Many companies claim to be into employee empowerment. However, when you scratch the surface, you’ll notice that only a handful of brands give their staff full control over their time, software, budget, and decision-making.
While employee empowerment is a slippery slope, as you don’t want to give too much power to a team or individuals, it’s something that will supercharge your business. With this management tactic, you can get more value from your top performers by simply staying out of their way.
Why Is Employee Empowerment Important?
Each one of them strives for some sort of confirmation. Even if you accept a particular position only for its monetary benefits, you’d still like to get an occasional tap on the back. Because of that, the managers are always on the lookout for trophy ideas for employee service awards and other ways to motivate their staff.
Through empowerment, your staff will feel more welcome in a company. Employees will feel as if their expertise and experience matter and that managers are confident enough to give them free rein over essential projects.
Empowerment is vital for veterans. Someone who has been in the business for a while doesn’t necessarily need a manager to hover above their head. Instead, all they need is a few basic pointers so they can go on with their job. Furthermore, going back and forth with managers usually works to their detriment as it makes them lose focus and time.
Types of Employee Empowerment
There are numerous ways managers encourage their staff. The most common type is giving them the power to make decisions without external interference. Another type of empowerment is promoting the best team members into team leads or allowing them to set monthly and annual goals.
Some of the most common forms of empowerment include:
- Decision-Making
In this particular case, an employee can make decisions without anyone holding their hands. The general rule is that the more critical the decision, the more faith you show in it.
- Financial Empowerment
Financial empowerment allows staffers to control the budget, software, and team spending. These employees can ask managers for any amount of resources and would receive them without a question.
- Shared Information
Shared information empowerment shows the most trust in a staff member. Company higher-ups share relevant data with managers and other top-tier employees, including revenue and expense information and future brand goals.
- Time Empowerment
This particular type of empowerment has become somewhat common as of late, which makes it lose its glow. A company allows its staff to choose when and where they’ll work. It’s closely related to hybrid and remote work models.
Employee Empowerment Benefits
Most entrepreneurs aren’t even aware of how incredible employee empowerment can be for their business. In practice, these are some of the ways empowerment can grow your business:
- Better Work Quality
As mentioned, not everyone needs babysitting. Some employees work much better when left alone, managing their time better and providing elite results. Giving people free rein is fantastic in niches and industries that hinge on creativity and innovation.
- Increased Employee Satisfaction
When employees have more liberties, they’re less likely to leave the company. They can fulfill their daily duties without being pestered by anyone, resulting in higher employee satisfaction and retention. This leads to numerous secondary benefits, such as lower employee education costs and hiring costs.
- Better Reputation
Companies that are high on empowerment usually have a much better reputation among talent. They generally receive more CVs during job hunts and can land top-tier talent with ease. The effect also trickles down to suppliers and other stakeholders, who are more inclined to cooperate with this brand.
- Lower Expenses
Perhaps the biggest financial benefit of empowerment is that it significantly reduces staff turnover. Among others, it ensures lower costs of training, while providing more leverage for the company during contract negotiations.
Another notable thing is customer retention. As a cumulative effect of everything we’ve mentioned, it becomes easier to upsell and cross-sell. Given that your staff is happier, your clients will be happier, allowing you to boost revenues while reducing marketing and sales costs.
- Better Collaboration
When people feel like a part of the team, they’re more likely to cooperate with others. Through transparency and honesty, employees better understand what’s asked of them during specific projects, which makes it easier to focus on the task at hand.
Employee Empowerment Drawbacks
Unfortunately, this managerial tactic also has a few issues. Most notably, empowerment is something that goes both ways; if you don’t have enough trust in your employees, you should give them more authority than you should have.
There are also potential issues if you empower people selectively. Some members of your staff will become jealous, leading to discord within teams and departments. It might also stimulate unhealthy competition, which opens an entirely new bag of worms.
Giving people too much information might also backfire. For example, some guys might use this information against you, sharing it with the wrong people. They might perceive you as a brand without a future, prompting them to seek jobs elsewhere. So, while talking about project goals is excellent, you might want to consider sharing long-term plans.
12 Steps to Effective Employee Empowerment
The good news is that you can streamline the employee empowerment process by following these steps:
- Make sure your staff is aware of the long-term and short-term goals
- Give your employees the ability to make their own decisions and mistakes
- Create an environment where everyone can share their views and opinions
- Recognize great work and create a culture that respects sacrifice
- Give your staff members the opportunity to improve their skills and contribute in different ways
- Introduce team building events and stimulate communication within teams and outside of them
- Avoid scolding or penalizing employees when things go awry
- Buy tools and other solutions according to employees’ requirements
- Give departments the opportunity to participate in budget meetings
- Support your staff when they’re struggling at work or at home
- Lead your team by example, giving them a blueprint for their career
- Show loyalty to people who deserve it
Employee empowerment presumes you’ll introduce the best relationship practices for your internal team. In a way, it’s a strategy that builds a bond between managers and the staff, as well as between various staff members.
Last Thoughts
Although staff empowerment could potentially lead to some issues, modern companies embrace it as an optimal manner of doing business. By introducing this managerial method, you can gain more from your employees, increase retention, and set the basis for a healthy brand.