Empowerment in Business
An empowered company understands and appreciates that all employees can impact the bottom line. Empowerment is a commitment to respect all employees and their contributions.The benefits of empowerment are many. Empowerment is based on the idea that giving employees skills, resources, opportunity and motivation will contribute to their competence and satisfaction. Empowerment should be a part of the corporate core values of every company. Below are some practices to build an empowered workplace.
Self-Empowerment and Self-Esteem
An empowered company begins with self-empowerment. Owners and managers cannot empower others to perform their best until they are empowered themselves. Also, it’s important to build a person’s self-esteem and confidence in his/her ability to make good decisions. Employees will then be able to use their skills and abilities to benefit both their organization and themselves.
Empowerment Training
Empowerment training can benefit everyone. Try self-development opportunities such as seminars and webinars. A library of empowering resources is a valuable and positive resource that a company should consider. Also, keeping staff informed of changes within the company and thoroughly training them in all processes gives them a sense of empowerment.
Work Teams and a Sense of Community
Valuing the opinions and ideas of every employee is another foundation to empowerment. Organizations have the responsibility to remove barriers that limit the ability of staff to act in empowered ways and being a valued part of work teams is what empowerment is all about. Management and employees must work together to develop a common vision and similar goals. Employees at all levels want to feel respected and valued. Empowered companies also have a strong corporate sense of community. Within a group or community, empowerment can be taken to involve building trust, cooperation and communication between members.
Empowerment does not happen overnight. Working with individuals to set professional goals will enhance the empowerment process. People will generally set higher goals for themselves than management would set for them. A belief that employees want to do a good job is essential!
Source: www.referenceforbusiness.com
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