Employee empowerment refers to a style of management that emphasizes the autonomy of the employees by allowing them to make decisions and act upon them independently.
Why is Employee Empowerment Important?
According to a Harvard Business Review research, higher employee empowerment correlates with stronger job performance, job satisfaction, and engagement in the workplace.
Employee empowerment has several benefits, such as:
- Fostering a culture of employee engagement;
- Helping to retain top talents;
- Inspiring and motivating employees;
- Facilitating work processes;
- Improving communication within the organization;
- Generating new ideas;
- Driving innovation.
What Are the Essential Components of Employee Empowerment?
In order to successfully empower employees, four main components must be shared with employees: power, information, knowledge and rewards. If any one of the four components is missing, the employee will not feel truly empowered.
When management practices include these key components, employees gain control over their job, awareness of the context in which it is performed, and accountability of the output.
What Are Examples of Employee Empowerment Practices?
Common examples of employee empowerment practices in the workplace include:
- Involving employee in the vision of the company by including them in relevant decision-making processes;
- Providing training classes for managers;
- Recognizing the good work of employees;
- Trusting employees and giving them autonomy;
- Offering flexible work hours;
- Giving feedback to employees regularly;
- Providing employee benefits;
- Defining expectations and boundaries;
- Acknowledging mistake and moving on quickly;
- Measuring performance;
- Making sure that employees take enough time off.
