Employee empowerment is on the rise and micromanagement is dead (or should be). More and more we see leaders treating each person as a trusted individual who enjoys ownership of his or her tasks. As part of this growing trend, a major transition is happening: organizations are becoming more team centric and refocusing on the importance of developing leadership skills within the ranks of their talent, and that requires empowering employees. 

“ Employee empowerment energizes a company's culture

Why building a culture of empowerment?

Employee empowerment is a powerful strategy. Used properly it can energize a company’s culture, increase profitability and positively impact the customer experience.

• Empowerment creates more customer’s loyalty
  
  If your company ethos is centered on providing value for your customers (and why wouldn’t it be?), then it makes perfect sense to give your employees all of the tools and authority they need to make that happen. A Gallup study learns us hat organizations empowering employees experience 50% higher customer loyalty.
  

• Empowered organizations are more profitable
  
  The results of a study by Pepperdine University clearly indicated that empowerment correlates with financial success. While being profitable is certainly no guarantee of an empowering, positive culture, being unprofitable virtually always guarantees a disempowering, unpleasant company culture.
  

• Empowered employees are more satisfied
  
  People are most satisfied in their jobs when they feel empowered in their day-to-day experiences at work. Being given more authority and trusted to make decisions, leads to more satisfaction.

• Empowered people have pride in their work
  
  Endowing your employees with trust and authority, contributes to an increased feeling of pride in their work and in their workplace. People who are proud of their company are feeling more engaged and satisfied with their jobs, meaning that employee engagement is a path to all of the benefits that tend to follow a highly-satisfied workforce: less turnover, better teamwork and increased productivity.
  
  

What can you do to have empowered people?

• Hire for competencies and attitude, train for skills  – be fanatical about each team member fitting your company culture. 
  
  
• Showcase your mission, vision and values often  – if employees don’t intimately understand these 3 foundational elements, empowered autonomy is nearly impossible to achieve.
  
  
• Be open to new ideas – taking the time to respectfully listen to people’s ideas makes them feel valued and respected and will increase empowerment.

• Be a supportive and trusted manager – if people feel the manager ‘has their back’ they are more likely to feel empowered.
  
  
• Show appreciation – leaders who recognize and encourage employees when they see extra effort or risk taking get more of that behavior in the future.
  
  
• Give people authority and autonomy – leaders need to make sure that employees are skilled and knowledgeable enough to make good decisions. The more control people have over their work and how it is done, the higher their sense of empowerment.
  
  

“Empowerment accelerates innovation and leads to happier teams 

Research has demonstrated that when people feel empowered at work, it is associated with stronger job performance, job satisfaction and commitment to the organization.

In today’s fast-paced world, a company’s decision-making process needs to be fast and agile. Giving people autonomy will contribute to this.

Embracing employee empowerment won’t just accelerate a company’s rate of innovation, it will lead to happier teams and attract creative job-seekers.