For leaders who are not business owners, the benefits of empowering and motivating their employees are significant.
This approach taps into their full potential, leading to a noticeable increase in productivity and job satisfaction. Empowered employees not only work harder but also feel happier, creating a more efficient and productive workplace.
If you aspire to create a more efficient and autonomous workplace, providing your employees with the necessary tools and resources is essential. By doing so, you enable them to succeed and become the best version of themselves, contributing to the organization’s overall success.
Training
Employees who feel like they know what they need to do and how to do it correctly will instantly perform better. It doesn’t matter if they are working at a till point, collecting orders, processing payments, or pulling together a project to bring new clients on board; the more they know, the more confident they will feel and the better the results they will produce.
When it comes to training employees, not only do they need to know how to do their jobs, but they also need to be aware of company policies and develop a wide range of skills to help them do the job. Complete training should include everything they need to know to do the job as well as help them improve soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, time management, emotional intelligence, teamwork, and adaptability, to name a few.
In addition to this, you can also consider training that can be helpful in the world, such as leadership or management training, gaining recognized qualifications for their job role, or helping them get their CPR certification, which is especially important if you work with members of the public, security training, and more. If it can help them in the workplace, then it should be considered and added to your training schedule.
Build A Culture of Trust
Openness and honesty are crucial in building a healthy work environment. Companies that foster a culture of trust perform better, as employees feel more secure and engaged.
You need to be honest about what you want, what the company is about, and what you expect of employees. From here, you need to ensure that you tell the truth at all times, even if it gets uncomfortable, and stick to your promises regardless of what they are. You need to show employees that they can trust in you, that they know what to expect, and that they won’t go back on your word. This, in turn, will encourage employees to do the same, too. This culture of trust not only fosters a healthier working environment but also makes the employees feel secure and valued.
Encourage Self Improvement
Holding people back won’t get the best from them, so being an employer passionate about employees embarking on self-improvement journeys will reflect well on you and help to build their confidence both in and out of the office.
The avenues they explore could be self-improvement changes within the workplace, or they can be on their personal time. Encouraging them to seek out and make the most of opportunities will help you and them, as well as being flexible enough with their work schedule to accommodate these changes they want to make so they know they have your full support.
Delegate Effectively
Effective delegation can be instrumental in supporting the business and fostering growth and confidence in the workplace. However, there is a difference between just telling someone to carry out something and giving them a task based on their skills and ability to do the job.
You want to play to people’s strengths and give them tasks they are more than capable of carrying out independently and that they have proven they can do well. The more they feel accomplished in their role, the more empowered they will be. Once they’re performing these duties regularly and consistently without your input or supervision, they will be able to take on other tasks outside of their wheelhouse and learn how to take on more responsibility or learn new aspects of the business.
Give Them Autonomy
Giving your employees autonomy simply means allowing them to do what they need to do their own way. Not everyone gets from A to B the same way, and how your employee does something or reaches a conclusion won’t always be the same as how you would do it. Resist changing their ways of working because it doesn’t make sense to you or you don’t understand it. Instead, accept that it still gets results, allow them to do what works for them, and give them complete control.
Give Constructive Feedback
This is important as it allows employees a frame of reference for how well they’re doing their job, what you think of them, and the work they produce, and is an opportunity to correct them if they are making mistakes more effectively.
Be specific about the praise you give them instead of telling them they did a good job. Tell them exactly what you were impressed by and let them know what to keep doing or not doing, as the case may be.
When delivered effectively, constructive feedback is a powerful tool for improvement. It helps employees understand their areas for improvement and equips them with the knowledge and tools to approach tasks differently in the future.
Accept Feedback and Ideas
You need to be able to accept feedback and ideas that aren’t your own from your employees. If you really want to empower them, giving them a chance to have some input and actively encouraging them to be as involved as possible will boost creativity, engagement, and excitement as they know they can communicate thoughts and ideas, and they will be well received. This allows you to delve deeper into how your employees think and work and how they approach tasks ahead of them. You never know. They might just knock it out of the park and hope you implement changes for the better within the company or help you improve your client relations. An open feedback culture not only makes the employees feel heard but also develops a sense of belonging and ownership in the company.
Empowering your employees can be the difference between a thriving company with employees who want to see the company succeed and those who only do the job for the paycheck. By giving them the freedom to be more active within the company, have some input, use their own thoughts and ideas, and have the training and tools necessary for the job at hand, they will grow in confidence, perform better, and be an integral part of the company.
