Employee Empowerment

Employee empowerment is a management philosophy that emphasizes the importance of giving employees the autonomy, resources, and support they need to act independently and be held accountable for the decisions they make. A company's executives, HR specialists, and coworkers are all important players in creating a supportive, and empowering atmosphere. Mutual trust, a willingness to take risks, and a set of clear expectations and rules must be established amongst all participants for an effective employee empowerment program. True employee empowerment is impossible without this kind of cooperation.

Benefits of Employee Empowerment

Giving a worker the freedom to make judgments and complete tasks with sound judgment demonstrate the confidence in his intelligence and ability to manage the situation. When an employee is aware that the manager has faith in his/her ability to execute, he/she becomes more responsible and pro-active. In addition, the employee will also complete the task and do so to the best of their ability. Furthermore, the organization can experience the advantages of having many creative people working hard to achieve the same goals by challenging decisions and offering their own solutions as an empowered workforce. When employees are aware that they have the freedom to decide for themselves rather than waiting for a team leader or supervisor to make a choice, an organization can achieve its outcomes quickly. This psychological empowerment improves employee morale, reduces stress, makes the workplace more comfortable, and boosts employee retention.

HR software usually consists of features that can be leveraged by the HR department to empower employees as well. These include the ability for employees to update their punch-in and out times through the software on their own without any access control systems, the ability to update their timesheets on their own without micro-management, the ability to track and manage their own leave entitlements, and to plan and conduct employee empowerment training programs.