People power ­- Empowerment strategies that work

It’s a modern business world; one where small edges can make the difference between success and foreclosure. In such a market, it is an organisation’s human capital that is so often the deciding factor. But it’s not just the strengths and abilities that change from organisation to organisation – it’s also the way those skills are utilised. And one way to get more out of a workforce is through well-planned and thought-out empowerment strategies.

There are other benefits too. Empowerment not only allows staff to shine as bright as their skills enable; it can also instil a greater sense of personal ownership in their jobs. This feeds into improved retention, engagement, staff loyalty and morale.

Organisations already implementing an empowering talent agenda say this also inspires new and creative ideas from within their workforce, with staff encouraged to go the extra mile.

The power of trust

Empowerment strategies work to delegate enhanced responsibilities to staff at all levels of the organisation. They encourage employees to structure their own workloads and make key decisions within pre-determined parameters. By doing so, managers trust their employees to solve certain problems on their own and make a greater contribution towards the success of the organisation.

Empowerment at Google

At Google in Singapore, employees are often able to choose which specific projects they want to be involved in. This even goes as far as staff creating their own projects from scratch. Apart from having input on their main work focus, Google engineers are also encouraged to pursue any other “Google-related” interest for up to 20% of their normal working hours. For example, this time can be spent creating a new programming language or perhaps even researching an improved parking plan for the local office.

Sarah Robb, Head of HR, Google Southeast Asia, says this initiative has been critical in driving innovation throughout the global organisation. It has led to the development of several highly marketable products including Google News, G-Mail, Google Talk and Orkut. “Google recognises that people are more productive when they are working on projects that really excite them,” she says.

Some companies are going even further in empowering their employees. RS Components, a European distributor of electronic, electrical and industrial components, recently introduced a new salary review process across its Asia Pacific region. Working within set budget parameters, this gives line managers more power to decide how each member of their teams should be rewarded. Previously, the head of a country or function made decisions on salary reviews for the whole department.

The new system requires line managers to understand how rewards systems work and how to best motivate their team members. They also need to manage the expectations of their team members, and deal with the consequences of their decisions on both performance and reward. Honesty and open communication have become early by-products of the scheme.

Strategies for success

Employees can be empowered in numerous ways. In many companies, managers define the company’s guidelines, goals and key performance indicators. Employees are then given the freedom to manage their workloads in ways that best meet their set objectives and deadlines.

An empowered workforce is proving especially crucial in the customer service and hospitality industries. There, employees need to think on their feet and make decisions to get the best outcomes for their client and organisation. At Jetstar Airways, employees are given exactly this freedom and flexibility. While on a flight, cabin crew members have to be able to make proactive decisions when attending to the unlimited range of incidents or requests that can come up.

Jetstar recently introduced its “Star Leaders” programme, where cabin crew with exceptional leadership capabilities are given further responsibilities. They take charge of fostering team spirit among crew members and guide junior employees on board flights.

The company says turning to its staff in this way has helped it to cope with its recent expansion, the Jetstar fleet growing by 46% over the past year. “To manage this growth and momentum, we need a committed and excited workforce,” a Jetstar spokesman tells HRM. “Empowerment delivers a feeling of ‘self worth’ and is an area that we continue to work hard on.”

Direct decision-making responsibility also lets staff, even relatively junior employees, appreciate the bottom-line implications of their contributions. Since April this year, Singapore’s DBS bank has been giving increased responsibilities to branch managers of its POSBank consumer banking services. Samantha Mark, MD, Group HR, DBS, says the aim has been to have each manager act as a branch owner. “We want to make the branch managers sort of like entrepreneurs or business people who own their own branch,” she says.

Branch managers are now responsible for the full operation and performance of their business, including its overall profitability. They work in a predetermined territory, with each existing customer tagged to a specific branch. Mark says it is the customer who should gain the most from this empowerment. “We believe that staff who are empowered will take more pride in their work, and be motivated to provide a more positive customer experience,” she said. “This is especially so for our frontline staff who are the bank’s primary interface with customers.”

Making it work

Empowerment helps and encourages rank and file staff. But it is also beneficial to managers – the delegation of responsibilities frees up time for them to focus on bigger picture decisions and strategies.

However, this does not mean that managers relinquish all their responsibilities to those below them on the ladder. Some leaders have been known to empower their employees, but then shut down communication channels. This lack of active engagement can lead to abuses of power, or other unsatisfactory outcomes.

So with every empowerment strategy, there needs to be a strategic framework that clearly outlines the objectives and outcomes it hopes to achieve. These should be easily measurable and managers should provide frequent feedback to let employees know how they are doing.

Some hiccups should always be expected. Employees need to know that mistakes are alright as long as they are learned from. This can help further increase their confidence and engagement.

MaryAnn Vale, Head of HR, Asia Pacific, RS Components, says one of the biggest challenges in implementing an empowerment agenda can come from employees who are simply not used to having power and responsibility. The same is true for managers who may not be used to ceding some decisions to lower ranked staff. In her company’s case, a great deal of effort went into educating both groups on the new people management process. “We also conducted a massive amount of communication on our strategy and line-of-sight to individual objectives,” she says. The complete process involved an average of 100 workshop hours per employee.

In addition, line managers and supervisors at RS Components now undergo a leadership programme that provides them with models and tools to understand how to motivate and coach their team members, Vale says.

Organisations embarking on empowerment initiatives also need to maintain regular and effective communication throughout. Employees at Google are encouraged to question even the most senior executives through its “Thank Goodness It’s Friday” meetings. Held in each office throughout the world, these weekly events allow staff to hear from and pose questions to all leadership personnel. According to Google, this exchange helps bridge the geographical distance between employees, while also keeping all staff connected to not only the headquarters in Mountain View, California but also the company’s other offices around the globe.

Rewarding empowered behaviour

Empowered behaviour does require extra effort from employees. And most proponents of the strategy say it should be duly recognised and rewarded. This can serve as motivation for staff to go even further in the line of duty.

RS Components uses a performance management system to assess what employees do and how. Each employee has both business and behavioural objectives based on leadership competencies. These objectives contribute to the employees overall performance rating which is then linked in with salary reviews and bonus decisions.

But the rewards don’t necessarily have to be financial. At the Ritz Carlton, Singapore, employees who are seen to go the extra mile have their stories published in the hotel’s daily newsletter. Cecilia Chia, HR Director, says the entire group is building an enviable employer and customer brand based on all of these instances. “Empowerment very often results in ‘wow’ stories, where guests are blown away with the extra mile our employees go to for them,” she says.

For RS Components, even small recognition can play a role in building confidence – the hallmark of an empowered employee. “Honestly, I think empowerment may intimidate people at first,” Vale concludes. “But once they are in situations where they have to make decisions, those who have the capability and confidence in themselves can flourish.”

Karin Clarke, Regional Director, Singapore and Malaysia, Randstad, agrees, saying it all comes down to trust. “In my experience, the more trust you bestow, the more people will give back and the more open the communication will be in the organisation.”

Empowered employees are also more loyal. Clarke says they tend to contribute more innovative and non-restricted ideas, while also actively pursuing their own self-development. “An empowered workforce is the difference between a great company and a good company,” she says.