How to Develop an Employee Empowerment Plan

Empowered employees create a positive work culture.

Employee empowerment adds value to not only the individual employee, but to your business as well. Employees who feel empowered to make the right decisions on their own will offer increased productivity and a high quality of work, according to ASQ.org.

Things You'll Need

• Private meeting area
• Pen and paper

Instructions

1. Prepare the employee's current performance metrics and compare their actual performance to the desired results. Identify the employee’s strengths and weaknesses, and prepare a plan to help the employee improve upon his weaknesses. The plan needs to consist of actionable and measurable tasks.

2. Schedule an appointment time with your employee and make sure the time allows full focus without interruptions for both of you. Have the employee give you a few meeting times that would be ideal for her, and schedule the meeting with one of those times.

3. Meet with the employee during the set time. Go over employee results and talk about areas that need improvement. Ask the employee how he will achieve the said tasks. This step is crucial. Employees will take ownership and feel empowered when they have created their own action plan. Ask open-ended questions that require thought and response from your employee. Offer suggestions to enhance the employee's plan. A good example of an open-ended question might be "How would you feel if you were able to make critical decisions on your own?" Or, "What impact would doing task ABC have on our team and the company?" Questions like these allow an open dialogue and foster a team environment. Build on the answers the employee provides and ask how he feels about your suggestions.

4. Reiterate the employee's plan and ask if it sounds workable, or if anything needs to be added or omitted. This allows you get her commitment a second time, with her acknowledging her plan out loud. Also, set a time frame for the completion of the plan; or if the plan is an ongoing change such as the empowerment of decision-making, set a followup meeting time. Ask the employee when she feels the followup meeting should take place and set the time accordingly, for example two weeks from the initial planning session. The followup meeting should entail coaching the employee through motivation and feedback.

5. Monitor the employee’s progress and offer encouragement and recognition along the way. Employees feel empowered when they are given room to correct their own deficiencies but still need to be monitored and mentored. Offer weekly progress sessions; this session should be short and informal. Your employee will respect you knowing you are invested in his success.

6. Meet with the employee to review the outcome of her plan at the time designated in the first meeting. This time should include recognition of the employee’s plan success, along with constructive suggestions for improvement. All meeting sessions need to remain positive to foster a friendly and empowering culture.

Tips & Warnings

• Employees who feel empowered have a higher job satisfaction and provide a positive contribution to the company culture.

• It is critical that you inspect what you expect from your employees. It is not enough to help them create a unique plan; you must measure their success and provide timely feedback to ensure a positive outcome.

References

• ASQ: Employee Empowerment and Involvement
• 1000 Ventures: Employee Empowerment