As an employer, it’s expected that you’d want to achieve maximum productivity in your organization. Thus, it is expedient that you broaden your horizon towards different ways in which you and your employees can work hand-in-hand to achieve this.
Empowering your employees is a medium you can utilize to achieve organizational productivity and maintain attrition rate at acceptable level. Here are some ways that can be helpful for you to empower your employees.
- Deliver honest reviews
- Show empathy
- Cultivate open communication
- Share responsibilities and duties
- Encouraging growth opportunities
Deliver Honest Reviews
For an employer whose intention is empowering employees working in his organization, one of the things you have to be generous with is honest reviews. Often, most employers only give reviews when employees aren’t performing up to the task. Adversely, whenever employees exceed expectations, the employer withholds the positive review. This is the wrong way of boosting employee morale.
Whenever you intend to give reviews, be crystal clear and deliberately highlight the employees’ strengths. Humans love to be appreciated, hence, this approach will boost their motivation to do better toward achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. According to SHRM, 67 percent of employees whose employers focused on their strengths are usually engaged fully in their work, compared to 31 percent of employees whose employers concentrate on their weaknesses. As an intelligent employer, you should utilize this information to the organization’s advantage.
Show Empathy
Empathy is one the ideal traits every leader has to possess. According to research by Businessolver, 91% of CEOs assume empathy is linked directly to an organization’s financial performance, and 93% of employees admit that they would prefer to stay and be dedicated to an empathetic employer.
As an employer, most times, try standing in your employee’s shoes. This will go a long way in helping you see things from their point of view concerning their individual goals and contributions to the organization. When you consider their perspectives, it enables you to become an employer who is sensitive and emotionally intelligent enough to understand the silence, actions, or inactions of the employees in your organization. If an employer exhibits this trait, employees feel valued and understood.
Cultivate Open Communication
An employer who intends to empower employees within an organization knows better not to shut down the communication link between himself and the employees. Community is an essential soft skill every leader has to be handy with. A successful leader is not only a strong communicator but also an avid listener. The adage “two heads are better than one” is characterized here. Aside from you wanting to communicate with the employees, it would be best if you were willing to listen to them.
You should leverage your communication skills by cultivating an open dialogue to boost employee empowerment. Employees led by approachable employers are often more engaged, which breeds a team environment where everyone is comfortable with sharing their ideas without any fear or hesitation.
Share Responsibilities and Duties
If you are an effective leader, then you should know you can’t handle all tasks on your own. There’s no faster way to get overwhelmed than wanting to manage all tasks on your own. You should trust your subordinates and assign tasks to everyone to complete a project or carry out initiatives; it gives them a sense of value.
When assigning tasks, it’s expedient you clearly state the reason for your action. Orientate employees on where and how their work fits into the organizational ambition. Highlighting the uniqueness of the opportunity on the table is an added advantage in further boosting employee morale to be effective while carrying out the task. The more you assign tasks to your employees, the more empowered they become.
Encourage Growth Opportunities
An avenue to learn and grow is an excellent tool for employee empowerment. According to research conducted by LinkedIn, employees that spend time learning at work admit that they are;
- 47% less likely to be stressed
- 39% more likely to feel effective, efficient, and successful
- 23% more ready to handle and carry out additional responsibilities
- 21% are likely to feel more confident and happy.
For the above to be the reality for your employees, you need to encourage them to seek ways to develop professionally. They could take up virtual courses to better sharpen their skills. You can also provide financial aid to encourage them further.
Notwithstanding the avenue in which your employees use in furthering their knowledge, the support you show towards the path they are towing is enough to make them feel more valued and competent in their roles.
Final Thoughts
An employer that allows employees to explore to achieve empowerment is an employer that’s aiming towards a win-win situation for himself and the employees. The employees on the path of empowerment discover their strengths and then utilize them for both their benefit and that of the organization, which in turn, yields more productivity for the concerned organization.