What role does accountability play in your company? This is one of the most important questions I ask my clients. Without a strong culture of follow-through, you quickly lose the trust you’ve built with your customers. Yet I’m frequently surprised by clients who admit, or suddenly realize, this hasn’t been a focus.

Once they realize their mistake, we examine how accountability begins and ends with their company’s culture. The metrics they use, the reviews they conduct and the meetings they have are simply tactics to reinforce a culture of accountability.

Without the right culture, the tactics themselves are powerless.

But how do we establish this culture and what mistakes should leaders avoid? There are three main pillars: clear expectations, consistent follow-through and ownership.

Clear Expectations

In March, I led a session at SIA’s Executive Forum North America with Jeff Bowling, a principal at Four Piers Capital, on how staffing firms can use management dashboards and meeting cadence to drive accountability and high performance.

Bowling uses this simple formula: He determines the current state of affairs and sets a measurable goal with a due date to achieve it. With coaching and guidance, this straightforward approach can bring immediate benefits.

Here’s an example. A producer is currently at $2,000 in gross profit. Her goal is to cross the $5,000 threshold by July 31. To ensure her success, Bowling makes sure the producer receives additional direction from her manager.

Based on this producer’s average hourly gross profit, how many new headcounts need to be added? Considering falloff, how many net new starts would they have to make? Based on their average close rate, how many new job orders must they bring in? And based on that, how many meetings must they land with new and existing contacts to bring in those job orders?

This is the math of the desk, and it is this clarity that managers need to bring to their direct reports. Some managers use a collaborative approach to setting these goals; others are more top-down. However you get there, you need to define the specifics of goals and how to get there.

Consistent Follow-Through

Sales professionals thrive on immediacy, so frequent, data-driven check-ins are invaluable. Typically, these check-ins should be weekly and last between 20 to 30 minutes. You can also incorporate longer quarterly reviews analyzing trending data over the last 13 weeks, or consider strategy, such as a territory review or account planning for growth accounts.

These meetings must be consistent and maintained, even if the producer is at or above quota. Make sure you have an agenda, but be open to exploring other agenda items as they pop up.

Keep in mind that the metrics are not the goal of the agenda; they are only a tool to encourage a shared view of reality.

The key to any review is to ensure that the employee knows where they stand and receives guidance on next steps — and that the manager understands how and what the employee thinks. The last point is often overlooked. How can managers be effective coaches if they don’t understand their direct report’s viewpoint?

Ownership

While producers must own their numbers — no blaming marketing for bad leads or the economy for missed quotas — the leader must provide coaching and tools. Some managers take a rules-based, hands-off approach to metrics-based management. They might say, “Hit X goal by X period, or you’ll be put on a performance improvement plan or terminated.”

While this approach has the advantage of clarity, it’s just as valuable, if not more so, when leaders provide an environment that helps their producers be more successful — when they meet with a struggling producer more often, get their hands dirty help them make calls, package submissions and close deals. These leaders are actively aware of the bad habits and other weaknesses a producer may have, and they do what they can to turn things around.

Successful staffing companies all have accountability as a centerpiece of their culture. It doesn’t come easily. Building or maintaining a culture of accountability requires clarity, follow-through and ownership from management. The team will know if you are serious about holding everyone accountable to their roles and will respond accordingly.

This article appeared in the Staffing Industry Review May/June 2025 issue.  Click here to see the article on SIA’s website.