountability

Accountability is important for the trust of investors in a business. Managers of all departments are accountable for the overall performance of the company and any wrongdoing may lead to erosion of trust of the investors.

The accounting scandals in the 90s, the global crises, and the rigging of exchange rates are some examples when the trust of investors and accountability was lost. This is why there are many watchdogs of corporate accountability who judge the accountability of organizations on behalf of investors and stakeholders.

Importance of Accountability

Accountability is a very important issue for organizations. It increases employee engagement and creates a high-performance work culture where everyone gives their best. It, therefore, helps organizations achieve better results and profits.

Accountability also offers autonomy to take decisions. This helps the employees engage with the work more than what they would do in general. Employees who are accountable feel more attached to the company and hence they help companies have a better outcome in terms of performance.

Companies should make the employees accountable by engaging them in decision making and reward them for their efforts. Otherwise, the employee turnover may increase.