If you want your employees to thrive in 2021, seizing opportunities to empower them is a must. When your workforce feels empowered, they are typically more productive and often produce higher-quality results. Additionally, they become increasingly self-assured and self-reliant, something that benefits workers as much as the company.
If you are wondering how you can empower your employees in 2021 and beyond, here are some tips that can help.
Leverage Analytics
It isn’t a secret that different employees have varying needs. By leveraging analytics, you can determine which workers are in most need of support, allowing you to intervene quickly to improve the situation and to identify approaches that are best suited for different circumstances.
Enhance the Employee Experience
Most companies are incredibly customer-focused. While that is certainly a positive, it shouldn’t be at the cost of your workforce. If you want to empower your team, make sure the employee experience is also a priority. After all, when your employees are happy, they’ll be more effective at assisting your customers, creating a win-win scenario.
Encourage Ownership
When you want to empower employees, a degree of autonomy is a great place to start. When you encourage team members to take ownership of their tasks, you give them an increased sense of control. Plus, when they achieve a goal, it feels more personal, boosting self-confidence.
Approach Feedback Differently
Offering constructive feedback is crucial for employee success. However, by altering how you approach those conversations, you can get better results. Try using questions in the discussion. For example, instead of telling an employee what they should have done differently, ask them how they could approach it the next time to achieve a better result. This encourages reflection and can often lead to answers that are effective and personal.
Embrace Flexibility
If you have a remote workforce, embracing flexibility makes a world of difference. Often, a 9-to-5 mentality isn’t necessary when your teams are working from home. By allowing them to choose when they work – suggesting that they can finish their tasks in a timely manner – you let them adjust their approach based on when they are most productive. Additionally, you can promote better work-life balance, something that leads to higher job satisfaction.
Use Digital Training Systems
Online learning options are excellent for employee empowerment. By going digital, you make training easier to access. Workers can log in at any time and from nearly anywhere. This makes learning easier to fit into even the busiest of schedules, enabling them to increase their skills on their own terms.
Be Results-Oriented
Being results-oriented allows you to shift your mindset away from being process-driven. While certain tasks often require strict procedures, many others don’t. If an activity isn’t process-dependent, outline results-oriented expectations and then give employees some leeway to approach the work in a manner that best suits them. That way, they can use strategies that align with their unique skillset.
Ultimately, all of the tips above can make empowering your employees in 2021 easier. If you’d like to find out more, the team at VB can help. Contact us today.