10 Ways to Empower Your Employees

10 tips to empower your employees

If you’re looking for ways to empower your employees, the following 10 strategies and tactics are a great place to start. 

1. Communicate expectations.

Your team can’t meet your expectations if you don’t clearly communicate them.

“Clear and consistent communication is the foundation of empowering employees on a day-to-day basis,” shared Kelly Turner, senior vice president of operations at YogaSix. “Whether it’s a daily or weekly check-in to allow information to be shared directly from the source, when the team feels as though they understand not only what’s coming down the pipeline, but why, they will show up and make better decisions.”

By defining clear parameters for them to work within, you can effectively communicate what you want while empowering your employees to work independently and efficiently. Stating expectations directly leaves no room for confusion, creates more room for growth and reduces the margin of error.

2. Be flexible.

Employees are human, and life doesn’t always stick to a schedule. There’s a very good chance your team members will need to take time off at some point, adjust their hours or even switch to a different work arrangement. That’s why flexibility in the workplace is no longer just a perk — it’s becoming a necessity. Increasingly, companies are recognizing that greater flexibility enables their team members to become more committed and productive in their work while also reducing their risk of burnout. [Read related article: Why Remote Work Makes Good Business Sense] 

A lack of flexibility is one reason employees quit their jobs. According to FlexJobs’ 2025 State of the Workplace Report, 67 percent of employees have reevaluated their current careers due to a desire for remote work options, 37 percent have quit or considered quitting due to inflexible work hours, and 57 percent cited poor work-life balance as a reason for leaving their current roles.

Offering flexible hours or work arrangements demonstrates to employees that you respect their needs and trust them to deliver, regardless of the schedule.

“Let employees choose how and where they work, but pair that with clear, upfront expectations for outcomes,” advised Keryn Gold, PhD, MBA, an award-winning and globally recognized executive strategist, consulting leader and scientist. “This makes loss aversion work in your favor — people want to keep their autonomy and will rise to meet expectations.” 

3. Encourage feedback and ideas.

Some of the best ideas can come from your hardworking employees who strive to grow your business every day. When was the last time you asked them for their opinion on something related to the company? Soliciting your employees’ advice and ideas is a straightforward way to empower them to speak up and share insights that might otherwise be overlooked.

“Drive employee empowerment through two simple statements: ‘What’s your recommendation?’ And ‘I trust your judgment,'” advised Clark Lowe, president and CEO of O’Connor Company. “Cultures of employee empowerment drive decision-making down the pyramid.” 

Since we already know employee engagement is important to overall organizational success, asking for your employees’ input shows them that what they say matters and empowers them to be honest about their opinions. They’re also more likely to be invested in the outcome when their feedback is taken into account.

4. Delegate important tasks.

It isn’t enough to tell employees you trust their decision-making skills and ability to problem-solve and get work done. You must demonstrate this, and the best way to do so is to delegate various essential tasks.

“The trick is to develop agency within employees while maintaining accountability with management,” Lowe explained. “Employees need to be able to make decisions — and with that comes mistakes. Management still needs to own department and company performance. Mistakes are simply teachable moments for employees to yield better decisions later on!”

Providing employees with new opportunities to prove themselves keeps them motivated and shows them that they’re trusted to take on more significant responsibilities. And while delegation may lead to some initial mistakes, those mistakes become learning experiences that provide valuable insights for growth.

5. Supply employees with the resources they need.

You can’t expect employees to succeed without providing them with the necessary tools and resources they need to perform their jobs effectively. Empower your team by ensuring they’re well-supported and checking in regularly to assess and address their needs for both current projects and future growth.

Training is one of the most impactful resources you can provide, especially when it’s tailored to each employee’s role and experience. Gold emphasized that personalized learning can be especially effective when paired with technology-driven approaches.

“Competency-based learning (CBL) allows employees to skip what they’ve already mastered and focus on what matters most to their roles and interests,” said Gold. “Combined with AI tools, training can be highly targeted and takes half the time, enabling engagement and innovation to skyrocket.”

Providing this additional, customized training makes it easier for them to perform their jobs and shows them you care about their success. When workers feel appreciated and have the resources to succeed, they’re more empowered to do their jobs effectively and efficiently.

