The Advantages & Disadvantages of Employee Empowerment

Comments Print Jun 14, 2011 | By Andrew Fortier

Photo Credit business colleagues preparing for business meeting image by Vladimir Melnik from Fotolia.com Employee empowerment is the act of giving more responsibility to employees in the workplace. The process not only relieves stress on management but also, according to Dr. Nihat Karakoc of Balikesir University, is "rather closely related to the various concepts and techniques designed to democratize the workplace." Employee empowerment, just like any other managerial strategy, has both positive and negative aspects when implemented.

Involved Employees
According to Karakoc "Empowerment is to give more authority to employees in organization in management of work." Through empowerment, employees can become more involved in their work and thereby more satisfied with what they are doing. This effect will trickle down, as more satisfied employees will work in a way to make customers more satisfied also. Sponsored Links Team Building Workshop Innovative & Fun Team Building Workshops for Corporates. Call Now! FocusAdventure.in/Contact_Now

Relief of Management Stress

In putting responsibility making in the hands of empowered employees, management will not have to worry about day-to-day operations. Employee empowerment will, according to Karakoc, "facilitate authority transition from managers to subordinates." By putting more authority in the hands of employees, management can leave the operations side of business in the hands of employees.

Lessen Chance of Unionization

When employees feel more of an investment in the work that they are doing, there is less of a chance for unionization. Empowered employees will have more of a say in everyday operations; this includes their schedules, vacations and sick time. Because of this they will not feel the need to look to labor unions in order to get more rights in the workplace.

Non-Implementation
Many companies believe that they are giving employees more empowerment when, in fact, they are not. Companies that wrongly say they are empowering employees risk employee dissatisfaction and the chance that labor unions may form within their company. The best way to avoid these results is to make sure that employee empowerment is being implemented properly by all levels of management and accepted by employees.

Management Worries
Many managers may worry that because employees are being empowered they may lose their jobs. This is a real risk, as empowering employees means that there is less need for different levels of management. It is best to make sure that management still has a place at the company, but to put them in a different functioning role, as they will no longer be needed to run the daily operations of employees. If a management position does need to be eliminated, help the managers to either find new employment, or find another placement in the current company.

Employees Not Ready

Some employees may not be ready to be empowered. Employees may not be able to handle the increased stress that the added responsibility and decision making will bring. Some employees may also take advantage of their new responsibility and abuse their power. It is important to make sure that employees are completely ready for, and informed of, their new responsibilities before they are assigned. Sponsored Links Heart Age Finder Are You Young At Heart? Take This Five-Minute Online Test & Find Out! www.saffolalife.com/HeartAgeFinder

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References

Public Strategies Group: Employee Empowerment Giving Frontline Employees the Power to Improve Results Ethical Corporation: Can Employee Empowerment Produce Business Benefits? Macro Think Institute: Employee Empowerment and Differentiation in Companies: A Literature Review and Research Agenda NGFL Cymru: Employer/Employee relations: Employee Participation

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/234111-the-advantages-disadvantages-ofemployee-empowerment/#ixzz2Ejfov34s

Benefits of Employee Empowerment

By Joanne Cichetti, eHow Contributor

Employee empowerment can be a very powerful asset for the organization.

A company's culture demonstrates its values, goals, leadership style and vision. You can assess the level of employee empowerment at a company by assessing the decision-making powers of its employees and by determining whether the company has an environment that encourages and accepts new ideas from staff.

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1. Employee Satisfaction
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Delegating power to employees is not only a wise management strategy, but it is also a tool for increasing employee satisfaction. By empowering your employees, you give them a sense of ownership and belonging, which can mean better results for your company. A California-based technology company called Jupiter Networks was ranked No. 6 out of 125 employers in the "Best Places to Work in Silicon Valley" survey. Scores were based on employees' responses to a questionnaire. One of the questions that received the highest rating by Jupiter Networks' employees dealt with "people practices" at the company.

Better Customer Service

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With incentive from the higher authorities of the company, employees feel the need to gain a limited level of authority, control and knowledge with which they can solve customer problems, and, therefore, deliver better customer service. According to Weiser Security Services, when you invite employees to participate in decision making, they feel more useful and look forward to delivering better results for the firm. Sponsored Links

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Employee Retention
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By acknowledging each employee's opinion, you create an atmosphere of respect, honor and contentment. If you respect your subordinates' views, they will respect yours. Companies noted for this style of leadership attract loyal employees who

stay with them for a long time. There is a higher chance of losing employees in a centralized, authoritative organization. According to CNN, McCormick and Company, with a turnover rate of just three percent, encourages employees at all levels to participate in company decision making.

Accepting Change
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An organization has to make changes to keep pace with new trends. Change, however, is not very easily accepted when the cultural values of employees is deeply rooted within the organization. However, if you allow employees to come up with innovative ideas that bring subtle changes in the organizational structure and culture, they are more likely to adapt to these changes.

Increased Profits
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According to the book "Outstanding!: 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional" by John G. Miller, people go to work to achieve, not to fail. The bottom line for every company is to increase profitability. Empowering employees leads to lower absenteeism and better productivity, which increase profitability.

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Benefits Of Employee Empowerment

Benefits > Miscellaneous > Benefits Of Employee Empowerment |

Benefits of Employee Empowerment Employee empowerment simply means creating a stable working environment where employees can make their own decisions in certain work-related situations. The concept behind employee

empowerment is geared towards motivating the employees, to improve their quality of work and build morale. Here are some of the benefits of employee empowerment in an organization. 1. Encourage employee satisfaction Delegating responsibilities to employees is an effective management strategy the helps to increase employee satisfaction. Empowering your employees gives them a feeling of belonging and ownership, which directly translates to efficiency in production. 2. Better customer service Employees with incentives from higher authorities in the organization feel that they require gaining a level of authority, knowledge and control that is necessary to solve customer related problems. As a result, they are able to deliver better services to their customers. According to recent findings, employees feel more useful when given a chance to contribute in decision making. 3. Employee retention Organizations that acknowledge employees opinion create stable working environment of honor, contentment and respect. Companies that use this kind of leadership attract trustworthy employees who work with them for a long period. On the other hand, chance of loosing loyal employees in an authoritative organization are higher, therefore this means employees should be given a chance to participate in decision making. 4. Increased Profits Since most companies work geared towards reaping nice profits, employee empowerment is essential when it comes to increasing profitability. Empowering each employee helps lower absenteeism and encourages productivity, which in turn increases profits in the organization. 5. Better motivation Employee empowerment is the leading factor behind employee training and education. Less conflict with managers and administration means employees are motivated to contribute in decision making which it vital in terms of increasing companys profitability. The main disadvantage of employee empowerment is that when conflict arises, interpersonal relations might suffer since differences between employees can arise. On the other hand, not all employees are proficient to work in a dynamic environment and therefore are not able to contribute in decision making.