by Wanda Roos, Research Psychologist and Associate Consultant Member of the Phelekeza Team
Defining the concept of employee empowerment
At its core, employee empowerment is defined in the academic and business world as the process of giving employees in the organisation the power, authority, responsibility, resources and freedom to take decisions and solve work-related problems. In order to take such initiatives and decisions, they absolutely need adequate authority and resources. On a conversational level it means that employees are valued by their employers to the extent that they invest time and money in their growth and development, with the aim of enhancing the potential of the company to achieve its strategic and operational goals via the best contributions of a consistently competent and motivated workforce.
Most human beings desire recognition, power, status, authority, and responsibility, and drive towards utilising their full energy, abilities, and competencies to excel at what they do. Such people prepare their mindset to achieve, to perform, to win, and to succeed. Empowerment strategies and initiatives provide a facilitative mechanism that helps people to achieve individual goals, team goals and organisational goals.
Once appointed, there are empowerment expectations…
For the most part, once an appointment has been made, two sets of expectations become immediately relevant: those of the employer, and those of the employee. The employer expects to have personnel that are aligned to the strategic and operational direction of the enterprise, and who are capable of executing their duties and obligations in a consistently efficient and motivated way. The staff member expects to be given the required resources and support to do so, so that they are able to develop and apply their full potential in their role. It sounds so easy and obvious. Yet so often things go wrong in this space, because there are myriad impacting factors here, available funding being a key restraint in many instances. Also, there may not always be the necessary enthusiasm and commitment on either or both sides… Another major limiting factor to meaningful employee development is a lack of integrated human resource management and organisational development strategies on the part of the organisation, with the result that employee development initiatives often take the form of ad hoc tick-box exercises that are not conducive to focused, long-term growth of the personnel corps in tandem with the direction that the company is taking. The ultimate aim is meaningful employee empowerment.
Long-term benefits of meaningful employee empowerment
Since empowering the workforce in a meaningful fashion is a costly exercise that also requires time and attention from often a dedicated unit in the business, there has to be absolute clarity and commitment within management ranks around the intended benefits that are to be gained. Research shows repeatedly that companies that invest in meaningful employee empowerment reap the benefits in terms of long-term sustainability and profitability. There are some very clear and significant benefits in this regard:
Increased Productivity
Much time is saved when employees can take their own decisions and do not have to wait for approval from senior levels. Workflow is not disturbed due to unnecessary hassles, and delays are avoided. The increased sense of responsibility motivates employees to try out innovative methods of getting the work done. Furthermore, employees derive more satisfaction from their work as their contribution towards the organisational goals is increased. Higher job satisfaction coupled with saving of precious time results in higher productivity.
Reduced Costs
By taking their own decisions, employees save the time and efforts of top management. Since there is a high level of decentralisation in an organisation where employees are empowered, the need for middle-level managers is considerably lower. Properly trained employees are also less likely to waste resources or have an accident. All these benefits collectively reduce unnecessary expenditure of the company.
Improved Quality
Employee empowerment requires that the employees are properly trained in order to take effective managerial decisions. They are provided with adequate resources to enable them to tackle day-to- day affairs in an efficient manner. At the same time, the senior managers can delegate much of their work to other employees so that they can concentrate on more important tasks. Better efficiency in operations is achieved as a result of employee empowerment which leads to improved quality.
Competitive Edge
Maintaining a competitive edge over its competitors is crucial for an organisation’s sustainability and increasing market share in its industry. Competitive, motivated and loyal employees play a huge role here. Employee empowerment facilitates the utilisation of manpower in the best possible way. Employees get a chance to exercise their managerial and decision-making abilities while performing their job duties. In so doing, a dedicated, loyal and empowered workforce helps to place the company ahead of its competitors.
Better Job Satisfaction and Retention of Employees
Employee turnover is a big problem faced by many organisations in the modern world. By engaging in meaningful employee empowerment initiatives, an organisation is able to improve their job satisfaction and retain high performers and value-adding personnel. Employees get to perform a variety of jobs at different levels that require different skills and abilities. This creates a challenging and dynamic work environment where sought-after employees actually enjoy their jobs and remain in them.
Getting bang for your buck
Given the considerable resource and financial input required to run a meaningful employee empowerment strategy in the organisation, it makes sense to ensure equitable output for input. In this regard, ongoing diligent monitoring of employee and company needs, as well as of the performance of all members of the workforce – particularly after the implementation of training and development initiatives – is essential. Keep an open mind for special development desires from employees that may not fit a hundred percent into their current roles. They may be ready to be groomed for future value-add in the organisation…