6. Provide constructive feedback.

In addition to soliciting feedback, offering employees constructive feedback is crucial. When you provide staff members with formal and informal performance assessments, it helps them learn from past behaviors and further develop their skills. It also shows that you care about their professional development and empowers them to focus on improvement.

To provide effective feedback, create a safe space and establish a regular cadence for when and how you offer performance reviews. You can do this by holding weekly one-on-ones, quarterly check-ins and annual evaluations.

7. Praise employees’ accomplishments.

When your employees do something that exceeds expectations or take a few minutes out of their day to help someone else, they should be recognized for it. Employee recognition has a direct impact on retention. A little praise goes a long way, and acknowledging someone’s good deeds and hard work can motivate them to keep up their strong performance.

​​8. Share the company vision and mission statement.

Your company should have a clearly communicated vision and a mission statement that everyone is aware of and can get behind. Your team members must understand how their roles fit into the company’s plan for overall success. When they feel connected to the organization and understand how their contributions align with the overall vision, they’re emboldened to think more expansively.

Set aside time each year to review these objectives with your team and identify how their specific roles and projects match the company’s vision and mission. Turner noted that employees may veer off course at some point, but these instances can be excellent opportunities for coaching. 

“[Take the time] to understand their why [so you can] celebrate their initiative, and give guidance on how the project needs to be tweaked in order to fit in the company’s broader mission,” Turner explained.

9. Foster a positive and inclusive work environment.

Everyone wants to work in a positive, upbeat workplace where they feel safe and valued. Create an environment that encourages employees to do their best, speak their minds and contribute to discussions and projects. You empower employees by making it clear that all ideas and opinions are welcome.

“There must be a sense that [employees] can show up with bad ideas as well as good ones, and that you, as their leader, are there to celebrate their achievements and wins as well as support them in cleaning up any messes,” Turner said. 

10. Lead by example.

Don’t just talk the talk; walk the walk. You can set rules and expectations for employees, but you also need to model them yourself. If you don’t follow the guidelines you set forth, it won’t be long before employees follow suit. Inspire your team and show them what empowerment looks like by demonstrating it through your own actions. 

Importance of empowering your employees

Empowering your employees is more than just a feel-good initiative; it has tangible benefits for your organization.

“For small businesses, this isn’t just nice to have — it’s mission-critical,” Gold noted. “You’re not working with massive teams, so each person’s energy, insight and initiative matter exponentially more. When you empower employees, you unlock their potential to take ownership, reduce bottlenecks and create multiplier effects across the organization.”

Here are just a few key advantages:

• Improved engagement and productivity: When employees feel empowered, they tend to be more productive and engaged in their work. According to Gallup research, companies with engaged employees see an 18 percent increase in productivity. When your employees feel valued, quality results will follow.
• Better customer service: Empowered employees who are more engaged with their jobs tend to deliver stronger customer experiences. This can be a big win for your business, since 83 percent of customers trust a company more when it provides excellent customer service, according to Shep Hyken’s 2025 Achieving Customer Amazement study.
• Enhanced employee satisfaction and retention: Empowered employees are typically more satisfied with their jobs than those who don’t feel trusted or supported. Teams with higher employee engagement also tend to have lower rates of workplace absenteeism and turnover.
• Better financial outcomes: Empowered and engaged employees contribute directly to stronger financial performance. According to the Gallup report cited above, low employee engagement cost the global economy $8.8 trillion in 2023, equivalent to 9 percent of global GDP.

Getting started with employee empowerment

Managing employees isn’t easy, but doing it well is worth the effort. Fostering a culture of empowerment helps your company become more productive, supports employees in reaching their individual and team goals, and can even make them look forward to coming to work each day, not dread it.

When you build a culture that values trust, autonomy and clear expectations, your team is more likely to thrive. A positive and empowered workplace not only improves performance but also reinforces a healthy, sustainable company culture.

“When employees are provided with autonomy and flexibility, and it’s clear what they need to achieve to keep it, then they are incentivized to take ownership and accountability, aligning individual and organizational incentives,” Gold said.

Danielle Fallon-O’Leary contributed to this article.