Tips to Empower Staff Members

June 20, 2019

Empowering your staff is a great way to reduce employee turnover and improve the quality of your workplace. Employee empowerment means giving employees the tools they need to get their job done and preparing them to do it in a way that requires minimal supervision. Doing so will help you build a workplace community based on trust and communication.

Give employees tools - Provide employees with a set of tools and standards they will be evaluated by that relate to their job title, as well as generally expected tasks. While there is a lot of variation from job to job, there is one solid rule that applies to everyone that works for you - the mission and vision of your business! Whether you are in business to train Olympic athletes, improve community morale or simply encourage a healthier lifestyle, your employees bring that vision to life.

 

Offer training and job shadowing -  Without formal training in place, some staff members may slip through the cracks or never receive proper training. That can lead to bad experiences, wrong information and angry customers.  The easiest way to ensure that your staff is up-to-date is to provide continuous training and policy reviews. That gives each employee the opportunity to excel in the workplace and understand how their actions can effect your bottom line.

iClassPro Tip: You may start employees off on the right foot in iClassPro by having them watch our support videos and by reading Knowledgebase articles at www.support.iclasspro.com. This will give your employees a basic knowledge of how the software works. Make sure employees also know that they can call, chat, or submit an email or ticket to support@iclasspro.com for any of their support needs. 

 

Monitor and reward employees - Don't place employees under lock and key, but do stay on top of tracking individual and overall performance with regular employee reviews and staff meetings. Incorporating anonymous peer evaluations can also reveal a lot about the workplace dynamic and any trouble areas you may need to address.

Reward employees for valuable contributions. You may inspire some healthy competition by picking a Staff Member of the Week based on some level of performance. Offer the winner a gift card or some token to put on display until the next winner is chosen (like a pin or a small trophy). These small gestures can make a big difference when it comes to job satisfaction. Encouraging a little friendly competition, staff member participation will contribute more to your success as a business.

iClassPro Tip: In iClassPro, keep an eye on the Audit Log under Settings to see what kinds of changes employees are making in the software. While you don't necessarily need to track this 24/7, this is a great place to find activity by action or staff username search. Additionally, reports like “Attendance Not Taken” will allow you to keep your staff on the right track.

 

When employees feel like they have the ability to influence change and decision making in the workplace, job satisfaction increases. Taking the time to train, empower, and reward your employees makes them feel appreciated and more willing to invest time to improve your business. Invested and satisfied employees will work harder to understand and deliver on your mission. Getting rewarded for their contributions encourages loyalty, involvement and hard work. And with the problem of high turnover in the coaching industry, these practices will give your staff a reason to stay that goes beyond the allure of higher wages or benefits they could be making somewhere else.