Page 135 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

106 Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work

Benefits to Having an

Empowered Workforce

First and foremost, empowered employees have been suffi-
ciently trained so that they are competent in their jobs. They do
not look like the employees who accidentally hit a wrong button
on the cash register and have to call their manager over to back
them out of their mistake. Since they are competent, they are
less likely to fail and less likely to quit. Naturally, well-trained,
competent employees are more productive and more efficient
than their disempowered counterparts.
The more empowered the employee, the more skilled, ver-
satile, and valuable that person is to your organization. Cross-
trained employees provide greater flexibility, as they have the
ability to cover and support one another in different areas.
Moreover, because empowered employees are competent and
have been given greater autonomy and decision-making respon-
sibility, they require less time and support from supervisors.
Thus, empowered employees significantly add to an organiza-
tion’s human capital by not only being more highly skilled but
also requiring fewer resources in terms of supervision.
Among the most important benefits of empowered employ-
ees is their ability to significantly improve processes. They are
able to do this because their training in different job functions
and increased access to information provides them with a big-
picture perspective not available to less-educated and -trained
employees. Because empowered employees feel respected and
engaged, they take greater initiative, which further contributes
to improved processes, services, and products. The combination
of high skill, independence, big-picture perspective, and respon-
sibility will make these employees among the most valuable in
your organization.