7 Steps to Improve Accountability in Remote Work

In this article we will share 7 practical steps that will improve team accountability and help you to achieve the best remote work results. Accountability is even more important in a remote work environment where you can’t monitor work in the office or “manage by walking around.”

As a remote manager, you need to develop a culture of accountability that ensures employees hold themselves accountable. However, your remote team members can’t hold themselves accountable unless they fully understand what is expected from them.

As a result, your role as a manager is more reliant on communication in a remote environment. Communicating clear expectations will help your team members know how to contribute and meet the objectives of the team.

Here are some practical tips to make sure that everyone is on the same page, and knows what to do and when.

7 steps to improve team accountability

1. Communicate expectations clearly by holding regular team meetings and share the expectations on paper to prevent misunderstandings
   
2. Hold one-on-one conversations to discuss individual expectations and set specific and measurable goals
   
3. Ask the team what they need to be more productive and what they think about the set targets and deadlines
   
4. Use a task management system to keep track of work progress, tasks, KPIs and other targets
   
5. Set standardized formats for communication to make sure that everyone knows how to reach you or other coworkers in the most effective way
   
6. Define specific channels or groups in the communication platform used, so everyone knows how to receive the fastest answer thus resulting in quick resolution of doubts and ambiguity. For example you can develop one group for tech relation questions, another one for promotion, for general questions etc.
   
7. Be careful not to impose too many reports or record keeping of project progress that will result in employees spending more time on administrative work than on project related work.

We hope these seven tips will help you manage accountability in a remote work environment. Building a healthy workplace culture that embraces accountability is vital for remote work. You can read more here about why culture is more important than technology for remote teams.