All business owners or managers dream of having empowered employees. While this is always possible, concrete steps must be taken to achieve this result. As a business owner or manager, you can use the following tips to help you empower your workers and maximize their productivity:
1. Open the lines going up.
When it comes to workplace issues, employees usually feel there is no purpose in taking a stand, thinking it won’t make a difference anyway. Instead of letting them continue with this belief, why not create a system that lets them express what’s on their mind? Whenever they do, be sure to acknowledge their effort and reward them for any valuable inputs they provide.
2. Invest in your employees’ improvement.
Many entrepreneurs are used to self-improvement, but other people aren’t always the same. And as an employer, you should invest in your workers’ professional as well as personal growth. Obviously, this will not only only benefit them, but you as well. They will feel happy and grateful for the new things they’ve learned as they step up to more opportunities.
3. Let them feel safe when they fail.
No one appreciates working in an environment where the boss is always correcting them before they could even execute. When this happens, the worker will begin to hesitate taking any dynamic action. Be sure to give your employees ample room to make reasonable mistakes that they can learn from. This will let them innovate with more confidence.
4. Be clear with role definitions.
Unless your workers completely understand their role in your company, you can’t expect them to perform well. Also, this will let you avoid inefficiency by redundancy. Roles should be well-established for each worker so everyone would know what they should and shouldn’t do. With everyone working as they should, operations can be run hassle-free.
5. Require accountability
People need to know if they’re satisfying expectations and not. Accountability cannot be maintained if there is no complete understanding of the effects of failure. And if they see that others have no accountability, they will see no need to work harder for success. Implement your measurement and reward system consistently and diligently so your workers stay motivated to do well.
6. Make them independent.
Your workers shouldn’t only have to work for you, but also grow while they do. So don’t keep checking on them like a babysitter. Instead, give them the chance to spread their wings and even lead others. They may encounter problems every now and then, but allowing them to rise deal with these on their own will make them wiser and better equipped to perform their roles.