VP & People Lead, Asia, S&P Global, driving innovation and growth through people-first approach.
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If you want to have a client-first approach, you need to create an employee-first experience in your organization. Empowered employees will go above and beyond to gain loyal customers and achieve growth. Unlike how the Industrial Revolution gave rise to processes and policies with minimal say from employees, the Digital Age has democratized many processes with more employees involved in decision making. It's no wonder then that many companies have transitioned from the once biennial employee survey to a more frequent quarterly pulse survey to understand their opinions and react quickly. Knowing where your employees stand helps harness the power of employee leadership to enhance growth and efficiency.
Employee leadership can be enhanced in three ways: empowerment, providing flexibility and customizing their experiences. The new-age employee does not require to be told what needs to be done and how to do it. By empowering them you can enhance trust, encourage motivation and impact the bottom line. Gallup estimates that an empowered and motivated employee adds 21% more to profit, 20% higher sales and 70% fewer safety incidents. On the other hand, disengaged employees cost the U.S. economy between $450 billion and $550 billion in lost productivity per year.
Slowly but surely, companies are transforming their policies to harness employee power. Here are some tips and trends that could help your firm to grow to the next level through employee empowerment.
1. Work Place And Office Hours: The pandemic has accelerated the mindset change about required hours and the role of work in our lives. Employees are moving to hybrid models where they can work flexibly either from home or in the office. There is a shift in focus from time spent on work to the outcome achieved. Adopt remote work as a permanent option for employees, even after the pandemic has passed, and empower employees to make their own choices. Assist in building the infrastructure to support their decisions and it will go a long way to bring the best out of your employees.
2. Workforce Composition: The debate is over regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s proven beyond a doubt that there is a positive correlation between a diverse workforce and a stronger bottom line. In 2015, McKinsey stated that "Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians," and those, "in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians." You need to develop policies that proactively enhance diversity and inclusion and empowers employees to bring their whole selves to work.
3. Team Structure: Traditional top-down hierarchy is moving to a more agile, less rigid structure based on specific projects. This more flexible structure enhances speed and simplicity. Dynamic roles should be created based on the project needs. Supervision should be given to a specific role rather than the person filling the role. This can change with the change of projects so there is no fixed lead. Also, the rapid iterations help to review the results swiftly and help the changes happen incrementally rather than in one go. You could use this structure to spot creative ideas, execute them swiftly and enhance leadership at all levels.
4. Performance Management: Performance appraisals are neither a calendar nor a clock and are moving away from being a policy-driven, twice-a-year, templated exercise. More and more, firms are removing performance rating systems to focus instead on quality conversations. Encourage your employees to have as many performance conversations as they need and whenever they need during the year. This should empower employees to do course corrections promptly. Both the individual and the organization will grow once they focus on the right outcomes.
5. Compensation: The concept of one-size-fits-all is slowly being done away with when designing compensation packages. Compensation and incentives should be designed in a more flexible manner depending upon the role and requirements of the employees. More junior-level employees should be recognized for their contributions by awarding them with shares. This empowers employees to have ownership in the firm and makes them accountable for growth. If you are a startup, this is an even more prevalent tool for attracting and retaining talent.
6. Benefits, Leave Days And Well-Being: The customization of benefits according to employees' needs is more of a norm today than an exception. Benefits should be divided into core and optional benefits, where an employee is empowered to choose the benefits that suit them. A twenty-year-old is more likely to appreciate the gym allowance than an additional family allowance for a second child. The leave policy should move away from rigid allowances of days off and instead empower employees to take “unlimited” leave, in discussion with managers, to rejuvenate and get their job done. The concept of holistic well-being including mental, emotional and physical attributes should be supported through your benefits program. You could consider your employee profile and then design your benefits around them.
The pandemic has accelerated some of these workplace transformations. It’s heartening to see the employee leadership in action where employees transitioned to home offices, took ownership of the work with minimal supervision. The crisis has shown us that individual employees can work well even if they are not in traditional work settings and under traditional supervision. Employee empowerment is important because it creates psychological safety, enhances trust, encourages accountability and spurs growth through innovation. The firms that are early adopters of these changes through empowerment would stand to gain in the marketplace.
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