When it comes to crushing goals in your business, every employee needs to know what they are responsible for in their role. To ensure that your staff understands what is expected of them, you need to instill a sense of accountability. But this can be more than just an aspect of your company culture. Using EOS®Accountability Charts gives a consistent and reliable way to hold every team member responsible for their contributions.
What Is An EOS® Accountability Chart™?
The EOS® Accountability Chart™ is a tool that can help individuals and organizations track accountability and progress. The chart can identify who is responsible for what work and track the status of those duties. In addition, the chart can identify areas of responsibility that may need to be delegated or assigned to others. Ultimately, the EOS® Accountability Chart™ can ensure that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities and that work is completed in a timely manner.
How It Works
If you're looking for a way to increase accountability and ensure everyone understands their responsibilities, an EOS® Accountability Chart™ is a helpful tool. Here's how it works:
Each team member is assigned up to five roles that make up 80% of their work, and each role has specific responsibilities. These responsibilities are written down and posted in a visible location so that everyone can see them. Then, at the end of each day or week, team members check off the items they've completed. This practice helps everyone stay on track and makes it easy to see who is not meeting their obligations.
Benefits Of Using An Accountability Chart™
There are many benefits to using an EOS® Accountability Chart™. Firstly, it elevates transparency and accountability, shedding light on each team member's specific duties and their direct reporting relationships. This clarity reduces confusion, fosters open communication, and ensures that every team member comprehends their role in achieving organizational objectives.
Furthermore, the accountability chart acts as a powerful tool for alignment, allowing the team to collectively zero in on its goals with precision. This heightened clarity and focus, in turn, promote greater efficiency, improved decision-making, and ultimately, the achievement of strategic milestones. In essence, the EOS® Accountability Chart™ is a fundamental cornerstone of effective organizational management.
Accountability Chart™ Vs. Org Chart
An EOS® Accountability Chart™ is a tool that can help visualize an organization's accountability structure. This may sound like an org chart, but it conveys more information than simply the internal structure of a company. Here are some key differences between an Accountability Chart™ and an organizational chart:
An EOS® Accountability Chart™ shows who is accountable for what, whereas an organizational chart simply shows the reporting relationships within an organization.
An EOS® Accountability Chart™ clarifies each person's role and responsibilities, whereas an organizational chart may not be specific.
An EOS® Accountability Chart™ can help identify areas of responsibility that are not currently being fulfilled, whereas an organizational chart does not typically provide this level of detail.
Finally, an EOS® Accountability Chart™ can be used as a tool to help drive accountability and results within an organization and set expectations as a leader. In contrast, an organizational chart is primarily a tool for visualization.
How to Build An EOS® Accountability Chart™?
Creating an Accountability Chart™ is a process. To put one together, you probably want to dedicate at least three hours to a team meeting. To get you started, we will break down the details that go into the chart and share some best practices.
EOS® Accountability Chart™ Template & Examples
The Accountability Chart™ consists of a network of boxes, connecting each role in the organization. To understand how it all comes together, you can download a template here. You can also watch this video to learn how to draw an Accountability Chart™ in Google Drawings. However, each box has more details than just “so-and-so reports to so-and-so.”
Each box will include three key elements:
The role title (e.g. Visionary, Integrator, CFO, etc…)
The team member’s name
Their responsibilities (Up to five actions that they should be held accountable for)
Source: https://www.boldclarity.com/eos-accountability-chart/
For example, the HR director’s responsibilities might include:
Compliance: Policy review, documentation, audits, and reporting
Training and Development: Curriculum development, delivery, and evaluation
Open Enrollment: Vendor coordination, enrollment processing, and employee support
Recruiting: Job posting, resume screening, interviews, reference checks, offers, and onboarding
Benefits: Administration, renewals, cost analysis, compliance, and field employee queries
At the end of every day, week, or quarter, the HR director can refer to the Accountability Chart™ to ensure that they are covering all their bases. As you can see, the detail on the chart is comprehensive of all the aspects of the HR director’s role. This may seem like a lot to keep track of, but when it’s written out on the chart, nothing falls through the cracks and other team members know what they can count on the HR director for.
Best Practices for an EOS® Accountability Chart™
Making an Accountability Chart™ isn’t the only step. To reap the benefits, you actually have to use it to inform your organizational practices. Here are some of our best practices for using your EOS® Accountability Chart™.
Expect Different Drafts and Set Due Dates for Them – Some clarification will be needed at the beginning of the process. Allow time for different drafts to be made, as revisions are a necessary part of the process before you create an Accountability Chart™ that is perfect.
Be As Real as Possible Even if It's Difficult – Define your Accountability Chart™ around how your business should work. Once you have done so, you may realize there isn't a spot for everyone, and as hard as that may be to learn, the overall welfare of the company is what is most important.
Be Prepared for It To Evolve – The first Accountability Chart™ you craft will look very different from the most current version. The chart should be a snapshot of where you see the company in the next six months. It should give you insights into what seats are available and open and who should sit in each. When something goes wrong in the business, the first step should be to look at the accountability chart.
