Empowering your employees: a guide

80% of employees consider autonomy to be an important factor in job satisfaction (Gallup, 2020). Companies that promote autonomy see a productivity increase of 5 to 15% (McKinsey). Therefore, empowering employees is essential. But how?

When we talk about autonomy in the workplace, there are multiple perspectives. We can discuss task autonomy, which is the freedom to choose how to accomplish work. There’s also temporal autonomy, meaning flexibility in managing work time (like flexible hours or deadlines). Finally, decisional autonomy refers to the ability to make decisions regarding aspects of one’s work without needing permission. Regardless of its form, autonomy is necessary as its benefits are truly impactful.

9 good reasons to achieve this

Empowering employees benefits everyone: both the employees themselves and the company. There are dozens of good reasons to pursue this, and we’ve selected 9:

1. Increased Motivation and Engagement. When employees have the power to make decisions and influence their work, they feel more engaged and motivated. Autonomy provides a sense of ownership and responsibility, which often leads to a stronger emotional investment in their work.
2. Improved productivity. Autonomous employees are often more productive, as they can manage their time and priorities more effectively. They can work more flexibly, allowing them to complete tasks more efficiently and manage their workload better.
3. Encouragement of innovation and creativity. An environment where employees feel free to experiment and propose new ideas fosters innovation. Autonomy allows employees to think creatively and develop innovative solutions to problems, leading to continuous improvement in processes and products.
4. Reduction in turnover and absenteeism. Employees who feel empowered and valued are more likely to stay with the company. Autonomy is linked to higher job satisfaction, which reduces turnover and absenteeism rates, saving the company recruitment and training costs.
5. Skill and leadership development. Autonomy encourages employees to develop skills in problem-solving, decision-making, and project management. This also contributes to developing future leadership skills, as employees learn to take initiative and manage increased responsibilities.
6. Better responsiveness and adaptability. Autonomous employees can respond more quickly to changes and challenges, as they do not need to wait for instructions from management to act. This makes the organization more agile and capable of quickly adapting to market changes and customer needs.
7. Strengthening trust and organizational culture. By trusting employees to work autonomously, management shows that it believes in their abilities and judgment. This strengthens a culture of trust and mutual respect within the organization, which is essential for effective collaboration and open communication.
8. Reduction of stress and improvement of employee well-being. Autonomy allows employees to manage their work and their work-life balance better. This can reduce work-related stress and improve overall employee well-being, leading to a healthier and more satisfied workforce.
9. Facilitation of decentralized management. In large organizations or those with multiple locations, autonomy allows for more decentralized management. This reduces the workload for managers by enabling them to delegate more responsibilities and improves local and quick decision-making, which is often better suited to the specific conditions of each team or department.

Yes, But How?

This is the central question. Unfortunately, goodwill alone is not enough. A strategy and techniques are required. Fortunately, many experts have been focusing on this subject for several years. Here’s the good news: we share with you the conclusions drawn from their various studies.

The very first step is to define clear and achievable objectives. This is often where the challenge lies. It’s essential to ensure that employees understand the company’s goals and their role in achieving those goals. Clear expectations help employees know where to focus their efforts. Next, the desire to empower employees should be part of the company culture at all levels. The entire structure should encourage initiative-taking. This involves creating an environment where employees feel safe to take initiatives, propose ideas, and try new methods of working. Mistakes will inevitably happen, and that’s okay. There are resources and training available to help employees become autonomous—it’s a skill that can be learned. Providing access to these tools is also important.

Several other elements must also be considered, such as trust, which is crucial for autonomy. Micromanagement should be avoided in favor of a broader, shared decision-making space. Involving employees in decision-making processes, especially those that directly affect their work, is a plus. This can include brainstorming meetings, project committees, or discussions about process improvements.

Flexibility is another important element. Wanting to promote autonomy means understanding that there isn’t just one way (one’s own) to achieve results. Hours and methods can, therefore, vary widely.

Another essential aspect is communication. To enable autonomy, an environment must be created where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns, and suggestions. Regular feedback, both positive and constructive, can encourage a spirit of collaboration and continuous improvement.

