Getting Your Staff to Take Responsibility Can Be Tough

When most people pick a job, they understand that the work they will be doing will often have them doing things that may occasionally make them feel frustrated. Most people don’t go to school for clerical work and mundane tasks and often don’t understand why it’s their responsibility to forgo their training to complete tasks that untrained people could do. This lack of understanding about running a secure and reliable business is a central sticking point for many organizations.

Getting employees to care about tasks that don't directly align with their perception of their job can be challenging, but it is achievable. Let’s look at some of the steps you need to take to engage employees effectively.

Communicate the Bigger Picture

You’ll need to explain why the tasks that you assign are important for your business. Obviously, you’ll have some people that will do anything you tell them. Still, after a while, some employees will find ways to ignore some mandated tasks they don’t find important, especially if they don’t completely understand how they contribute to organizational success.

Clarify Expectations and Benefits

You’ll want to ensure that employees understand your expectations of them and the outcomes of the tasks assigned. Point out how completing these tasks can benefit them and the business as a whole.

Provide the Necessary Resources

For you to get the most out of your employees, you need to have a comprehensive training and support program in place. By offering training and other resources that make employees’ jobs easier—as well as adequate time to complete expected tasks—employees are less apt to ignore directives.

Enhance Motivation

If you want your employees to achieve your standards, a good practice is to have incentives in place that provide them additional value for completing rote tasks. Another good practice is to give employees some autonomy in how they go about completing tasks. Not everyone thinks the same, so the more they can gain ownership over the work they do, the more likely they will meet expectations.

Stay Positive and Promote Teamwork

Nothing will reduce your employees’ morale more than a strained and contentious work environment. Positive feedback goes a long way toward achieving organizational goals. You’ll also want to encourage your employees to work together so that they feel a collective responsibility for tasks.

Seek Input

You should involve employees in discussions about why certain tasks are necessary. This can increase their sense of ownership and commitment. You should also take their suggestions on how to do the work more effectively seriously. By showing that employee opinions and suggestions are taken seriously, they are more apt to meet set requirements.

If you want your business to be successful, you need your employees to meet your goals. Technology can help. If you would like to have a conversation about how to get the most out of your staff through technology, call us today at (240) 226-7055.