Negosentro|When they’re truly engaged and motivated, your employees will astound you with their ability to innovate, take control of their own time and productivity, and ultimately help make your business more profitable. Beyond this, knowing you’re helping your employees to take charge of their futures and develop their skills is also massively Empowered Employees rewarding as a leader. It’s a win-win situation, but how can you make it happen?
Give purpose to your employees’ work
Explain the Why
Thanks to the IoT, answers and information are now always at our fingertips – and this has trickled over into our attitudes and expectations in the workplace. We’ve become used to knowing the ‘why’ behind everything. When we’re not given a ‘why’, but are simply expected to accept something at face value and move on, we can get frustrated.
The lesson for employers? Don’t just ask your employees to perform a task, but take just a few moments to explain the value to your customers and the company. When they understand the reason behind requests, they’re bound to tackle them with more enthusiasm Empowered Employees.
Give back
On a broader level, younger generations in the workplace increasingly want the work they do to have a positive impact on the world at large. Society in general has become averse to profit-hungry corporations that do nothing to give back.
Partnering with a charity or helping raise funds for a worthy cause can have a huge impact on staff morale, especially if you make sure your employees are involved in selecting the causes which mean the most to them personally Empowered Employees.
Offer praise and reward accomplishment
There are few things more deflating than spending hours and heaps of effort on a big task, really going the extra mile… and then having no-one notice! Big or small, always offer a kind word or a thank you for a job well done. Rewarding and acknowledging effort is one of the simplest ways to inspire your workers to keep it up Empowered Employees.
Get them inspired
Positive energy is extremely infectious, and you can pass some on by bringing a little enthusiasm and excitement to your weekly or daily meetings. Share an inspirational quote now and then (your email signature is a great spot for this) or play a short TED Talk or motivational speech you think might benefit them in the break room now and then.
You can’t do it all yourself, however, especially if you have a lot of employees – so it’s important to get your supervisors, team leaders and department managers on board too. Immersive leadership programs are a great way to accomplish this, and will have a much bigger impact than trying to do it all solo.
Show you trust them…
Technology means that there are now potentially dozens of ways to get the same job done. Give your employees the freedom to choose the one that works best for them, and make it clear you’re open to innovation, and the use of new tools or technologies that can make their lives easier.
Empowering your employees starts with demonstrating your trust, making it clear you’re there to offer advice and support if they need it, but that the ball is ultimately in their court. This might include offering employees the opportunity to work from home when they have a big project to complete, or testing out a new piece of software to streamline tasks or processes.
…and that you care about their future
Just by showing an interest in your worker’s goals and ambitions outside of the office, you’re demonstrating that you value them beyond what they can do for the company. This can be incredibly motivating and empowering, and you may even discover some unexpected common ground!
Schedule a ‘pow wow’ with each of your employees on a regular basis, or make sure you sit in with HR during these sessions whenever you can. Find out about their goals, both in their careers and their personal lives, and actively look for any areas of potential overlap where you may be able to help each other.
For example, if your receptionist has an interest in finance, you could arrange for them to help out in the accounts department. If you find out one of your employees has an interest in interior design, you’ll know to rope them in when you’re sprucing up the office. If there’s a clear career trajectory for them within the company, then create a plan together to fast-track that path.
Even when there’s no obvious overlap, this is still a good opportunity to show interest, ask about their concerns, and offer advice on savings, planning for retirement, or better managing their workload.
Investing your time and energy in your employees is always rewarding – both personally as their boss, and for the company. Motivated, empowered employees truly are your biggest asset.
