Are Your Employees Empowered?

You can’t make this story up. Our office went offsite today to celebrate the new year at one of my favorite restaurants in Beverly Hills. As usual, we ordered too much food. The waiter volunteered to box the leftovers to take back to the office. I asked if he could put a little ice in the bags to keep the contents chilled. “No, we don’t do that here,” was his response. “It is a rule, sorry.” We are talking about a bag of ice, not a block.

Surprised at the rigid rule response, the restaurateur in me soon kicked in. When he came back with our two bags of goodies, I asked for two to-go cups of ice. “No problem,” he said. As a 12-year-old serving customers at my mother’s first restaurant, we instinctively knew what needed to be done to help our customers. We didn’t know it was empowerment, we called it service.

Are your employees empowered? There are three answers to the question: “Yes,” “No,” or “I don’t know.” If your answer is “Yes,” your employees feel valued and respected for their decision-making skills. They are your public relations, in addition to saving you time and adding to your profits. If your answer is “No,” consider assigning small decisions on a per client need. If you answered, “I don’t know,” ask your employees, “Do you feel empowered to make basic decisions on your own without input from me?” Ask for an example. if they can’t come up with anything, you have work to do. An empowered employee feels more valuable

How do you empower your employees? Let us know in the comments!

Stay tuned!