Why employee empowerment matters in CX

The Cambridge dictionary defines "employee" as "someone who is paid to work for someone else." This primarily means that the employee gets information on what they need to do, fundamental guidance on how to do it, and expectations they need to meet in terms of quality and turnaround time. Mostly, they get little to no say in decision-making because that's beyond their ambit; people in positions of leadership make all of the decisions. As Alfred, Lord Tennyson, writes in his classic poem The Charge of the Light Brigade, "Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why".

However, a certain level of empowerment and critical involvement ensures that employees consistently deliver their best and act as a catalyst for growth. In this article, we'll look at why it's important for organizations to empower their employees.

It leads to better customer satisfaction.

I'm sure something like this has probably happened at least once in your life: You visit a business establishment and you ask for a minor deviation from their usual policy, or you would like to get a discount or a bit more of value for your money; the business representative understands your request but replies that their policy doesn't permit it. You try to convince them, but in vain. You either choose to accept it and move on, disappointed, or it's such a deal-breaker that you escalate it to the next level or cancel the transaction altogether. Either way, your experience has been negative, and you decide to think twice before coming back.

Now put yourself in the business owner/management's shoes. Would the deviation that the customer requested have made a significant dent in your costs? Was it so unreasonable that it couldn't have been fulfilled? If the answer is no, why wasn't the representative not authorized to accommodate it? Why did it have to be escalated further?

Every once in a while, businesses are certainly going to encounter customers who request an exception to a set policy. If it's something minor, your employees must have the power to handle it, with reasonable restrictions. This way, you can ensure that there are fewer escalations, which leads to better customer satisfaction.

It improves accountability.

I clearly remember an incident that occurred over a decade ago when I was working for an IT journalism company. I was charged with the task of setting up a newsletter for one of our clients. I did the necessary work, and the newsletter went out. A week had passed, but we didn't receive the details of those who had downloaded the whitepaper in the newsletter. We dug around and discovered that I had missed attaching the relevant webform before triggering the newsletter. I started panicking and expected my manager to reprimand me harshly for the mistake, but to my surprise, he calmly asked me to be more careful in the future and left it at that. The conversation lasted no more than two minutes. Feeling relieved, I thanked and assured him that I wouldn't repeat this mistake ever. I then prepared a checklist to track the steps involved in such tasks and made sure to refer to it every single time I performed the task. If my then manager had reacted angrily, I might have felt disheartened—considering that it was the first time I made such a mistake—and my morale might have suffered. Instead, the way he handled it pushed me to be more cautious and diligent. He inspired me to be more accountable without saying so in as many words.

So empowerment doesn't simply involve giving your employees the authority to make decisions; it also involves having your employees' backs when they make mistakes. When you trust your employees and give them a reasonably long rope, they feel a greater sense of responsibility and accountability. They start caring more about outcomes and make necessary course corrections as and when needed.

The most important thing, however, is that you know where to draw the line with respect to accommodating mistakes. Otherwise, this very approach/philosophy can become counter-productive and breed complacency among your employees.

It leads to innovation.

In today's hyper-connected, globalized world, one thing that's certain about a company's workforce is that it'll consist of multiple people with varying life experiences and who come from multiple backgrounds. What each of them knows, what each of them is capable of doing, and how each of them approaches problems form a wide pool of knowledge and skills that one can tap into.

With the right level and spirit of empowerment, this diverse pool of talent can come up with great ideas for the company, effective solutions for customers, and efficient processes for colleagues. For instance, take the story of how 3M's Post-it notes came into existence. The inventor, Dr. Spencer Silver, was looking to create tough and strong adhesives but was able to create only one that "stuck lightly to surfaces but didn't bond tightly to them." For several years, Dr. Silver tried in vain to find a use case for his invention. It was only when another scientist, Art Fry, came into the picture that a viable product in the form of Post-it notes was born.

What if Dr. Silver's invention had been shelved simply because it wasn't strong and tough as he expected? The world wouldn't have got Post-it notes, and 3M wouldn't have seen the financial success it derived from them.

Therefore, listen to your employees' ideas and feedback on your offerings. Additionally, provide them with the tools they need to make those ideas a reality. The next million- or billion-dollar idea might be right there among your employees; it'd be a tragedy of sorts if you miss the opportunity to tap into its potential, or—even worse—if a competitor beats you to it.

It fosters loyalty.

The first and most important effect of empowering employees is that it makes them feel valued and proud of their role in the company's growth story. When that happens, they tend to stick with your organization for longer and seldom look for greener pastures. Of course, empowerment also includes your employees' financial compensation and perquisites. So even if they feel valued, if they aren't compensated fairly, there's always the possibility they'll seek opportunities outside. Therefore, consider the financial factor, too, when you think about employee empowerment.

When your employees work for you for a sustained period, you have people who know your business, your values, and your customers well. And this translates into a consistent CX for your customers—both internally and externally. Plus, you won't have to spend a substantial amount of time, money, and effort on employee training.

A major part of CX delivery is people management, and your employees are some of the people who matter the most from that perspective. Empower them, value them, and treat them well, and they'll make the impossible possible for your organization. Do neither or none of those, and they'll end up making even the possible impossible.