How to Foster a Culture of Empowered Employees

How to create a culture of empowered employees

While empowering employees can be a difficult goal — and one that’s tricky to measure — it is possible to achieve. First, you should realize that there are certain situations in which empowering employees improves business performance.

Here are eight strategies you can use to empower employees in your organization, regardless of its size.

1. Understand your corporate culture and how it aligns with employees’ roles.

Identifying the core tenets of your company culture and business goals is critical. For example, are you determined to provide the best product? Are you focused on creating the best customer service? What is at the heart of your company that drives progress?

Once you’ve identified your business’s overarching goals, break them down into smaller segments. Then, show how each employee or business line contributes to those core goals. When employees know how their work contributes to the greater good, they are more likely to feel engaged in their work. That will derive a sense of ownership over their contribution.

To help your employees feel a sense of ownership over their work, take a step back and delegate additional responsibilities across your workforce. For example, decision-making is one of the most time-consuming tasks handled by management and C-suite executives.

Delegating brings new ideas from across the organization into the mix. It also helps to lighten the decision-making load usually delegated to management. [Read on to learn about defining, building, and maintaining a happy and productive work culture.]

2. Allow for the flow of ideas both up and down the chain.

One fundamental way to create a culture of empowerment is to allow the exchange of ideas up and down the chain of command. Ensure that employees and leaders have a safe space to suggest improvements. Employee feedback can have a significant impact on companies of any size. Plus, many workers are more inclined to remain with a company that asks for and acts on employee feedback.

Consider hosting big-idea events where people can share their ideas in open forums; you could even offer employees an improved “solution box.” The latter is an online platform where they can contribute ideas or provide constructive criticisms with plausible solutions.

Ensure that any complaint or challenge employees share comes with a proposed solution. This will allow all employees to create an environment of empowerment and participate in the company’s evolution.

3. Be willing to let go of control (at least a little).

Every executive or business owner strives to hire top talent. However, many leaders struggle to give employees full autonomy over significant projects. This happens despite knowing that micromanaging can kill productivity, employee engagement and happiness. So, how do you strike a balance?

A crucial part of ensuring success is knowing when to let go. Encourage a sense of autonomy and ownership in your employees by relinquishing a bit of control. In today’s corporate landscape, not enough managers know how to successfully delegate tasks so their employees feel supported. Focus on developing your employees’ managerial skills. This way they’ll feel equipped to handle whatever tasks come their way.

Businesses need to have the right training infrastructure in place so managers can train their employees in the following critical decision-making areas:

• Creative problem-solving
• Risk analysis
• Performance analysis
• Projecting future needs

When you allow your employees to own their successes and failures, you create a sense of empowerment and engagement. By relinquishing some control, you cultivate an environment where employees can invest in the company’s growth as well as their own.

4. Provide clear paths for growth.

Creating an empowered workforce means offering clear paths for personal and professional growth. A big part of employee happiness and empowerment stems from providing clear pathways to advancement. One of our most basic human needs is to improve our minds. So, professional growth and development opportunities are integral to your employees’ overall mental and emotional well-being.

When employees don’t have a clear path forward, they will eventually leave your business. Worse yet, they will gradually disengage from their work to the point that it could cost your business tens of thousands of dollars annually. Supplying employee education and development programs is a simple way to foster a culture of empowered employees.

5. Recognize more than just the bottom line.

Recognizing employee contributions beyond how they impact your bottom line is crucial. This helps prevent burnout and encourages employees to improve performance and remain engaged in the workplace.

It’s essential to recognize more than just concrete results. Why? Employees look to their leaders to provide guidelines and model behaviors they can emulate in their interactions. When they see a manager encouraging growth and development, they’re more likely to work on expanding their skills.

6. Provide new technology and other up-to-date resources.

Forcing employees to rely on outdated tools can often lead to a drop in productivity and motivation. This hinders your team’s ability to complete its work efficiently. It also sends a message that the company isn’t willing to invest in their employees’ growth.

Instead, empower employees to do the best job possible by providing them with the resources they need — including new technology. With emerging tech such as artificial intelligence- (AI) powered tools making big waves in the market, employing these tools can help make employees’ jobs easier. It will simplify time-consuming tasks and streamline workflows.

7. Make time for creativity.

A McKinsey study found that 77 percent of senior leaders see creativity as a crucial driver for business growth. Welcome suggestions from employees who find creative ways to improve their work processes or how they approach day-to-day tasks. Also, encourage employees to contribute their ideas during meetings. Employees may develop efficient solutions to problems or think of cost-saving ideas — but you must be willing to listen.

8. Prioritize continuous learning.

There’s room for improvement in any role, from interns to executive leaders. Investing in your workforce and encouraging their professional development can lead to greater engagement. This, in turn, drives employee retention and productivity. In fact, according to a study from TalentLMS and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), 76 percent of employees said professional development increases their job satisfaction and engagement.

Encourage continuous learning through opportunities like mentorship programs and professional development workshops. This helps employees strengthen their skills and learn from their peers. This makes them better prepared for their roles and fosters greater confidence and optimism about their future with your company.

Why empowered employees matter

Empowering employees can lead to many benefits. This includes everything from improved performance to reduced turnover to more committed staff, according to the International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology. Below are some of the ways empowering your employees can make a difference for your business.

Increases job satisfaction

Empowered employees are generally happier in their roles because they feel supported by their employers and coworkers. This empowerment often leads to increased satisfaction for employees. This reduces stress and isolation while encouraging independence and ownership of their work.

Promotes loyalty to the organization and leaders

When employees feel they have control over the trajectory of their careers and work, they are more likely to produce high-quality, creative work. They’re also more likely to go above and beyond their job description and stay at your company long-term. Employees are more likely to trust leaders who empower their workforce and act as mentors who support growing employees and celebrate their triumphs.

Increases employee engagement

Employees want to know that their work matters. By developing a culture of empowerment, businesses can boost engagement and ensure workers remain motivated in their roles. Creating this kind of environment is crucial to maintaining employee engagement while ensuring goal alignment across the company. This, in turn, helps to prevent employee turnover and burnout.

Boosts productivity levels

When employees feel empowered, they gain confidence in their abilities. Plus, they’re more willing to take charge of their responsibilities, rather than procrastinate or wait for others to delegate. This sense of support from employers can drive employees to work both harder and smarter, leading to increased productivity.

Enhances creativity

Stifling employees’ ideas can hold a business back — preventing it from embracing growth opportunities and new perspectives. In contrast, encouraging creativity can improve employee retention, satisfaction and engagement. Empowered employees are more likely to take initiative, collaborate and think outside the box.

Provides a better customer experience

Empowered employees are often happier in their roles. When your employees feel more content and supported in their roles, your customer experience improves, too. That’s because empowered employees are more willing to go above and beyond for customers. This encourages customer loyalty and can help your business stand out among competitors.

Offers stronger financial gains

Empowered employees can have far-reaching positive effects across the company, including the business’s bottom line. Dissatisfied employees, on the other hand, can lead to major financial losses for businesses. Empowering your employees ensures they’re both engaged and acknowledged for their hard work, which benefits the business and its financial success. [Learn more about how to empower and encourage your staff.]

Angela Koch contributed to this article.