Finally, the process makes sense only if you recognize and reward autonomy. When employees take initiative and succeed, their efforts should be acknowledged. This can be in the form of public praise, bonuses, or other types of rewards that value autonomy and initiative.

Some bonus ideas

Less formally, you can promote more autonomy through concrete actions. Some companies have implemented “Innovation days” where employees can work on projects of their choice, independent of their daily tasks. This gives them the freedom to explore new ideas and propose creative solutions, thereby reinforcing their sense of control and ownership. Another method is to ask each employee to propose an initiative and take it from A to Z. This could be a “personal project” (associative, cultural, sporting…) where each employee dedicates part of their time to a project of their choice that adds value to the company.

Mentorship is also an excellent way to circulate knowledge. A company might organize cross-mentoring programs where employees can learn from colleagues in other departments. This broadens their perspectives, gives them new skills, and encourages them to take initiative in their current roles by applying what they’ve learned.

Some companies also arrange for temporary role rotations. The goal is for employees to explore different aspects of the company and gain fresh perspectives on their work and that of others. This helps them acquire a better understanding of the organization and develop their ability to work autonomously in different contexts.

For example, Atlassian, a software publisher, regularly organizes “ShipIt Days”, where employees have 24 hours to work on any project they choose and present it at the end of the day. During these days, teams are completely free to choose what they want to work on, fostering innovation and creativity. Projects can range from fixing bugs to creating new features. 3M offers a program with “15% free time for innovation,” allowing employees to use this time to explore new ideas or improve existing products. This program has led to the development of many innovative products, including the famous Post-it notes.

Is there a danger in too much autonomy?

Could too much autonomy be detrimental to the company? This is a valid question, and the answer is YES. While employee autonomy offers many advantages, it also comes with risks and challenges.

• The first risk is lack of consistency: If employees make autonomous decisions without alignment with the company’s goals or values, it can lead to inconsistencies or decisions that do not support the organization’s strategic vision. Guiding employees remains essential. Our advice: Set up regular training and alignment meetings with teams to remind them of the company’s strategic objectives. Create a clear framework with guidelines to ensure individual decisions remain consistent with the overall vision.
• The second risk is misjudging employees’ actual capacities. Granting too much autonomy without adequate support can lead to mistakes, especially if employees lack the necessary skills or information to make informed decisions. Our advice: Conduct regular skills assessments and implement a mentoring or support system for employees who make decisions.
• The third risk is work overload. Some employees may feel extra pressure when they have to manage their own decisions and priorities, leading to burnout or increased stress. Our advice: Encourage a balance between autonomy and teamwork by creating mandatory collaborative moments (regular meetings, team workshops). Also, promote transparency about workload to detect and prevent overload situations.
• Another real danger is isolation and diminished collaboration. Excessive autonomy can lead to employee isolation, reducing collaboration and teamwork, as they may focus solely on their own tasks and objectives without considering the professional environment around them.
• Moreover, excessive autonomy can make the company overly dependent on certain key employees. If these individuals leave the company, it can create gaps in skills and knowledge.
• Finally, there’s a real risk that some workers lose sight of strategic priorities if they are not properly guided, which can lead to a dispersion of efforts and resources.

What if we created “protected autonomy zones”?

Are you familiar with SAPs? Protected autonomy zones are specific spaces or moments where employees are allowed to make decisions autonomously.

These zones are “protected” because they allow employees to exercise a certain level of autonomy while being shielded from interference or external pressures, fostering innovation, accountability, and the development of new ideas.

The purpose of SAPs is to stimulate creativity, personal initiative, and team empowerment while ensuring that these initiatives fall within a framework defined by the company. This often leads to improved performance, employee satisfaction, and the company’s adaptability to rapid market changes.

On the road to reverse autonomy

Companies can also test reverse autonomy practices, where “juniors” are invited to “lead” meetings or projects for a set period.

This approach enables employees to develop leadership and decision-making skills early in their careers. For companies, such practices also help organically identify and develop talent internally, reducing the need to recruit external managers.

Statistic: 20

A survey conducted by the human resources company Gallup in 2020 showed that employees who have the freedom to make autonomous decisions are 20% more engaged in their work compared to those who do not have this freedom.