Are your employees empowered? Do they feel as if they have the wherewithal to correct problems and solve issues? Do they have the motivation to propel the business forward? More importantly, do they have your support when they attempt to do so?
If the answer is “no,” you’re missing out on one of the most significant growth catalysts of our time. Organizations that enable employees to be more empowered, experience 27% higher profits and 50% gains in customer loyalty.
Empowered employees are more committed, more dependable and more conscientious. Why? They have more job satisfaction along with the increased motivation and drive that comes with it.
Empowering employees must be mission critical. How a company cultivates them will determine how their business performs against its rivals now (and well into the future).
So how can you instill an elevated sense of empowerment across your employee base? Here are 3 ways to make your employees feel more empowered.
1/ Show your employees that you value them
This first step is fundamental. Yes, showing employees that you value them seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how often that goes missing in the employee-employer relationship.
Twenty two percent of senior-level executives don’t think that regular recognition has a big influence on their staff, while 70% of employees say that motivation and morale would improve “massively” if their managers just said “thank you” more often.
Those numbers represent a big discrepancy, one that’s resulted in many employees feeling indifferent about going the extra mile. Only one out of five employees “strongly agrees” that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.
The simple take-a-way here is this: If you want more employees to take the initiative you need to reward those who do. Recognition is the ultimate motivator. It encourages employees to take ownership while inspiring their colleagues to do the same.
2/ Actionize your company’s vision
Many companies communicate where the business is going but they don’t define its direction in actionable terms. As a result, employees are often left with an uncertain sense of how their work supports the bigger picture. The translation between where the company wants to be and how the employee can help them get there goes lacking.
People who don’t know what they are supposed to do can’t do it very well. An employee who clearly understands the company’s purpose and direction along with the role they play in supporting that mission will make good decisions and take appropriate actions in any situation.
A properly designed reward and recognition program can make sure that happens. It can clearly define expectations so employees not only understand organizational goals, but also how their own individual contributions can advance them.
3/ Create role models
You can’t dictate your company’s character. You can’t fake it either. While company leaders certainly play an instrumental role in shaping an organization’s personality, an authentic and sustainable culture is really the creation of real people living the values the business stands for.
For companies who want to create and reinforce cultures built on employee empowerment, social recognition helps to celebrate real-life role models, the very people who went out of their way to solve a problem for a customer, fix an issue for a colleague or exploit an opportunity for the company.
Within empowered cultures, creating more employee role models is not only essential; it’s enlightening. It is essential because people learn from one another via observation and imitation and enlightening because they pick up new techniques they can use in their own work.
