Get Employees To Take Ownership in the Workplace

Workplace ownership can be the difference between employees who simply clock in and out, and those who actively contribute to the company's success. But ownership has to come from the employee; a willingness to want to do the best job possible. As a result, it takes intention and strategy on the part of managers to create an environment where your people feel empowered to own their work.

So how do you make employees take responsibility for their own work? And what does it look like when your workplace has employee ownership? Let's find out.

What is ownership in the workplace?

Workplace ownership is the sense of responsibility and pride employees feel toward their work, their team, and the organization as a whole. It’s when employees see their role not just as a set of tasks to complete but as an opportunity to assume responsibility and make a meaningful impact.

When people take ownership of their work, they don’t just follow instructions—they solve problems, offer solutions, and actively look for better ways to do their job.

Ownership looks different for different workers. A customer service agent who takes ownership will notice recurring issues in customer inquiries and suggest a better FAQ system, instead of ignoring the pattern.

A truly successful culture has ownership happening at an individual and team level. Individual ownership is about personal accountability—meeting deadlines, delivering quality, and being proactive. Team ownership, on the other hand, focuses on collective success; every member is contributing to the goal of the team. Ideally, you need both. But they require different approaches to create and maintain.

Here's what it looks like when employees take ownership at work:

• They are proactive and find solutions without waiting for direction.
• They take accountability for success and mistakes alike.
• They look for ways to improve systems and processes.
• They communicate openly and seek feedback to grow.
• They align their work with the company’s bigger goals and mission.

Why don’t some employees take ownership of their work?

Sometimes, people just want to clock in, do their job, and clock out. But it's not all about the pay, since money is only an extrinsic motivator. Oftentimes, there are barriers stopping employees from stepping up and really taking ownership of their work. These "ownership blockers" could be a result of company practices, challenges within the workplace culture, and individual perceptions.

Let’s explore five common reasons why people don't take ownership.

1. Fear of failure

Taking ownership often means stepping out of a comfort zone, and for many employees, that can be intimidating. The fear of making mistakes—or worse, being publicly reprimanded—can prevent employees from taking risks or initiatives.

If your workplace's culture punishes employees —or even fires them— for simple or regular mistakes, workers will stick to safer, less impactful solutions that don't rock the boat. As a result this can result in workers doing the bare minimum.

To tackle this, your organization needs to create a culture where mistakes are viewed as opportunities for growth rather than failures to be punished.

2. Micromanagement

When managers control every detail of an employee’s tasks, there's really no need for them to take any initiative. In an environment like this, employee performance suffers because everyone stops thinking creatively and waits for the inevitable instruction from the manager. The thinking becomes, "why put your own efforts in, if you'll have to redo it anyway?"

One way to reverse this is for your organization's managers to focus on outcomes rather than methods, giving employees the freedom to achieve results in their own way.

3. Lack of clarity

It’s hard to take ownership when employees aren’t sure what’s expected of them. Without clear goals, it's easy to feel like you're navigating in the dark, unsure if your work contributes to the big picture.

An easy way to think about this is in a sales team where quotas are vaguely defined. Workers know they need to hit their targets, but it's not very clear what steps contribute to the overall target, or if the target will even matter to the organization.

One team member may overwork themselves trying to exceed unwritten expectations, while another might ignore everything entirely, since efforts don’t matter.

The way forward is to provide clear, actionable objectives and explain how each employee’s work connects to the company’s mission. You might combine tools like digital sales boards with regular feedback to drive these expectations home and keep everyone aligned.

4. No recognition or incentives

Ownership requires effort, and employees are less likely to invest themselves if their contributions won't be valued. When nobody is being recognized for their work, you get a culture where employees do the bare minimum because there's no point in going above and beyond.

You know what would help? An employee recognition wall. You can use these boards to celebrate achievements, professional and personal growth, and even simple things like birthdays. Your business can also add bonuses and incentives to further encourage job performance.

How do you encourage employee ownership?

Let’s look at five simple ways you can encourage taking ownership in your employees.

1. Be clear about workplace expectations

People can’t take ownership if they don’t know what’s expected of them. An easy place to start is being clear about goals and what success looks like so everyone can focus on what actually matters to the business.

For example, say you asked someone to “improve customer service.” That's a tall order and, depending on the resources available, there are a thousand ways to get that done. But if you say, “reduce customer wait times by 20% this quarter,” they know exactly what they’re working toward. It also helps to do regular check-ins to keep expectations on track and create an opportunity for employees to get feedback.

