Empowering Employees for Better Performance and Motivation
In a dynamic business world, competition is fierce, and change is constant. Companies are constantly recognizing the role of their employees in driving success and with that Empowering Employees is important.
At the same time, you should know that empowering employees isn’t just about boosting their morale–it’s about unleashing their full potential. Ken Follett, the famous writer, used to say when talking about a boss the employees liked, “Hid did just one thing superbly well: pick the right man, give him the resources, motivate him, then leave him alone to do the job,” and also “Take care of the people who work for you.”
How, in today’s light, can companies take care of their employees?
One statistic conducted in January 2024 says that improving talent progression and promotion success accounts for 48.1% of improving talent availability. Interestingly, offering higher wages comes in second with 35.3%. Closely followed is providing effective reskilling and upskilling (33.7%).
Innovative workplace solutions
Companies can unlock the hidden talents and empower their workers by providing tools and platforms to help them. Some strategies can be implemented, regardless of whether they use tools. But, considering the burst of technology, it’s safe to say that every process nowadays is easier with carefully selected tools.
Providing tools and platforms
You know what they say: “Give an employee a morale boost, and they’ll be happy for a day, but give them tools to work smarter, and they’ll be happy for life.”
So, let’s talk about some tools that are great for maximizing performance in the workplace.
- Transferring text to video
Do we need to discuss short attention spans and supreme video content? No? That’s great. Then, we can focus on creating powerful videos that should be noticed.
Video content has a remarkable ability to capture audience attention and drive engagement. It can be used for training purposes, presentations, or internal communications (and nothing empowers more than having respectful internal communication). Content created through text-to-AI video is more likely to resonate with viewers.
An option that transfers text to video AI can create multilingual training modules and help develop inclusive marketing campaigns. This tool needs to be more flexible for multiple purposes to be overlooked in the pursuit of empowering employees. You can forget about traditional video production–this tool is a beacon of innovation that can help everyone create their own content.
- Building work schedules
Making work schedules is unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to be complicated or cause nerve-wracking conflicts. By using employee scheduling software, companies can be more efficient and focus on what’s important.
This software leverages an intuitive interface and advanced algorithms, thus simplifying the complex task of creating schedules. It can consider factors like skills, availability, labor laws, etc.
Managers then assign shifts, make adjustments, and distribute schedules to team members quickly. Some software of this kind can offer other features, like exchanging messages on the platform. The important part is that everything is transparent and efficient.
- Performance review software
When employees hear about performance review software, they recoil at the thought of numbers and stats. What comes to mind is an unpleasant talk with a manager about unfavorable data.
Luckily, nowadays, these kinds of software are created to favor employees. The software tracking features give insight into performance trends and areas for improvement so managers can make data-driven decisions.
So, employees will not only avoid that feared conversation, but they can also have the opportunity to work on something that drives their talents and makes them happy.
- Platforms for managing goals
With these platforms, companies can track SMART targets–Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—without consuming unnecessary time. There is a centralized hub on these platforms where companies can define their objectives, as long as they are clear, break them down into steps, and naturally assign them to team members.
One of the best features is accurate time tracking so managers can see progress. This can help them make adjustments to fit defined objectives into a desirable time frame.
Seeing goals can empower employees by giving them a sense of purpose.
Strategies for Empowering Employees
Some strategies are always the same, but implementing them is another story. At the same time, there is always something new that companies can try.
- The power of empowerment
According to a study by Gallup, companies with high employee engagement experience 21% higher profitability. This clearly motivates companies to look after their employees to maximize profit.
Also, at the heart of empowerment lies trust–a fundamental building block of any successful company. Employees who feel respected, trusted, and valued can go above and beyond in their work.
For instance, Google famously has a “20% time” policy, which lets employees spend part of their time at work doing something they are passionate about. Letting people pursue their passion projects helps them develop creativity and time management skills.
- Flexible work arrangements
Are you reluctant to leave bed every time the alarm goes off? Do you lie in bed pondering whether you really need this job and how great it would be if you could only work from home today?
Well, stats are on your side–a survey by FlexJobs says that 65% of employees believe they would be more productive working remotely than in a traditional office. More specifically, 80% of Gen Z and Gen X and 76% of millennials say they are more productive working from home.
Having flexible work arrangements boosts productivity and helps employees maintain work-life balance to their satisfaction.
- Collaborative spaces
Have you ever seen those movies where people work in cubicles and feel chills? This arrangement is a dying trend since it prevents people from freely communicating. That’s where collaborative spaces come in.
Some companies, like Pixar and IDEO, have innovative office designs with open plans, communal gathering areas, and brainstorming zones. These spaces are intentionally planned to encourage employees to socialize more, talk about work, and generate new ideas.
But why stop at physical spaces? In the age of bursting technology, why not create virtual spaces? With platforms like Slack and Trello, you can spread any space you need for your team and spark collaboration.
- Recognition and reward
Do you remember what Ken Follett said about the best boss everyone adored at the beginning? How did he give autonomy to his people? He also recognized their contributions and rewarded them.
In that spirit, a Globforce survey says that 78% of employees say recognition makes them feel more valued and respected.
Innovative companies are doing their best to implement mechanisms of rewards. There are varieties of bonuses, employees of the month, incentives, etc. Yes, it can bring a bit of competitiveness on the surface, but it’s also nice to know that doing your best is rewarding.
Benefits of empowering employees
Empowering employees doesn’t just bring maximum productivity to a company. It reshapes the very fabric of a company, not to mention the greater satisfaction of employees.
In short, these are the benefits of making employees empowered:
- Enhanced motivation to go above and beyond
- Increased productivity where people are more efficient and focused
- Fostering innovation where people think outside of the box
- Improved collaboration and mutual support by respecting individual strengths
- Boosted employee retention where people feel valued and respected
- Stronger employer brand that attracts top talents and potential customers
As for personal well-being, there are:
- Enhanced job satisfaction leads to happier and more fulfilled work
- Work-life balance that leads to reduced burnout and improved well-being
- Organizational growth and success, as employees’ drive for excellence, bringing the company forward
- Resilience to challenges when facing obstacles, turning them into opportunities for growth
Work smarter and be happy
Empowering employees to maximize performance is not a static job. It’s not something the companies can do once or twice and consider it done. It’s a constant progress that asks for continuous oversight.
Strategies should change to complement employees. Inventing helpful tools and platforms that were not accessible in the business world a year or a decade ago is logical.
Time brings change, and one of the most important is that the company is not just numbers and stats–the company is the people who work there. So why not help them do their best and be happy about it?
