6 ways to empower your people

People have always been a crucial part of your business. Recently that’s become even more obvious with skill shortages around the world. So how can you apply business processes to leading your people in a way that empowers them and makes them want to stay with, or choose, your business?

Having robust ‘people’ systems and processes in place is an essential part of any successful organisation. We surveyed hundreds of consultants for their thoughts. Here is a summary of their advice on implementing business processes and systems in your business to empower your people.

1. Get the culture right

For your methods to be effective, you need a strong culture in place. This starts with embedding your core values in everything you and your team do. Display them prominently, but also live them out and weave them into the way you do business. Remember, staff will look to leadership to see how the values are implemented.

Then, keep communication open with your team. Regular meetings give you the chance to demonstrate values and ensure staff feel included, with the added benefit of creating a ‘no surprises’ culture. Weekly updates from all departments, video updates from leadership, or company-wide group chats are other ways to keep communication flowing.

Good culture is more than just a ping pong table in the workplace...it has to start from the top.

2. Create good first impressions

Recruitment and onboarding are your opportunities to set expectations for new staff about what your company is like. Having clear recruitment and onboarding processes in place will ensure you get the right people and set them up for success in your business.

When recruiting, ensure you have clearly documented job descriptions, a list of expectations for a recruitment agency if you’re using one, and a standard process for recruitment to ensure no steps are missed. A video outlining your company’s values before an interview can help you reinforce your values from the first moment, and weed out applicants who aren’t willing to live them.

Systems like a scoring checklist for recruitment interviews can help provide a more methodical, unemotional approach to recruitment. For example, tools like Patrick Lencioni’s Hungry, Humble and Smart can help bring method to your recruitment.

The same goes for onboarding which provides a great opportunity to set staff up for success. Standardised procedures will help new team members find everything they need to know – values, IT set up, health and safety, meeting the team, employee agreements, uniforms, and a comprehensive induction to their role.

Likewise, standard document templates for contracts, offer letters, individual development plans, and other key documents will speed up the process and prevent issues. You may also want to consider assigning a ‘buddy’ to new hires to not only help them settle in, but also train them on the company culture.

3. Build your structure and reporting

Put careful thought into your organisational chart. Make sure it aligns with your vision, goals and KPIs. And while you need to develop a current state org chart, you will also need to think about your future. For example, if you’re a $5 million dollar business now, but want to be a $15 million one in a couple of years, then you need to prepare for that.

Planning out a future org chart will allow you to grow in a structured, methodical way. And it will identify the vacancies for existing staff to consider and give them an idea of where they can grow into.

An organisational chart also helps everyone know who they report to and who will be holding them accountable. These reporting lines ensure information flows smoothly around the organisation, and that you can have the latest data on KPIs and how the business is performing.

Look, as well, at business processes for communicating between departments. Even in smaller businesses it can be easy for departments to become siloed. Consider regular department meetings with an agenda and follow up.

4. Track performance

Having good processes and systems to manage performance is necessary for any business. It has two key benefits. One is for the staff member who has clear expectations around goals and how they’re performing. The second is for the business who can track how the team is performing. High-performers can be identified and low-performers can be offered support to reach the level they need to be at.

Put in place regular one-to-ones for each staff member with their manager. Every staff member should have clearly defined and agreed KPIs that are reported against and that support the overall goal of the business. This helps both parties know that they’re on track.

Then, put in place periodic reviews to take a wider look at their performance, what can be improved and what went well. There should be no big surprises at a review session. If a staff member is underperforming, they should already be aware of that from their regular one-to-ones.

These business processes also help cover your business in the worst-case scenario of an employment dispute from a staff member who was disciplined or fired. Being able to show that their performance was clearly documented in the same way as everyone else, and that they were given opportunities and support to improve, will greatly help your case.

5. Support ongoing development

It’s easy for training and development to fall by the wayside in a busy work environment. However, putting methods in place to support it is important, because if you grow your staff, they will grow your business. Business processes and systems make it easier for people to find the time to step away from the daily whirlwind to learn.

Have someone take responsibility for booking in training and ensuring it happens in each department. This will need to be done in consultation with the staff member to ensure they’re getting the right training. If you don’t book in the time, then it often won’t happen.

Ensure that individual development for the year ahead is also included as part of the employee’s annual review and goal setting process. Career pathways provide a systematic approach to staff development, laying out where the person wants to be, and what they need to do to get there. This not only gives them something to strive for, but also increases their value to your business.

You’ll also want to look at where training is necessary to build strong capability in your middle management who set the pace and expectations for their teams. Bad middle managers can often be the reason staff leave. Don’t expect new managers to know how to lead by default. Instead, ensure there is standard training for each manager to help them manage staff, motivate them, and monitor performance.

Invest in your team by creating a company where staff feel valued, invested in and respected and you’ll find that people deliver more, are more loyal and go above and beyond when required.

6. Retain staff with the right incentives

Staff will want bonuses that are tied to clear deliverables, rather than a random lottery approach. They’ll also want to know that remuneration is reviewed regularly, consistently and fairly.

By using a standard approach to remuneration you can ensure it’s equitable. If it becomes known that some staff got a 10% pay rise while others only got 5% for no apparent reason, it will leave the others disillusioned and demoralised.

To stay competitive, as part of the remuneration process you’ll want to ensure salaries are appropriate for the role. Keep an eye on market data and regularly review salaries to keep them aligned. External recruitment companies and benchmarking services can help with this.

Likewise with bonuses. If bonuses are tied to things that the staff member can change, then that works better as an incentive than if it’s random and not something they can directly influence.

Taking this approach builds trust and transparency within the team. You may also want to build out a formal retention programme that includes further incentives such as flexible working, holiday pays, free lunches, healthcare and more.

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