How to Empower Your Team Using Employee Communication Tools

By Eyal Katz, Head of Marketing, ConnecteamEmpowerment is not just another trendy buzzword, it's a business strategy that can significantly improve your business processes and make your workforce that much more effective. There are many tools you can use to empower your employees but internal communication tools allow you, the manager to sit back, do your job and leave the micromanaging to the amateurs. Sound pretty good, right? Let's understand just how we can do that.Self-Sufficiency to Foster Employee EmpowermentJust as parents raise their children with the goal of molding them into amazing self-sufficient human beings who function well in society, managers don't want their employees constantly tugging at their corporate apron strings.As a manager, you can help them do this by:•Identify strengths: If your employees are remote workers, it may be hard to get to know them in person and develop close working relationships. Luckily, technology is here to help us traverse the the geographical divide. Employee apps are a great tool for managers who want to connect with their desk-less team. You can get to know them by creating an onboarding survey within your employee app, asking them to identify their top strengths and experience. Leadership experts believe that giving employees roles that fit their individual strengths leads to efficiency and organizational success. Now doesn't that sound awesome?!•Streamline processes and procedures: When an Organization is structured properly, employees know where to turn to for what they need. When a manager sets up policies, procedures, and processes to effectively manage a team, employees don’t need to constantly come to the manager since they already know what to do. If you are managing a few retail stores, for example, you can upload work procedures like checklists to ensure on-the-job compliance. You can also set up an onboarding e-learning procedure so that every new employee trains to become self-sufficient in their role.•Don’t micromanage: If you want your employees to be self-sufficient and independent, let them! When an employee joins your team, they may need more support and management; when they are fully trained and ready to fly, let them fly! Of course there are exceptions with problematic employees who need more support and guidance, but for the majority of workers, if you train them, make sure they have the knowledge, trust them, they will be self-sufficient if you allow them to be.Ownership and RewardOver $10 billion is lost annually due to high employee turnover rates. On the flip side, companies with employees that report feeling encouraged and involved in the company's goals and operations outperform those with disengaged employees by 202%. Let’s dig into how managers can give space for empowerment, leading to a sense of ownership, pride and reward:•Empowerment starts with trust: If you are constantly nagging your employees, never letting them explore and be creative, then they will never become "empowered". A manager must give the space for them to ask questions and feel a sense of pride and ownership over their roles. Having remote workers may give you a leg up in this, because 82% of remote workers report lowered stress levels, because they say they work in an environment they are comfortable with. Distance does introduce certain challenges, especially with regards to internal communications and workforce efficiency, but distance may not be a bad thing after all.•Reward empowerment and good performance: Praise and accolades are nice but what better way to enhance productivity than with actual rewards? Rewards like bonuses, raises or promotions can be distributed and announced by using your own company app and reaching your team while away from their desks. Don’t know where to start? Start small with weekly “shout-out” messages on your for all employees to see. Positive, public recognition, even though seemingly small, is a motivation booster and keeps the good vibes going.Great Management is About Great CommunicationIt’s a wonder how far a small tool can take you. Few imagined mobile phones could work wonders and become miniature computers, as they are today. So employee communication tools, seemingly small, can do wonders for your team. A tool like this can foster employee empowerment by allowing workers to become self-sufficient, independent, with a sense of ownership and pride. And that translates to a business that thrives.[author]About the Author: Eyal Katz is head of marketing for Connecteam, an employee app that helps small businesses manage their deskless workforce.[/author]