Employee engagement: Rule #3 - Empower them

It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart
people so they can tell us what to do.” – Steve Jobs

Employee engagement: a definition

Everyone seems to be talking about ‘employee engagement’ these days. The effects, especially, of employee engagement are fast gaining fame in boardrooms and corporate circles. Many cite 'boosts in productivity approaching 202%’ and retention. There’s even talk of vastly improved customer service levels.

 Agreed, that’s the impact, but, what is employee engagement? We like the CIPD’s definition which proposes:

"a ‘mutual gains’ employment relationship, creating a win-win for employees and their employers. It’s usually seen as an internal state of being, both physical, mental and emotional, but many also view it as encompassing behaviour and in particular work effort."

Tips on how to empower your employees:

• Supply the destination but let employees map out the journey, within guidelines
  Encourage and reward self-improvement 
• Fear of failure cripples innovation – encourage safe failure 
• The top drivers for 10% of most engaged employees are (Custom Insight):
  Empowerment/ Autonomy - Employees are given the freedom and authority they need to make necessary decisions. 
• Accountability - People are held accountable for achieving goals and meeting expectations. 
• Personal Expression - People with different ideas are valued in this organization.

Did you know that...

• A survey of more than 7,000 employees across 20 countries suggests UK employees
  have some of the lowest engagement with their jobs in the world. 
• Only 37% of UK workers felt they were encouraged to be innovative, down from 47%
  last year. 
• 66% of highly engaged staff are allowed to work from home 
• 65% of employees who don't feel they can approach their manager with any type of
  question are actively disengaged 
• The proportion of disengaged UK workers is equivalent to “some 20 million workers
  who are not delivering their full capability or realising their potential at work” -

Laura Stack sums it up nicely by noting that “Employee empowerment" … is a philosophy that allows people to make decisions about their work, within certain broad guidelines. 

Want to empower your employees? There's an app for that...

Check out: Employee Engagement: Rule #4 - Reward them