What do we mean when we speak of employee empowerment? A great definition comes from the Human Capital Institute, which partnered with RiseSmart for an in-depth research project called “Career Empowerment: Building an Empowered Workforce.” According to HCI, career empowerment, or employee empowerment, is “an employee’s ability to influence their own career path and pursue their own interests within the business.” Encouraging employee empowerment is vital to modern business practices, for at least three reasons.

Empowerment Inspires Responsibility

“With great power comes great responsibility.” It’s more than just a quote – it’s a principle people tend to believe in. When employees feel they have power in their jobs – power to make their own decisions, guide their own careers and make a difference within the company – they are more willing to take on added responsibility. Empowering your workforce will inspire them to take responsibility for their work.

Empowerment Sparks Innovation

According to the research project mentioned above, there are several key benefits to employee empowerment, including:

• Employees gain skills and are more versatile for the company
• Employees are more productive
• Employees are more engaged

All three of these benefits are key ingredients to a more innovative workforce. When employees are able to try new things, the company can make huge advancements.

Empowerment Builds Job Satisfaction

If your employees feel more like cogs in a machine than a valued team member, how excited will they be to come to work every day? Not very. But when they are challenged, engaged and empowered, they will find job satisfaction and want to stay with the company for a long time. Lack of empowerment could mean a higher turnover rate, as employees want to find a company that will give them the power they crave.

Staffing Partners has earned a spot on Oregon Business Magazine’s annual list of 100 Best Companies to Work For five times. Learn more about why people love working for – and with – our Oregon recruiting experts at Staffing Partners.