Empowering your team means giving them the authority, autonomy, and resources to make decisions, solve problems, and take ownership of their work. It can boost their motivation, creativity, and productivity, as well as your reputation as a leader. But how do you measure the impact of empowering your team? Here are some ways to assess the outcomes and benefits of your empowerment strategy.
One way to measure the impact of empowering your team is to track the key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect your goals and expectations. For example, you can monitor the quality, quantity, and timeliness of their work, as well as their customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. You can also track the financial results, such as revenue, profit, and return on investment, that are linked to their actions and decisions. By comparing the data before and after empowering your team, you can see how they have improved or changed their performance.
There are basically two ways to track team empowerment. Qualitatively; let someone (confidentially) talk to them preferably in a (semi)structured interview. Quantitatively; use a preferably validated survey. What we have found to work quite effectively is asking about a combination of: 1. Transformational leadership (looks into inspiring, knowledge sharing and coaching) 2. Engagement (looks into vigor, absorption and dedication) 3. Autonomy (looks into self-determination, competence, impact and purpose). In this way you can relate the engagement of your team with the level of experienced autonomy and supporting leadership style using validated constructs. Good luck!
KPI are one of the simplest ways to measure if your team is working effectively. Your inprocess KPI and output results OKR should reflect how well team is working. Additionally consider 360 degree feedback for some of thr team members to highlight if there are any specific opportunities. This is the key as you will have an holistic view.
To effectively track your team's key metrics, I would recommend choosing 3-5 KPIs that align with your goals, mapping out how you will quantify each one, setting up a system to monitor them weekly or monthly, reviewing the data as a team to spot trends and discuss improvements, and then revising the KPIs quarterly to keep them relevant as priorities shift. The key is picking meaningful, measurable metrics( Individual + companies long term vision), tracking them consistently, analyzing the results, and then optimizing based on what you find.
The KPIs you monitor will evolve and build out over time. Originally, you may look at client and staff feedback. Then you’d look into the impact on operational performance, financial results, etc. After operations, you’d move to measures such as regrettable employee turnover, employee tenure, internal promotions, etc. These measures would then continue to be tracked and reviewed over time to see trends.
Another way to measure the impact of empowering your team is to collect feedback and testimonials from your team members, customers, and other stakeholders. You can use surveys, interviews, focus groups, or online reviews to gather their opinions and experiences. You can ask them about how they feel about their work, their level of engagement, their confidence and skills, their relationship with you and their peers, and their satisfaction with the results. You can also ask them to share specific examples or stories of how empowerment has helped them achieve their goals or overcome challenges.
Never underestimate the power of a survey. Make sure your testimonials and feedback have a positive slant. Anonymous testimonies give so much value because there is no stress to giving honest feedback and you get a variety of responses with nuanced details and experiences. Feedback helps people feel empowered in their own career journeys, as well as benefit those collecting the feedback. The most critical element of feedback is giving feedback back. Let the team know what you heard, what you found and what the next steps will be. Let their feedback have power, and your empowerment will have that much more power.
To gather feedback and testimonials, proactively reach out to customers via follow-up emails, website forms, and in-person requests, ask for reviews on social media and at the end of projects, provide incentives, use software like qualtrics, surveymonkey etc to display testimonials in marketing materials after obtaining consent, and leverage positive feedback across channels like email, social media, and ads - the key is making it easy for happy customers to share while thanking them and highlighting compelling stories to encourage more participation.
A third way to measure the impact of empowering your team is to observe their behavior and attitude changes over time. You can look for signs of increased autonomy, initiative, creativity, and collaboration among your team members. You can also notice how they handle uncertainty, ambiguity, and risk, and how they cope with failure and feedback. You can also observe how they communicate, interact, and influence others, and how they demonstrate their values and culture. By observing their behavior and attitude changes, you can see how empowerment has shaped their mindset and identity.
Employees, like everyone, can have great or tough days. To show I care and empathize, I acknowledge those moments. When someone's exceptionally happy, I simply say, "I'm happy to see you smiling," and if I notice a change in their mood for the worse, I invite them to my office to ask if I can assist in any way.
A fourth way to measure the impact of empowering your team is to review their learning and development outcomes. You can evaluate how they have acquired new knowledge, skills, and competencies, and how they have applied them to their work. You can also assess how they have grown personally and professionally, and how they have contributed to the growth of others. You can also measure how they have aligned their goals and actions with the vision and mission of the organization. By reviewing their learning and development outcomes, you can see how empowerment has enhanced their potential and performance.
A fifth way to measure the impact of empowering your team is to celebrate their achievements and recognition. You can acknowledge and appreciate their efforts, results, and impact, and reward them accordingly. You can also share their success stories and best practices with other teams and leaders, and showcase their work to external audiences. You can also encourage them to celebrate their own and each other's achievements, and to express gratitude and pride. By celebrating their achievements and recognition, you can see how empowerment has increased their motivation and morale.
One thing I feel is not spoken about enough is that celebration of employees leaving. If you have empowered them, and your company no longer provides the type of skills-building or challenges they align with, their leaving is actually a positive for both sides. For them, clearly, they find a new role elsewhere, but for the empowering boss it also shows other employees that 1) you can build people's skills beyond their job and there is no limit, and 2) you are magnanimous and a good sport who can be trusted and relied upon. This translates into excellent relationships with those leaving (which can lead to new synergies with them in other companies or roles) and with those remaining who may choose to feel more empowered to stay and grow.
To boost team morale, we host a monthly "Getting Alpha" session, where one of our employees shares insights related to our daily work. Topics include things like motion capture terminology, rendering explanations, and new tools for optimizing assets.