2. Make communication easy

Your people are more likely to step up when they feel their ideas and concerns matter. That's why open communication is so important—it helps workers feel safe speaking up without fear of criticism.

Leaders who are accessible, active listeners, and who appreciate initiative are more likely to see employees taking ownership. Communication also works the other way—if business leaders can keep employees updated, information will flow more freely and workers will feel they are truly a part of the organization.

Corporate digital signage is an excellent solution here because it allows you to send company-wide updates across all connected screens instantly, regardless of location.

Read More: How to Create Better Corporate Communications

3. Let people make decisions

Micromanaging doesn’t help anyone. Employees need the freedom to make decisions about their work; it's why they invest in personal and professional growth. When you trust them to handle tasks their way, they feel more responsible for the outcome.

We can get into the weeds about leadership frameworks and systems of assigning responsibility, but it all comes down to autonomy. If employees feel empowered to make decisions themselves, they are more likely to take ownership and actually deliver results they can stand behind.

4. Give employees tools to succeed

Employees often need a wide range of tools to succeed. Some are a key part of hiring for the role—experience, competence, education—and others, your organization needs to provide.

This includes:

• Adequate training
• Automation tools
• The right software

Something as simple as a digital whiteboard can make a world of difference. Because if teams cannot brainstorm effectively, the pace of work will be excruciatingly slow.

It's also important to educate employees and get them up to speed on the latest industry practices. That's why companies with comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee than those who don't.

Read More: Using Digital Signage for Employee Training

5. Set the example

Employees watch how their leaders behave. If leaders take responsibility for mistakes and follow through on promises, the team will likely do the same. All that can lead to a more positive work environment.

Everybody loves the manager who can openly admit to messing up the meeting schedule, and proactively working too quickly to fix it. Firstly, that's an excellent leader. But more importantly, the team will see that accountability is valued and they are more likely to follow suit.

How do you promote workplace ownership among teams?

Getting ownership from your teams is just as important from individuals. Teams that feel responsible for their collective success can achieve incredible results, and contribute to the organization's success in meaningful ways.

We've looked at individual ownership and how it focuses on personal accountability. With team ownership, the conversation is all about working together toward shared goals. The two go hand in hand—strong teams support individuals, and individuals make up an effective team.

Let’s look at practical ways to encourage team ownership.

1. Build trust among team members

It's very difficult to have a successful team without trust. That's where you get people hoarding resources, keeping ideas to themselves, and avoiding risks.

The key to team ownership is to create an environment where your team members trust each other enough to embrace constructive feedback and to challenge ineffective ideas.

2. Set clear team goals

Teams work best when they know what they’re trying to achieve together. Vague goals aren't just confusing for individual employees; in fact, they can be more damaging to teams because, now, you have dozens of person-hours wasted every single day. Not to mention the confusion and frustration that follows.

But just setting team goals for the sake of it isn't necessarily the best approach. You want to show how the team's results will fit into the overall company's goals. That way, everyone works with an individual sense of purpose, and has a unique target to aim for.

3. Encourage collaborative decision-making

Just like with individual employees, teams love being part of the decision making process. This doesn’t mean every decision needs to be made as a group, but involving the team in key discussions builds commitment.

The process for including teams will depend heavily on the team's size and the weight of the decision. So you could choose to send out simple updates via slack or other internal communication tools, or during company town hall meetings.

Overall, going out of the way to create a collaborative effort like this will make everyone feel like their input matters, increasing their investment in the results.

4. Promote shared responsibility

If it isn't already clear, ownership within teams isn’t just about dividing up tasks—it’s about everyone taking responsibility for the group’s success. So, each team member needs to understand that their work affects others, and when that happens, they’re more likely to hold themselves accountable.

Encouraging this mindset often starts with creating a culture where accountability is seen as a shared value, not an individual burden.

Communication is the backbone of employee ownership

At its core, employee ownership depends on effective communication. When employees are informed, heard, and connected, they will be more likely to take charge of their roles and contribute to the team's success.

Digital tools can play a key role here because they make communication easier than ever before. With solutions like digital signage, your business can streamline internal communication, ensuring that important updates, team goals, and recognition reaches every employee—no matter where they are. That's a huge leap towards transparency and trust, both of which fuel workplace ownership.

If you're looking to really create a culture of ownership, consider leveraging the power of digital signage. ScreenCloud makes it easy to share updates, celebrate successes, and keep your employees aligned, all from a user-friendly platform. With integrations for popular tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, and a wide range of templates for engaging content, improving workplace communication has never been simpler.

See how better communication can transform your organization.Sign up for a free trial today.