Whether your company has thousands of employees or just a handful, the degree to which those employees feel empowered is one of the most important factors that will drive your company’s success. Afghan Wireless strives to empower all of its employees through a variety of development programs and other skills- and knowledge-building initiatives, but there are all kinds of ways that companies can create a workplace culture where employees feel empowered to do their best and perform at the highest level.
Here are six tips that companies of any size can use to promote employee empowerment.
Facilitate open communication.
In many traditional companies, communication flows only one way: from management down to the employees. In such an environment, it’s easy for employees to feel like there’s no way to make an impact, which can lead to frustration and poor performance. But leaders should take note that feedback and ideas from employees on the front lines, so to speak, can make significant contributions to the company.
Make it easy for employees to share their thoughts, feelings, and observations by providing clear and structured channels for two-way communication. Employees who feel that their supervisors are listening to what they have to say are far more likely to be engaged at work than those who feel they are never heard.
Share vision, goals, and direction.
Employees will feel more empowered and more invested in the company if they have a clearer idea of where the company is headed. Too often, leaders keep the overall vision for the company to themselves, but there is little incentive for employees to make creative contributions if they don’t know the greater purpose behind their efforts.
By providing employees with access to the organization’s vision, mission, and strategic plans, leaders can help employees feel that they are part of and working toward something bigger than themselves. It can even be valuable to involve employees directly in setting goals and charting the company’s direction. Encouraging this level of ownership is a vital tactic in boosting empowerment.
Reward self-improvement.
It seems unreasonable for company leaders to complain that employees are stagnant when there is little support or incentive provided for them to grow. Even if companies don’t have the resources to put formal, organized employee development programs in place, leaders can still encourage employee development by supporting and rewarding self-improvement efforts. Many employees are interested in professional development, but don’t always know where to start or where to go next. By helping employees make their own growth plan and rewarding them as they advance, leaders and companies can support both skills development and a sense of initiative in their employees without necessarily taking on the full burden of organizing that development.
Provide feedback.
Many companies approach employee feedback from a “no news is good news” mindset—that is, they let employees know if something is wrong, but otherwise it’s assumed that everything is working fine. But employees who feel invisible are not empowered.
That’s why some kind of system for regular, structured employee feedback or performance reviews is vital, even at very small companies. Employees want to hear how they are doing from their supervisors and managers. Whether the feedback is positive or about ways they could improve, the very fact of receiving performance feedback shows employees that their efforts are seen and recognized.
Define roles and boundaries.
It might seem like clearly laid out roles and boundaries would prove limiting or restrictive to employees, but in fact, the opposite is true. It’s difficult for employees to perform well when they don’t know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing. In addition, when roles are not clearly defined, there is a greater risk of inefficiency or redundancy caused by multiple employees working on the same task or by key assignments being neglected because no one knows who’s responsible for them.
Setting clear roles and boundaries not only helps all employees work together cooperatively, but it frames off areas within which employees feel empowered to act and make decisions based on their experience and knowledge. Though it feels counterintuitive, boundaries actually give employees freedom and permission to act. That’s a very empowering strategy.
Encourage safe failure.
It’s difficult for employees to feel empowered if they also feel they will be punished for failure. Mistakes are a natural part of taking risks and trying new things, but if employees know that less-than-perfect results will earn harsh censure, they will become set in overly conservative behavior patterns, avoiding new and dynamic action and constantly seeking approval before doing anything.
Prevent this risk-averse mindset by allowing employees to risk and experiment in ways that won’t significantly damage the company. It’s important to clearly differentiate acceptable and unacceptable mistakes. For example, an acceptable mistake might be trying a new tactic for an advertising campaign that doesn’t ultimately work out; deliberately misleading customers with false information would be unacceptable.