Empowerment In The Workplace

Introduction

I am actually going to look at two areas, Empowerment in combination with Delegation. Not only do I think I can improve in these areas but it will also improve the well being of my employees. I want people to feel about work how I did a few years back. You learnt and contributed as much as you could. You did not 'clock watch' and you were eager and hungry for more work I believe I was an empowered employee.

The long hours I have been working has lead me to believe I need to empower my employees and also delegate successfully to them. When I actually go on holiday I find myself at work very late trying to 'tidy up' so I can go with a clear conscious. I find myself sharing more information in the day before I go on holiday than the previous months. I need to communicate this information when empowering and delegating to my employees.

Other incidents include projects not completed to my satisfaction and then I end up having to spend my time getting them to my standard. I would think these instances could be minimised with more planning, better communication of goals and desirable outcomes and more reporting when delegating projects and tasks.

As mentioned before I believe an empowered employee is a stronger employee and will handle upcoming change and other stressful events in a more productive and better way. I want my employees not to be bored by their work. I don't want work to be seen as a chore. I want them learning and improving their skills for bigger challenges in the future.

I know deep down I must improve my communication level to motivate and empower my employees this was one area that was highlighted in the PAMS questionnaires.

Perceived benefits for empowerment are employees have a more of a 'just do it' attitude (better self discipline), more participative, higher quality products and services, better teamwork, less stress, less absenteeism, an enhanced company, employees will be more fulfilled and more of a focus on learning. (Hill and Huq, 2004) and (Paul, Niehoff & Turnley, 2000)

Also the workplace should benefit as well it should have clarity of purpose, better morale, fair, more teamwork, better communication and a healthier environment (Jaffe, 1991, pg 23)

Successful delegation should have the following benefits more work accomplished, deadlines easier to meet, employees more involved, assigning authority makes control easier, employees grow, compensation can be more directly related to performance, the manager has more time for planning organising, motivating and controlling. Manager is also freed to do those tasks only he or she can do. (Maddux, 1998, pg 12)

Objectives

I want my employees to feel empowered and act as empowered employees within our organisation. I want to create the feeling in myself that I am holding my employees back and they are always pushing and striving to improve themselves and enhance the company. I see empowerment of my employees as medium to long term goal.

On the delegation side of things I want to change my job to more of a managing role than a 'doing role'. I want projects and tasks to be completed in a timely fashion and to a high standard whilst improving the skills of my team. I want to make sure information is shared and there is not bottlenecks within our team. The delegating and better communication when delegating is a short-medium term goal.

These objectives should be able to be measured by less time stressors in the workplace, better attendance, more team interaction, less sick days and recognition from peers within and outside the department.

The Personal Development Plan

For empowerment I plan to prepare myself and become more self aware of the communications and behaviours I display to my associates. This should not only be at a level below but to all of my direct lines of communication upward, laterally and downward.

The principles I will follow and take on board are as follows, I will try to be more positive, honest and open, to try to encourage higher levels of interpersonal communication. Empowerment is all about both verbal and non-verbal communication so my plan is to analyse the guidelines supported by the literature and prepare a personal mission statement to guide me in the communication with my fellow employees. Basically the mission statement is trying to raise my awareness and skill in the area of empowerment, being more conscious of the techniques used and needed to raise employee empowerment.

When preparing the mission statement it was interesting to take note of the following:

Both management and employees interpret empowerment from their own viewpoints to suit their own needs and build up expectations of what the programme will bring. For management, empowerment promises a more committed and involved workforce who are willing to take responsibility at lower levels. Whilst for employees, empowerment pledges autonomy and the ability to move to a more equitable position within their organization. The failure of these expectations to share similar intentions or goals means that the psychological contract between management and worker could fail, promoting feelings of is trust on both sides (Hill & Huq, 2004)

So when developing this mission statement I need to account not only management's perspective but the alternate view of the employee's perspective.

Personal Mission Statement

My name is x and my mission is to empower my employees.

I want the individuals to become a team. I want my team to make personal sacrifices, perform beyond normal expectations and work selflessly to increase the organisation's overall effectiveness. I want my employees to solidify when threatened and adapt and overcome the situation. I want my employees not only to be loyal to one another but also to the company while at the same time the company places faith and trust in its' employees.

I will achieve empowerment in my employees by using the following guidelines

- I will articulate clear visions and goals of the organisation.

- Treat employees with trust, honesty, confidence, consistency and respect

- Use my behaviour as a model for my employees.

- Be