subject: Employee Empowerment To Help Your Business Succeed [print this page] What is the best possible thing you can do for those who are working for you right now? We are not talking about a few of them, but are discussing all of them. What can you do to make yourself a far better manager of human resources in your field? If you thought about employee empowerment, you are correct and deserve a prize.
The best way to keep things moving along in a productive manner is to have the people moving things along stay content. After any time in the management field you will learn that the happier the employees are, the better work conditions are for every person involved. To make them happy, you must allow them to help create the environment that you all must share.
A good place to start is to allow them the freedom to decorate as they wish. For example, everyone knows that cubicles are dreadfully boring, if not always the most productive means of achieving an efficient layout. But the workers that spend so much time in the things really need to feel at home within those gray walls. Allowing them to decorate at will gives them a sense of power.
Take this concept to the next level, and when changes are being made, let the entire staff help hammer out the details. If it is time to relocate the offices, let the workers help choose where, and help decide on floor plans and the like. If they are allowed to choose the paint schemes and new furniture, they will feel a sense of ownership and will enjoy coming in to their offices.
Consider flexible schedules, if you have not already. Working parents, new mothers, men with another job to consider, all of these folks will do much better if they can have some input into the construction of their schedules. Knowing that they can count on you to help them with their other obligations will build both loyalty and trust.
And always give the chance for any idea to be heard. The old suggestion box attitude is still a very wise approach. Allowing your employees space to vent, or to express an opinion, or to make suggestions is very healthy for the entire work environment. And if you implement a plan, make sure that the responsible person is openly rewarded. Pride in contribution is an invaluable motivator.
All of these things are very easy to put into play, and the results will be happier and more productive workers. Nobody wants to go to work in a machine, feeling like just another tool. We all want to be allowed to express ourselves, and be a part of the growth process. Employee empowerment allows for just that to happen.
