The Importance of Employee Empowerment

Understanding the Significance of Empowering Employees in Business

Nicky Hoyland, CEO, Huler

Employee empowerment is often seen as an action that is undertaken by an organisation, but the truth is that employee empowerment is actually a feeling. When an employee feels empowered, they possess “the knowledge, confidence, means, or ability to do things or make decisions” for themselves. It means that employees are confident to work autonomously and can excel within their role.

But why does this matter to businesses? Well, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report, employee engagement decreased globally from 22% in 2019 to 20% in 2020. This disengagement can have massive consequences for productivity as an unhappy employee is likely to give their all. On the other hand, engaged team members are proven to be more present and proactive, resulting in 21% greater profitability.

Employee engagement is essentially a measurement of how motivated, passionate, and invested your workforce is. It can be affected by many factors such as location, culture, and the individual. It can also be influenced by how empowered employees feel in their job, and within a business.

Empowering your employees

The best pay to ensure your employees are empowered is to really understand what drives them. Many businesses have traditionally used the carrot and stick approach to motivation. That is: if you do X, you will get a promotion/pay rise. But this simplistic approach fails to consider what motivates your people and there is no one size fits all

This approach is outdated, as many modern employees are motivated because they have the freedom to work in a way that suits them. This approach uses intrinsic motivation, where individuals do something because it is enjoyable or interesting, rather than because of an outside incentive (extrinsic motivation).

When an employee is empowered, they are intrinsically motivated. They have autonomy, and a sense of purpose, which motivates them to perform. Employee empowerment embodies three key factors: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Giving employees autonomy to get the job done

Autonomy is an essential psychological human need. At work, having everything needed to succeed and get things done in a way that suits you. It is the exact opposite of micromanagement, which communicates a lack of trust in ability.

There are a range of different levels of autonomy, but the main thing is that employees have a degree of choice over when, where, and how they do their job. Leaders might find this concept scary. But empowering your employees with autonomy can result in a number of benefits, including increased employee engagement, higher motivation and increased productivity.

Enabling employees to master their role

The modern employee wants to be always learning and mastering their role. They get satisfaction from completing a task or learning a new skill. Businesses need to feed this desire and the most obvious way to help employees do this is through training and continuous professional development.

There are obvious benefits to upskilling staff, as it means they become better at their job and are more productive. But this isn’t the only benefit. When an employee sees they are valued, they feel more intrinsically motivated to achieve and when they take part in learning that sparks interest within them, they are even more engaged with the subject matter.

Along with training, mastery can be achieved through stretching and challenging. That is, giving employees more responsibility and asking them to do more complex tasks. This can be achieved by passing more and more responsibility to employees, giving them the chance to grow within their role. Doing this allows for learning on the job, upskilling, and an increased sense of empowerment as employees continue to push forward.

Providing a purpose

Now more than ever, employees want a purpose at work. Employees are disengaged when they don’t understand the ‘why’ behind their role, or they can’t see themselves in the bigger picture. In a study published by Harvard Business Review, researchers found that more than 9 out of 10 employees are willing to trade a percentage of their lifetime earnings for greater meaning at work. They also discovered that employees who find their work very meaningful are more satisfied.

As humans, we all have a desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Our work is no exception. That is why organisations have mission statements and core values – to create a culture that employees (and customers) align with.

When you truly understand what sparks a fire in the hearts and minds of your workforce, you can begin to use that to tap into their intrinsic motivation levels. You encourage them to use creativity and innovation to solve problems, take accountability for their work, and feel proud of their achievements. Most of all, you instil a sense of purpose in them, which can’t be reached just by dangling a carrot and hoping for the best.