Empowering Your Employees
Tuesday, March 27th, 2018
Motivating employees is always a challenge. Beyond the fact that you’re working with different skill sets and personalities, there’s no magic bullet to inspire motivation, even if you have an incredible grasp on your team’s individual weaknesses and strengths.
An empowered employee is a happy employee. And plenty of studies have shown a correlation between job satisfaction and performance. While each employee is unique, there are some definitive steps you can take to ensure that your employees feel empowered. Here are just a few:
It’s All About Your Alignment
Before you can implement specific policies or actions to encourage employee engagement, you have to take a high-level view. The best companies and organizations are aligned from top to bottom, which means strategies and objectives are well-defined and clearly communicated. This makes performance goals unambiguous—therefore making them easier to achieve.
Place an Emphasis on Coaching and Training
Even if you have clear-cut strategies and goals, and your employees understand expectations, they need opportunities to improve. You’d be surprised at how many employees crave coaching and training; they desire more than just a once-a-year performance review. And don’t make the mistake of assuming coaching and training is just for poor performers—great performers often want to take it to the next level.
Give Them a Voice in How They’re Reviewed
In solid organizations, feedback is a two-way street. Giving employees a say in how they’re reviewed can go a long way toward empowerment. They’re performing the job day in and day out, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if they can manage their tasks and restructure workflows in ways that make sense, ultimately maximizing their productivity. Place your trust in them, and they’ll return the favor.
Share Success Stories Early and Often
Whether they emerge from a phenomenal manager-employee interaction or a moment of ideal customer service, every day there are success stories that occur within your company. Uncovering them and sharing them is a great way to emphasize your company’s philosophy, and to acknowledge individuals for performance that goes above and beyond.
Embrace Technology—As Long As It Makes Sense
Giving your employees the technological tools they need to succeed will make them grateful and more productive. From brand-new hardware to software upgrades, your employees will be sensitive to anything that impacts their day-to-day workflow. If technological updates are made for no good reason, or integrated poorly, the exact opposite of empowerment occurs—managers and executives should expect to get an earful of complaints. But get it right, and they’ll be singing your praises.
These few tips only scratch the surface when it comes to empowering your employees, but they represent an excellent starting point. From organizational alignment to technological integration, handling engagement in a strategic yet mindful manner will create a collaborative workplace. An empowered employee is a happy employee. And, when you have happy employees, we’re willing to bet you’ll be pretty happy with the direction your company takes.
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